I won’t go too far back. My story begins when I completed my graduation in 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most people in UP, I also started preparing for government exams. But honestly, I never felt truly motivated or passionate about it.
So, I began exploring other options. That’s when I came across the CAT exam and decided to give it a try in 2021. My first attempt didn’t go well, I scored around 20 percentile in VARC.
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After that, I took an Unacademy subscription, where I met Ravi Prakash Sir. He was nothing less than a godsend for me. The kind of motivation he gave me no one else ever had. That’s when my real preparation journey began.
To support myself financially, I started working as a Zomato delivery partner and also opened a small roadside shop (gumti). My routine became: wake up, attend online classes, open the shop by 8 AM, study while sitting at the shop, deliver food in the evening, and study again before sleeping. Most of my preparation happened while sitting in that shop.
When the final month was left before CAT, I shifted to my nani’s (grandmother’s) house to focus completely on mocks and their analysis. I was never scared during the entire prep, but on the day of the exam, for the first time, I felt the fear of failure. My hands were shaking, and the exam didn’t go well. I ended up scoring only 90 percentile. I didn’t get any IIM calls, but I managed to convert FORE and IMT-G.
I asked my family for one more year. Throughout this journey, my parents stood strongly beside me. The ability to work hard came from them. My sister and elder brother were also always supportive whenever I felt low; they were there to lift me. There were others too, my uncle (mama), aunt (mausi), and many more who believed in me.
With all that support and belief, I restarted my preparation with the same routine and dedication. This time, I got calls from XLRI, MDI, and several IIMs through the CAP process. I prepared hard for the interviews.
But once again, the result was the same: rejections or waitlists everywhere. On the day the XIMB result came out, I felt completely defeated. I thought maybe this is not for me. But soon after, I converted DBE (Department of Business Economics), and later, IIFT’s waitlist started moving.
Eventually, IIFT converted.
The relief and peace I felt that day, I had never experienced in my life.
I have also started my own YouTube channel where I share my experiences and mistakes to help aspirants.
Here is the link to my first video.
