All I wanted to Speak about CAT

[prem_ravi]

Posts made in 2006/07 after CAT 2006 results :-
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-an...tml#post654953http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-an...tml#post738005 (All I wanted to Speak about CAT)http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/2933-all-i-wanted-speak-about-79.html#post738006
CAT 2007 & Beyond:-

I still remember how My wife, My Parents (Contrary to 2006),AbhiG1, Rosogulla, Anupamwillreturn, Prahalad85 & others convinced me on 8th May 2007 to go about giving CAT 2007..On that day I was shattered, Results were out, situation was beyond my control still could garner whatever balance energy with which I was left and started the journey yet again towards what that time appeared to me as my destiny "IIMA".
The moment I decided to give CAT 2007 ie May 2007 I started talking to myself saying that "This year I will not compromise on Family values, I will not be a Monomaniac, I will work smarter than Harder & what not".Infact I promised the same to my wife.
I decided why don’t I start teaching, which will eventually help me in my own preps. Getting a part time Job with Time was not a problem as the Director knew me well (as a student).Started teaching from the last week of May...
The Schedule was 5 days of office work, after work its to sit with the basics & then 2 hours with family..Saturday first half for family..Then second half of Saturday till Sunday evening teaching..First 2 months it was OK OK..Then I started feeling that I was getting worn out, still continued...
This is the time 2 important characters joined the bandwagon...AnirIIM & Cimbaiash Nitin..We decided to prepare together...The Plan was like after every mock CAT we will have telephonic calls to discuss on the paper....After a month an important Character came into my life "GREENSPAN"..Dhosth kum Bhai Jyadha.....
At some time during July, I got an offer from HP & I decided to accept the same with lots of ifs & buts...
Life looked tormenting..A new Job ambience forced me to work 14 hours a day, couldn’t spend time for my family as promised..Couldnt give those additional tests which anir, nithin & spammy could give ..But kept on saying "Ekh test kum daenae say kya farakh padnae wala"..Always believed that CAT is crackable & to top that feel, scores of 99.98 in QA (Simcat) & 99.97 in DI (AimCAT) added to my belief that this time Iam really really close...
Mock after Mock my scores were improving unlike 2006 Mocks which were fluctuating a lot...
Just one month before the Exam I went through some personal issues both at Home & Work (I cannot explain them now)..These issues were actually huge in magnitude for me to handle..I started loosing the three essential things to crack CAT , "Concentration, Peace of Mind & Time to prepare"..So many guys here came in support, tried putting me back to form, but I never realised I was actually drowning.....
But again I didn’t loose confidence..But CAT had something else to offer me as a proof for my over confidence....Couldnt do well in my strongest section..
Those 2 & 1/2 hours my mind wasn't working..It started thinking about all those problems I was going through along with the pressure to solve a tough QA section....
Came out dejected..Knew that I have lost the Battle...Didnt want to speak to anyone..was cursing at my own self for whatever has been happening & how I have given room to the problems to encapsule me which under normal circumstances would have been the other way round...
Felt really ashamed to step into the class to teach QA...Felt really lost and this debacle pushed me to look at XAT in way of taking revenge especially in QA & the results showed that with a 98.xx in QA...
Jan 8th
Results were declared......
Got to know my scores....
Was in office, couldn’t react ie didn’t want to..Reached home after loafing here & there...Was chatting with anupam at 1.00 AM that’s when I started feeling that pain..Tears started rolling down....The feel that "Bye Bye IIMs" was eating me..
Jan 18th
XAT Results day..
Site was not working...
Called up Harshad..."Bhai, GMP sae call hae, congrats"..I was actually Jumping..Happy Indeed..Thats fine..I have a call to prove something (Btw got a NMIMS call too)...Started showing that same old vigour..Felt that this call would be a rescue for the situation in which I was...

March 7th & 8th

Still rememember how Viggy was motivating me & pushing me & how the interview went...

Rest all history......

