Yes You Can Do It - Decoding The Conundrum Of Preparing For CAT As A Working Professional

Trough of preparation –

I hardly did self-study till August and consequently scored a single digit percentile in English mock test and equally poor percentiles in Quant and LR/DI also. And hence began the stage where I started questioning my ability. All sorts of questions hovered over my mind. ‘Can I crack CAT?’, ‘Do I have time for preparations?’, ‘Can I juggle between work and preparation?’, ‘Do I have what it takes to compete with the best?’ were some of the questions which haunted my mind for weeks after that mock test. I seriously pondered over quitting CAT preparation for almost a week as I thought it was just not possible for me to crack it.

An honest try –

After the low, I resolved to give my best shot and became serious in my preparations. I made it a point to study everyday for 2-4 hours till CAT (which comes out to be around two months of serious preparation). My performance in Mock tests started improving and I started gaining confidence. I did nothing different. I just tried to do all the normal things correctly.

The D-day –

I took a 5 day off before the CAT 2017 exam (yeah, that’s all I could manage from my boss) and gave my best shot on the D-day. The CAT results published in the second week of January and to my surprise, I managed to secure a 99+ percentile on my first CAT attempt. I was really emotional and relieved that day because I did not quit. That one week of self-doubt hovered in my mind profoundly and now in the hindsight, I think it perhaps made me stronger as a person.

The journey continues –

Thereafter, I was privileged to get an opportunity to pursue MBA at IIM Lucknow among some of the most diverse and brightest minds of the country. I gained immense amount of knowledge and skills just by interacting with students here and perhaps got some of the best friends too..:D

PS: I believe that getting into an IIM is just a step towards achieving your long term dream of pursuing the career you want. I know most of us have no idea of what we want in our life but this place gives you immense opportunities to explore and is definitely worth experiencing.