[vikas.malik]

Imperfect Me

I try too hard to fit in
When I'm born to stand-out
I'm not comfortable in my own skin
My mind is in doubt

I wish I was invisible
Or that my love was blind
My emotions are visible
They're what I hide behind

It's hard to speak my mind
Because I know who I'm pretending to be
Maybe it's time to leave behind
The mask that's hiding me

My act only works on an crowd
And it's time for me to reveal
So I'll take off my mask and be proud
The real me, imperfect, and surreal


CAT Season I (2004)

Friends,

My CAT story starts in August 2004, when I was in 7th sem of my undergraduation. I got my placement and was chilling out.

Suddenly, one day I became aware that everybody else is giving cat and I must also give it ( Why MBA # Reason 1).
I also filled up the form, bought the CAT material. But due to lack of focus and laziness didn't even opened the material once. CAT day arrived, I got up and went to give the test and as expected there was no miracle.

CAT Season II (2006)

After college, I joined my job(present company) and did focussed on office work (2005). In 2006, when Life @ Office was monotonous and parents were pressuring me to study further or they would marry me ( WHY MBA # Reason # 2), I decided it is time to do something. I looked at various options and decieded to give CAT a good shot. So, I got hold of my sealed material and ripped open its seal. Then joined some quant brush up classes in Alchemist (Thanks Prashant and Ashu Sir), joined TIME test series and after umpteen hours of study and mocks, I sat for CAT.
It was nothing great and I was hoping to see some calls.


Twist in the story (bollywood style):

After CAT, I planned to go some outstation trip with friends. But it was not to be. I met with a serious accident on 300th november (bike hitting road divider while saving a direct hit with auto that was taking a U turn wihtout giving any indicator). Well, I was in near- comma situation for 6 days ( don't remember anything of those days). Doctor's did some serious face bone surgery ( Faceoff :happy:movie style). Well I was back after some days at hospital. Wasn't able to walk of talk for first 15 days, then was on liquid diet for 1.5 months and semi solid for another 1.5 months.

Back to story:

When I was taking rest at home, CAT result came and I had call form B and I. It was time to gear up. I collected all newspapers and magzines of last two months and started revising all that I could do. I gave interviews my best effort but it wasn't good enough. I was sad because my I's interview was very good.
B's interview was a disaster and main question they asked me was, " You have good acedemics, branch topper and all that, but here every student is like you. What is your speciality. How are you different."

PI process was a learning experience and eye opener.


CAT Season III (2007)

27th April (when result came) - 4th may:

I was sad and was trying to find a way out of my miseries. After accident, It was the time when I was able to think about myself and my future.Here I would like to thank my friends and especially Dr. Savleen, Anshul and Vaneet for their help, support and guidance.Well I have to be back and I was.

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

5th May: I was back and started doing all things that I wanted to do and that I need to do.
Gave GMAT in August: score 700 (nothing GREAT). Decided to focus only in India. Used Internet and prepared again for CAT. I would like to mention a name "TG: TotalGadha" here, they have some good material.
C-DAY came and it was okayish..nothing great.

was going thorugh GK and newspapers side by side, so no issues.
For GD/PI joined TG: kumar sir and sanjeev sir.

Different test I gave and corresponding calls:

SPJAIN (fin) - profile based call
CAT: L, MDI, NITIE, IMT, IMI, SIMSR, FORE
XAT: XLRI-BM, SIMB, GIM
SNAP: SIBM, SCMHRD
NMAT: NMIMS

update uptil now:

Final Rejects: SPJAIN, XLRI-BM, NMIMS, SCMHRD
Final Converts and not joining: SIBM (bang), IMT Gzb (FT), IMI, GIM, XIMB, FORE, SIMSR
Waitlisted/borderline case: MDI PGPM (WL 365), PGPIM (WL 48 )
Fee submitted: NITIE
Waiting: L (fingers crossed)

Have resigned from the job and is enjoying my notice period.