Looking at the whole thing, I feel Iam much matured than what I was in June 2006 when I joined PG...Iam sure, I will come back as the same old person whom you had met/known/spoken to..All I need is that feel, which will make me strong again , out of the cross roads..A feel, which will make me believe "Iam born today, Problems are of yesterday - before my birth".Iam sure with your wishes I will gain it....

In these 2 years I have learnt so many things about Bschools, Life in B Schools, Placements & what not (without actually being in a B School)...I also realised something called as true love from people here....I have no qualms....(atleast now), More than an MBA seat I have garnered the affection of so many guys here, which is more than an IIMA/XL seat.....

I actually enjoyed the whole process like any one here say 23-25 years of age..Competing with each other, pushing each other ...UDT actually has a place for me , 2006 - Member, 2007-Captain & 20xx-a permanent coach

As I always say, "Never give up for any reasons..You are just close to your dream"..Believe in your dreams, because those dreams belong only to you & you have the responsibilty to fulfill your own dreams.....

Never say'This is difficult I cant do"..No never, everything is possible (look at my own case)......

Never think PG is just a forum ..A Big No..Its filled with emotions & passions as what you have, its filled with blood & feeling, It smiles when you smile, it cries & stands behind you when you fail....

Most of all, never doubt your own self in whatever you decide in Life as its your life, you know it better..once decided never step back..

As far as me, I havent decided anything as I never decide things when my emotions are high/low..Will take some time but will surely inform my family ie you....I personally thank each & everyone who shared my pain, who came out with contingency plans, who believed in me more than I believed in myself & soon...

I wont thank PG as I am gonna be here for the next few generations to come....

Keep the faiths high


Ps: Watch out for this ID - after 20 years, "Formydad'sdream"- My daughter will come as a PUY yet again as Prem_Ravi 2

[prashant_iitiim]

I know this is a sacred thread but i feel i must post something about prem sir's post.Reading your experiences have brought tears to my eyes.Its a story of one man's battle against all odds... a story of sacrifice and dedication. A truly inspiring story for all, those who have achieved their dreams and those who are yet to do so because dreams never end. It teaches you that the one thing you should never do in life is to give up but to struggle on even if things dont go your way.
Sir, I havent interacted much with you but I have followed a lot of your posts on quite a few threads specially the way you have always encouraged the DT and the UDT teams and all the loads of good advice you have given us drawing from your own experience and from the bottom of my heart I would like to thank you for the truly selfless way you have worked for others. Proud to know you sir and i can guarantee that you are made for much bigger things than just getting into a BSchool,you just need some time to get over this disappointment and you will be back where you belong,leading people. All the best sir and continue inspiring us all.

[Dreamer_08]

I've read quite a lot of inspiring stories here.. but one thing i noticed quite common among all these was that... the ppl who have managed to get the sacred calls after a some tough yrs of struggle.. r those who had just missed the cut in their previous attempts.. i mean who just missed it by a small margin...aren't ther any Puys out ther who hav risen from low scores to great ones?? would be inspiring to read abt their struggle n especially their difference in preps of both years!!

Still the posts here r too beautiful for words!! some give u that strange feelin in the pit of the stomach... that wow... dreams do come true!!

Keep posting n inspiring ppl!!

[avinav2712]

Originally Posted by Dreamer_08

I've read quite a lot of inspiring stories here.. but one thing i noticed quite common among all these was that... the ppl who have managed to get the sacred calls after a some tough yrs of struggle.. r those who had just missed the cut in their previous attempts.. i mean who just missed it by a small margin...aren't ther any Puys out ther who hav risen from low scores to great ones?? would be inspiring to read abt their struggle n especially their difference in preps of both years!!

Still the posts here r too beautiful for words!! some give u that strange feelin in the pit of the stomach... that wow... dreams do come true!!

Keep posting n inspiring ppl!!

