My CAT story – By an MBE DU Student

Just like most engineers, I was enjoying my life in an engineering college until I started thinking about doing an MBA. The thought changed my life completely.

I used to think about CAT all the time. However, I was not studying because it was the November of 2008 and I was planning to appear for CAT 2009. So, I thought I had enough time on my hands.

My First Attempt

As I lived in a small town in Rajasthan, there were no coaching classes around. So I used to study on my own. I solved a few Aimcats, in which I scored really bad.I didnt have much guidance what to do and what to study.I used to study whatever I felt like without making any time table. So, I prepared casually for CAT and then….

Then came the Big day, the 29th of november,2009. As you would have guessed by now, I screwed my exam and got a low percentile. I gave other exams which gave me further rejections. But I was not sad because I knew that I had the potential and I have gained experience and now I knew the mistakes that I had made. I started thinking on how I can rectify them and achieve success.

The Distractions

A few months passed and I was getting distracted from many things. Placements had started in my engineering college and I got selected in Accenture. My family said that I should join the company and prepare for CAT side-by-side.

However, I knew that I couldn’t ride 2 boats at a time. Hence, I rejeceted the offer. I decided to do nothing this year while staying at home in Delhi.

One more Try

One of my best friends started preparations for CAT 2010. After seeing my friend prepare, I thought of starting the CAT journey once again. I joined a coaching class.

Now, I started studying regularly with proper timetable. Within a month I had completed my basic study material given by my coaching classes. Then I and my friend used to study difficult areas together. We both were in different coaching classes so we had access to different study materials and could practice more questions.

Soon, Time test series i.e AIMCATS started. I scored a mere 70 percentile in the first mock. I was highly disappointed by the performance. In the next mock too, I secured 70-72 percentile.

The Turning point

Something was wrong. I asked my friend then he suggested that I was not analysing my mocks properly.

I started analyzing my mocks and lo, the third AIMCAT saw me getting a score of 85 percentile. Then with proper analyzing and proper revision I started getting decent scores. That gave me the required confidence.

Then came the DAY of CAT 2010.

I gave my CAT on 9th November,2010. I started my exam with Verbal ability as I found it quite easy. The I did DI and then quant. I attempted 50 questions out of 60. I found DI to be the easiest section maybe because I had done numerous questions in DI while practicing. After CAT I was quite relaxed for other exams. I did some sample papers of other exams.

Results time

Then came the result time I qualified JMET. Could not clear FMS.

And now, came the day for the CAT Results i.e 12 january. From 2 in the night to 4 in the morning we were trying to see the result and then at 4 server was free and I saw my result.

I got 97 percentile with sectionals as follows–

VA–85 Percentile

DI–98.8

Quant–96.6

Finally, my hard work had paid. On that day SNAP result came too.

I got 115 marks and so I knew I would get calls from some good colleges like SCMHRD,SIIB.

The Next Phase

One phase was over and the next round was to crack the GD/PI. I joined some GD/PI classes which helped me to gain confidence about what to speak andwhat not to. I used to read newspapers,magazines and some GK material.

My Result

Cleared these

SCMHRD, SIIB, IMI–HR, IMT GZB, LBS, NIRMA, MIB, MHROD, MBE, NIT-Trichy.

Waitlisted in these

FORE, IMI-PGDM

Did not Attend

I didnt go to TAPMI, KJ SOMAIYA and Wellingkar interviews because I wanted admisison in NCR.

So finally after analyzing the various option that I had, I decided to do MBE from south campus Delhi university.

This was my story. I guess many MBA aspirants would associate themselves with my story. One thing I feel that should be kept in mind is that never underestimate yourself. Keep confidence in yourself and God.Study regularly and you could crack any exam in the world.

All the best to you guys for CAT