Learnings:

C-Day:

The most important part of CAT story (before GD/ PI) is how you perform on the actual day. In mocks, my percentile varied from 43.57 to 99.98, and out of 50 odd mocks, I missed cutoff in 70% of them. So, don't focus too much on mock score. Give it, analyse it and then MOVE ON.
At C-day, maintain your cool, pass smiles at people who are revising last minute farmulae at the centre and comeout with flying colors.

GD/PI:

About 3 lakh students give CAT test and out of them around 50K just give it (Season I) and another 50K don't put ample effort. So, competition reduces by 33% without you doing anything. (source: Vikasopedia) But in GD/PI process, story is altogether different. Out of around 5K calls to about 3.5 K people, 3499 are fully capable and very serious ( 1 might have an accident after CAT: Season II). So, competition is cut throat and you can't rest and leave anything for chance.
Don't grab 2 months newspapers and magzines after 8th Jan but do it daily. It takes only about an hour and mind you (TOI, HT and Delhi Times reading souls) reading and understanding Hindu and ET in last 15 days will be a difficult task.

PG and other Internet Resourses:

There are plenty of good site on net to help at every step of the process and PG name is the biggest of them all. But, I would like to say that don't spread clutter on it and don't post for the sake of posting. It will irritate others in the same way it is irritating you finding a good post.
Besides it saves time and energy of our overloaded administrators:happy:.

Best features of PG:
Thanks -- posts and persons (applicable only for females) you like.
Groans -- posts you don't like
PM -- If you need some serious and urgent help.

If you notice, I am member of PG since March 2005 and my post count has touched double digit this month. (though my sister alleges that I am too lazy for such things)

Utilise this awsome resource site in a better way.
Thanks PG and fellow Pgites for all the data, information that is here.

Balance:
you might have read it in many self-help books that one must find balance in his/her life. I am telling you from my personal experience that forget about next year, next month, next day or after cat, after interviews you don't even have next second. Do things that you like and do them now. CAT is important, but not the most important thing of your life.

Best of luck to everybody.
Cheers.



New Beginning:

Now that pressure of early marriage is off and I will start my studies in another two month's time. I will be away from my friends (will make new ones), out of my comfort zone, competing fiercely against the best of this country. I don't know what else is in store for me.
But definately, It would be totally different, much better than previous and exciting. AMEN.


Standing on the brink of a bright new beginning
I can feel the fresh new breeze coming to me
and I long to set myself free....

I see the river that I have to cross
and I see the bridge that can take me across...

I wish to climb,run and jump to the other side
leaving burden of my big bag behind.....

The bag in which I collected flowers, stones and some broken dreams..
Though it is dear but now it seems..

It is too heavy to take along..
as my destination is far and the way too long....

It has given me so many scars..
my shoulders cant bear pain of bleeding wounds any more...

I know for me its difficult to part..
but now my life needs a new start....

So here I drop my bag, flowers and my broken dreams...
and I wash my wounds with water of the stream

I see the sun shining and hear the birds singing...
standing on the brink of a bright new beginning........

I can feel the fresh new breeze coming to me...
and I long to set myself free... free...free....


---------
Vikas:smile:

[itz_me]

Delayed results, dirty politics in education and the sweltering heat of Kharagpur had taken away the last few bits of my resolution to study for my forthcoming semester examinations. So, on a saturday morning, with books open on my lap, but hardly even noticing it, I was browsing through the threads of PG when I came across this sacred thread. Impressed by the inspiring stories of many fellow puys, I thought I would write mine too. (Sorry for the long post.)

Thanks to the constant nagging of my parents, academics had always been my first priority. I had scored 91% in 10th boards, 95% in 12th boards. My devotion to academics, combined with the tremendous pressure from my surroundings, and a fair bit of luck placed me in the top 250 in IITJEE 2004. I took up Electronics in IIT Kharagpur.