Well I'm not really a case of "rising from abysmal to very high" but thought that I could atleast throw some light as to what were the differences for me over the couple of times I appeared for CAT('06 and '07)......Sorry to test everyone's patience with such a long post

During my engineering, my father always used to tell me that you should be an MBA otherwise it's very difficult to do well etc etc etc. I didn't think it was true at all or had any worth(I still don't). His comments were basically due to the high packages that were given out, which I didn't really think of a reason at all.

I never thought about MBA. I was a purely techie guy, who used to like programming but was also keen on solving puzzles, number crunching etc. I got into a full fledged GATE coaching in my final year and ended up with a decent 95+ %ile but at this score, no IITs and for M.Tech in India, it's just the IITs or nothing.... But even before I got my result, I got to know about various aspects of technical study in IITs..... What all they study, the type of work they get etc... And frankly I didn't really like it, because although I was good at programming but certainly didn't want to do it throughout or looking at the bigger picture, didn't really want to be associated with software throughout my career..... So even though I was quite happy with my result(given the fact that I only attended coaching and didn't really study a lot myself), I decided not to give it a go again..... I had secured a job in the 3rd year through campus as a software engineer(like umpteen others) and decided that I'll take it up for now and decide after gaining a bit of experience.

Now, let's go back in time a bit. CAT '05(during my final year). I didn't appear for it but many of my friends did. After the exam, I just took the paper and spent 2hrs solving it, strictly following time schedule. To my amazement, I did very well(according to the answers provided by the coaching instt). Although it's a completely different proposition taking the exam at home rather than at the exam hall, but still that filled me with a lot of confidence(perhaps a bit too much). I felt as if I'd wasted a year.

Anyways, for CAT '06, alongwith my job, I joined a test series of a leading coaching instt. I performed well right from the start to the end, barring a few blips here and there. What I did was, every Sunday I just took the mocks, gave my everything, came back, saw those solutions where I went wrong and that's all.... Come Wednesday, most of the time, I used to get 95+, with many 98+ scores and an odd 90 or two. So I was pretty satisfied and to some extent, was a bit overconfident that I could crack it(I'd always said this right from my college days, but these scores just reinforced my belief). More so, because I beat my roomie hands-down. It may sound pretty lame, but many people do have this subconscious thought process.

I continued, took tests, scored quite high and was satisfied. Then came the C-day. I was pretty cool throughout the exam(don't normally have nervous bouts or something... quite cool that way) but still, the moment I came out after the exam, I knew that everything's been wasted once again but given my so-called confidence on my abilities, I still expected a %ile of around 90!! I don't remember my individual sectional %iles but my overall was only 79.62 %ile..... never ever got this low. And my roomie, well he maintained his status.... 91 %ile. Was quite disappointed but was pretty sure after that, I wanted to go for CAT again. I also took SNAP in '06 but unfortunately, I was down with fever and had to leave after just 45 min..... so didn't even check the results.....

Meanwhile, office life was getting to me. Didn't really had to do anything meaningful, but still had to slog. As I expected, I was a good programmer only by college standards and nothing more. For CAT '07, I joined the weekend classes of another coaching instt this time. I religiously attended their classes but again, the intensity kept fading every now and then. The good part was, after the '06 debacle, I was level-headed and knew that practice and exposure to variety of questions would do me good. Confidence is required a lot, but over-confidence..... not at all(you are bound to fall flat with it). Attended few classes, missed some but my performance in the classes was good enough. Enough for the teachers to look at me for almost every answer(good impression in the least time )

Mocks started, performance was not by anyway close to how I did in '06. I was consistently in the 85-90 range and every section hitting sub-50 levels at some point or the other. As far as I can remember, my lowest were
Eng: 54 %ile
QA: 36 %ile
LR: 45 %ile
Overall: 64 %ile

These figures were unimaginable for me in '06 but this time round, I took them quite well. One way of explaining these scores is that I experimented a lot in the mocks, something which I didn't do at all the previous year, only because I was hell bent then on maximising my scores. This time, I was looking at the bigger picture, not at the things in between. Not that mocks and their scores are unimportant. These scores did hurt a lot and I really kept thinking that how could I stoop to such low levels(I still had some of the confidence of '06 remaining, but thankfully, that was channelized well enough). Before every mock, I used to think about how the paper pattern could be and what would be my strategy. I also prepared a backup plan everytime, just in case I didn't think my main plan would work. And another thing, I won't start solving straightaway. I would give myself some time to go through the paper. These things I never thought about in '06 and my approach was thus, a lot different this time round.

