Following my dream to pursue my engineering from IIT since 2011 when I was in class 10th, I landed in NIT Agartala after scoring unsatisfactory in JEE 2014. I joined L&T Construction in the Supply Chain Department after graduation. While working under this profile, I realized the need to develop managerial skills for career growth in the corporate world. Therefore, I decided to appear for CAT to get into B-schools.
As a part of Supply Chain Management, my work schedule was very hectic. Therefore, I decided to go for self-studies rather than online/offline classes because leaving the job was never an option. In my opinion, one should never leave their job for CAT preparation until and unless they are very sure to perform well in the exam. Being an engineer, I faced challenges in preparing the verbal section, so I allotted maximum time for this section in whatever time I managed.
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In CAT 2019, I was tending to have two years of work experience considered a sweet spot to do an MBA in India. But after the exam, it was evident that I will not be able to join any B-school this year because of my poor performance in the exam, and 74 percentile was official confirmation for the same.
Looking back on my CAT 2019 journey, I realized that I ignored mocks practice that plays a crucial factor in preparation. Therefore, I recommend every aspirant to give more and more mocks. It helps to experience a real-time exam environment, handle D-day pressure, and track your progress. Hence, my prime focus was on mocks during CAT 2020 preparation. Also, I joined online coaching classes to maintain discipline and get a competitive environment throughout CAT preparation.
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Unfortunately, the whole nation came under lockdown due to a widespread pandemic in Mar 2020. However, it leads to a reduction in the pace of construction works which ultimately reduced my workload. It helped me to cover most of the syllabus during Apr-Jun 2020. But once unlock process started in phases, construction work resumed full-fledged, and my preparation time went down again. Thus, I spent most of the time giving mocks. However, my mock scores were not satisfactory, especially in the verbal section. In addition to that, due to the pandemic, the CAT 2020 paper pattern got changed from three hours to two hours shocked aspirants. However, I continued my preparation full of dedication.
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After CAT 2020 examination, I had mixed feeling about my performance. When the CAT result was released, even though I scored 95 percentile, I failed badly in the verbal section with a score of 68 percentile results in no call from IIMs or several other renowned B-Schools. However, after detailed research, I found that many prestigious B-schools do not have a sectional CAT cut-off. It gave me some hope and started the preparation for further selection processes for these colleges. Finally, I converted IIT Kanpur and IMT Ghaziabad and decided to go to IIT Kanpur as it was my first dream.
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Currently, I am a student of MBA IIT Kanpur 2021-23 batch, one of the prestigious institutes of our nation. I would suggest new aspirants believe in themselves and constantly work hard. If you are honest with your goal, things will get aligned to make your Dreams come true even after a decade, as in my case.
All the best for the future aspirants