Now that I had my future safe and secure, the pressure revived itself, and came back to me in the form of yet further studies. Of the options were a PhD and an MBA. Frankly speaking, I neither had any interest towards Electronics, nor did I have any reason for MBA other than fat paychecks. Then again, thanks to my parental demands, I had to seriously consider a further study.

I had been a pathetic student in IIT. I had this crazy aversion towards studies. I would bunk classes, study only on nights before exams, and quite expectedly, would end up with only average grades. So, I had to bid adieu to my PhD plan. Left was my job, or CAT.

Again, its very hard to study when you have given up the habit. I had enrolled myself in TIME, but would hardly attend any classes. I did try to attend some classes in the beginning, but the childish profit and loss and time and distance problems turned me off. I noticed that the problems practiced in class had hardly any resemblance to the problems in the actual CAT paper.

Only when the mocks begun did I start taking an active interest in CAT preparation. Active interest included going to the TIME center on Sunday morning and trying half heartedly to solve an AIMCAT paper. My initial mocks were pathetic, securing hardly 80 percentiles. I would fail to clear VA cutoff in one, DI cutoff in another, or both in some cases. To my utter surprise, I failed to clear QA cutoff once! Its really a matter of shame for an IITian.

My efforts improved in the later mocks. Not that I actually studied anything, its just that I solved the paper with some more effort. Still, DI and VA were causing problems. The DI questions were too tough to even touch, and I failed miserably in RCs. I couldn't even attempt the non-RC questions in VA, as all options would seem equally correct. At that point of time, CAT seemed to glide further away from me.

Then, finally, I started studying. I would go through countless newspaper editorials a day, timing my reading speed, and would try to summarize the passage with my own views and inferences. I would stay up late at night trying to learn new words. I would brush up my grammar. I would take the RC booklet and try to solve the questions. I would check the answers and would try to identify exactly where I went wrong. Similarly, in DI, I would solve problems, initially taking more time in the beginning, but improved gradually. I would try solving previous CAT papers.................

Blah blah blah .. STOP !!

I did not do any of these things. I was too lazy for them! My devotion to CAT would still be giving mocks on Sundays, and checking results on Tuesdays, hoping for an improvement.

Finally, in the second last mock, I cracked it all! I solved the RCs first, then DI and lastly quant. Don't know why, but as I walked out of the center, things seemed to have gone well. And they did, I got an AIR 1 in VA, AIR 5 overall! And for the first time, I cleared all the three cutoffs. Don't ask me how, its still grey to me.

So, amidst these ups and downs, it was finally 18th November. I walked in the exam hall with my predetermined strategy - 45 min each for VA, DI and QA, in the same order. As I browsed through the paper, I discovered the RCs were pretty short. But then, as I started solving them, I realized that I could not understand a word of them. More importantly, my concentration was failing. The exam pressure, the disturbances, the invigilators strolling up and down, asking people to sign and stuff - these all distracted me.

Nevertheless, I attempted 22 questions in VA, and left the rest to luck. Then DI, which seemed utterly easy, and I solved 19 questions. Lastly, quant went OK.

Finally, on the results day, I discovered that I obtained 95.34 percentile in VA, 99.3 percentile in quant and 99.97 percentile in DI. My overall percentile was 99.95. I had missed out on the A call by a margin of 0.26 percentile in VA.

Now, here I am, awaiting eagerly for the results, hoping to see something positive. What started as a casual routine stuff for me has now become so important that I spend my days glued to my PC, searching the news sites, forums and IIM portals for the slightest bit of information about the results.

I know that I am not the ideal person to advise any one about CAT. But I would like to state what I felt.

Cracking CAT is not the end of life, neither is failing to do so. Life is a long journey, and CAT is just a step. No one should feel too elated having got a IIM convert, and neither should one feel dejected to have missed out on it. There is always a tomorrow, a second chance.

And please don't follow my footsteps. CAT is a serious thing, and definitely deserves more attention than what I paid to it. Now if I convert a call, thats shear luck. But that should not be the target of any one. Hard work, perseverance and dedication are bound to pay. Luck, on the other hand, is a tricky thing. It could desert you twenty times as easily as it had embraced you.