I continued to get average scores in mocks, sometimes even poor. But I continued working on things, especially at home. Also, what helped was that I got fed up of my job and also realized that unnecessary slogging meant that I was not able to devote time for studies properly. Thus, left in Sep end and did quite a bit of studying since then. Didn't really study long hours(never a proponent of this) but ensured that I meet specific targets. My move(of leaving the job, with no backup) got a lot of flak from all quarters, including my father, but I was sure of what I was doing.

By the end of the mocks, I zeroed in on one strategy and one backup as well.... The two which have been most succesful for me, irrespective of paper pattern, difficulty etc etc. I came up with a bit of a different approach. Since my reading speed was decent and me being good enough at LR, I thought to combine the two . At the start of the paper, I thought to go through all the caselets in the LR/DI section and not solve them then, just read and see whether I understand or not. Then, if still some time's left(from the 5-7 min I kept aside at the start for going through the paper), I go through some QA questions, that's all. Then I continue normally, Eng, LR and then QA. I found this approach extremely helpful as I didn't really have to think a lot for LR as I'd already did a bit of thinking while reading the caselets. Although this is what I found helpful, it maybe utterly disastrous for someone else.

Come CAT, I again went in cool and this time, things were falling in place I knew I messed up in English just after I came out but overall I knew I did quite well. Appeared for a host of other exams and performed reasonably well overall. Here are my results:

CAT: 99.12(Eng: 66.1, QA: 99.0, LR: 99.37)
IIFT: 29.5 (cutoff 30.5)
MAT: 99.86 (799.5/800)
JMET: 1904 rank(qualified but very poor )
SNAP: 85.25
NMAT: rank 222(out of 38000, around 99.42 %ile)
XAT: 92.3

English did me in, else I should have been able to get calls from atleast 3 IIMs. Anyways, although I'm not yet a CAT-cracker, but still think that I've undergone quite a lot of change in my approach preparing for CAT and probably this approach would help me a lot throughout.

My learnings:
1. Strategize a lot, especially a day before a mock
2. Experiment a lot with your strategies. Try to find the right one for yourself by the end of the mock season.
3. Don't be afraid to try #2 above. Fear of failure is one of the biggest causes of failure.
4. Analyze your mocks but don't waste time over topics that you're sure you won't be attempting. Not saying that you leave out topics unnecessarily. Like I always found Geometry very difficult and didn't really put in a lot of efforts there. Just did the basic stuff in it. In the mocks, I read the geometry question, think for a while, move to next if I'm unable to solve(which is the normal case )
5. Keep a cool head. Nothing should bother you. As someone said, you have to be really cold-blooded to do well.
6. Be confident, but don't be over-confident.
7. Believe in yourself. The ones cracking CAT are not extraordinary beings. They become extraordinary because of their efforts. Anyone can do it, it's just a matter of belief, preparation and a bit of luck(although this part plays the minimum role)

[hameed]

In 2005 I happened to meet an old man, he was 95. In his 50s he had lost a part of his family and a hand in a train accident. A devout Muslim till then, he found his faith dwindling. And so he began his walk, he started from Kerala and walked for 5 years, stopping for rest and earning some money along the way. He traveled all the way by foot and reached Mecca. His faith forged, he returned home to serve the community. At 80 he lost his eyesight. At 90 he could see again without the help of an operation. At 95, when I met him, he strong as an ox and still serving the world.

My 5 year walk is but a stroll in the gardens in comparison to the trek to Mecca mentioned above.

---------------------------------------------


My 5 Yr Walk 2003-2008

Jan 2003, during my 2nd yr in BE, I was keen on doing my GRE. After a discussion with a friend of mine I was convinced that CAT would be the way for me. Its another matter that my friend ended up doing MS in Purdue.

Feb 2003 I registered for TIME classroom course. I knew I was not eligible for CAT that year but then starting early never hurt anyone. Classes were at 6 in the morning, and I was loving every bit of the prep. I can’t say I was anywhere near ready by November; my mocks were in 80s and confidence low. CAT turned out a disaster, and when it was cancelled I was happy and decided not to take the repeat test.

Feb 2004 I registered for IMS classroom course, and hooked up with a couple of guys Ram and Bobby who were in my class and were serious as hell about cracking the cat. Those days were awesome. As time went by and mocks came around the tension was unnerving and exciting. Ram introduced me to PG where we could check our performance in comparison to others. By the time October came I was peaking and got a couple of 98s and one 99 with balanced sectionals. 2 weeks before CAT my Bro contracted chicken pox and I was only one home to help him as I had my 7th sem study holidays going on. 5 days before D day I contracted chicken pox too. I was devastated, my dad suggested I give cat a skip and try next yr. I was adamant, and we landed up in the exam center. I was running a 100 degree fever, and the itching never let up even for a minute. I had worn full hand shirt with a buttoned up color and even a cap to hide my condition. During the test I tried hard to concentrate and was able to do DI and VA sections satisfactorily, but during QA fatigue kicked in and I slept for about 10 mins. I knew it was all over. I cried for 2 days, and then began studying for Sem exam. I wrote 7th SEM in an isolated classroom and got around 80% without copying.

Jan 2005 brought results, DI 96%, VA- 97.5%, then QA 59%ile..Overall 94.xx. It sure was over. MICA deadline was extended and I decided to apply. The GD/PI was in IIM-B. When I visited the campus I realized what I had just missed. I came back determined to give cat again. Ram had missed the bus too, so he was off to the US to do his MS, and bobby had no IIM calls so he decided on continuing his work and giving CAT 05. I did not meet them again.

March 2005 I registered in PG and found later that I had converted my lone call, but the response date had gone by and my seat was forfeited. Just as well, come May 2005 I registered for TIME test series. One of my best friends decided to take cat and joined me. But during June I got a job and I had no time for prep. I only used to turn up for tests and my scores were down right bad. In September I stopped prep and decide I will give it next yr. But I had already applied for cat so took the test. Got around 90.xx.

My friend who had joined me in prep had converted his lone K call and was off to god’s own campus. Meanwhile I was doing well in my Job and had even taken to writing. I had joined some writer’s clubs and was seriously deciding to pursue a career in writing.

May 2006 the CAT bug bit me again and registered for IMS classroom course. My friend’s convert had inspired me and another good friend of mine decided to join me this time. He was in Hyderabad, so our discussions were all on phone and we used to inspire each other. All this time I was doing the writing thing too and just to test the waters I was also writing to Dept heads of Creative writing departments of universities around the world. They had taken a liking to the samples I had sent and were ready to take me in. Some Univ’s had options for publishing my material if I joined their MA course. I was so excited that I stopped prep and gave my IELTS in which I did very well. In Dec 2006 something happened and I realized all of a sudden how lost in my own world, I had neglected my family and how I was being purely selfish in pursuing my dreams. I realized that in lower middle class families dreams are dreamt as a family and not as an individual.

Jan 2007 My friend got B, I, K calls, converted them all and joined B. As for me I took the cat too, its an addiction u know. I got 97 in verbal and 77 each in QA and DI. Overall was 92.xx. I decided to get back into the rat race and finish it once and for all.


June 2007 I enrolled for TIME and IMS test series. But my prep did not really kick off until I joined the BBLT team. I came to know some wonderful people who inspired me and supported be throughout. I met with Obsessed_bout_mba (Raghu) and we plotted strategy together. Special thanks to deep_agarwal, tanveer bhai, marijuana_user, justlikethat and the ever helpful HarshaRocks who really helped me during my low times.

During conversation with my friends in b schools and after a lot of self analysis I decided that HR would be my chosen field in MBA. So I decided to apply to XAT too this time. I also applied to whole host of colleges as I did not want to risk it.

November 2007 CAT came I was sucked in by pressure; I had missed one whole page of QA questions which had 3 doable ones. With 92 in DI and 97.5 in VA, QA again proved my downfall with jus 77.xx. Overall 95.35 – this got me IMT-G, MDI-HR and GLIM calls. SNAP brought me SCMHRD.

Jan 2008 I decided to chill before XAT, I partied hard for new years and managed to get sober enough to give XAT. I had given all my simcats in Stella Maris college where the chairs have pad on the right arm rest, this was very uncomfortable to a rather chubby person like myself and I had bitched about it on PG too. But I had gotten used to it, which stood me well as Stella became my XAT center and those chairs were more inviting than being a put off. XAT was a breeze, Jan 18 results came and I had 99.08 (split -95,96,97) and it got me both calls in XLRI and XIM-B.

I did decent prep on my own for GD/PIs and did not rely on and institute. I managed to convert GLIM but I forfeited the seat because I believed I had done well in xl interviews. I managed to convert xl-pmir and was waitlisted at number 2 in xim-b. MDI-hr waitlisted at 163. Scmhrd cleared gd but missed out on final list. IMT-G I skipped the GD/PI.

I needed 5 years not to crack cat, because I did not crack it even then. But I needed 5 years to learn what I wanted from life.

During the period of May 2007 I was really down and had taken to drinking alone and roaming the streets of Chennai on weekends. My friend who had made it to B called me up told me to “just give it one year, things will turn around”. It sure did, for in March 2008 I was with him in his campus for the MDI interview. It was there that I saw a familiar face, my friend told me he was a senior who had just passed out. He was bobby; my 2004 study partner. He must have made it in 2005. Sitting there I realized, that things happen in their own time.

I am eagerly waiting for my xl-pmir call letter to reach my home, to be able to tell myself that this isn’t a dream. For someone keen on HR I can claim to have got my dream course. My journey has just begun; I have a long way to go.

-----------------------------------------------------


The Old man died a few months later. The important thing is he did not die when he lost his family, he did not die on his way to Mecca, he did not die when he was blind, he died only after having conquered all odds.

To let go when you are down is easy.

Rock on!
Hameed

PS- I had to overcome a lot of fear to get myself to post here. I hope It has been of some use.

[utsavmamoria]

My story pales in comparison to the inspiring ones one might read on this thread. I was never planning to post on this thread. But After reading Hameed’s post and talking to him, he told me to write here for those souls who have a specialized career in mind. They mustn’t feel left out of the mainstream. I write this post for them and for anyone who wants to achieve whatever they aim for.

I can’t tell you how to crack CAT, because I haven’t cracked it yet. I can’t tell you what you should do to get a 99 %+. I don’t have any test acing strategies nor do I have any expertise in any field. But what I can share with you is my experience.

March 2003:

Gave my XIIth CBSE board exams and had done pretty well. I come from Gujarat where there is no entrance test for Admissions into professional courses. Admissions are based on the performance in the board exams. I never even bothered to study for National Level Enterance examinations and filled my IIT JEE and AIEEE forms just for the sake of it. The very next day after my boards, I fractured my right hand and the doctor said that it will take atleast 3 months to heal. I was unfazed , as the entrance exams never mattered to me. Took my papers with left hand.

Results: IIT JEE ..Kicked out of the screening
AIEEE: Secured a rank decent enough to get into NIT Surat.

August 2003 – April 2007 :

The best years of my Life. Found a wonderful group of friends and A superb Bunch of seniors . Whatever I am today, I owe it to these guys. I felt that I couldn’t have better Mentors and Companions in the formative years of my life. Realised the advantages of studying in a NIT.