Cheers, and All The Best to the CAT aspirants.

An update: I have converted my calls from C,L,K and would be joining C. Guess all's well that ends well

[diablorulez]

TO THINK IS EASY.. TO ACT IS DIFFICULT .TO THINK AND ACT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT

I was really skeptic about posting in this revered thread as I feel I am no where to the likes of people who post here. I don’t know if my story would be an inspiration for someone. But for me many of the stories here made me what I am today.

Before JAN 2007

As part of my background I hail from a medium class family. I was always good at science and maths which prompted me to take science. Nobody in my family was from science background and I suffered a lot from this as no one was there to guide me. I didn’t join any coaching insti for my IIT prep and prepared on my own. I was pretty naive and did all kind of blunders hence I ended up repeating the year. I joined a local coaching institute and to my bad luck they also turned up to be fraud. This I came to know just after my screening results. I was able to clear the screening but no one was there to tell me how to proceed. Wherever I went they discouraged me. On 15th March 2001 I cried and gave up all hope for IITs and started preparing for other entrance exams. That was first year of AIEEE. I took all exams and did fairly well also the state exam through which we get into NITs I got a very decent rank in that and was pretty sure to get into any one of the NITs . Apart from that I was offered civil at DCE. I left the civil seat as I was keen to do electronics engg. To my bad luck that year they scrapped of state exam for NITs and took admits through AIEEE. AIEEE was the first to give results and hence I submitted the fees in a deemed university I got admit. After further up gradation they were not ready to return my money also I was not much aware about how second counseling used to happen for other entrance exams. Hence I ended up giving up seats of great colleges like BIT Mesra, IIIT Hyderabad etc. and ended up with a not much known college.

However after this phase I put all my energy into my studies and was topper of the university. All the time I used to think may be sometime in life I will get what I deserve. Placements started and I ended up with a great US based company which many people desired of and I being one of lucky few getting in core Electronics Company.

During my college days I always saw people more keen towards GRE but I had something else in mind. There were few guys who used to prepare for CAT. They had made a group and used to discuss and do GDs I came to know about CAT through them. It really fired me from inside as I found out more and more about CAT.

However I couldn’t take CAT that year due to family pressure. MY brother had died last year and I was in total shock. I decided to take CAT after I join the firm.

Year passed I bought all materials needed for prep. My job started and I came to Chennai. The life changed totally after that. The time I joined it was end of July 2006. I was to appear for cat 2006. I couldn’t join any mocks because of my training schedule. It was pretty intensive also I was directly involved in customer projects due to sudden requirements. I was occupied with three things at one time training, project and flat hunting. In august. due to some reason in chennai people don’t give house on rent. Faced lot of problem and couldn’t find any flat for a month I had to share room in a lodge with three other guys. It was 1.30 hrs away from my job place. I couldn’t find any time to study. This went on and the D-day came. Same time I lost a very special person. I went under depression and as expected results came I scored 75%ile. I lost all faith in me.

Jan2007-Nov 2007

I finally decided to join CL. But I was not able to conc. much due to work pressure and the mental agony I was going through. I just used to attend class .never interacted with anyone. It was at that time I read prem_ravi post. It was that day I cried and promised I won’t let myself down. I deserve something and won’t let myself down I need all the things I lost to be back. Many times my 75%ile used to haunt me also my past used to let me down. I used to come and read this thread to take inspiration. My wok was still very hectic. It used to start at 8 in the morning and go on till 10-11 at night. By 12:00 AM I used to start my studies and till 3:00 am used to go on. It was getting tough for me as I was not able to study early morning and at night I used to feel sleepy. However I used to fight back by trying all sort of techniques which used to be like using amrutanjan on forehead and tying wet towel. My health started falling down but I never lost the hope.
Mock started and I attended time open mock and CL mock same day. I got around 50%ile in Time and 82%ile in CL I was shocked to core. I felt all my hard work has gone down the drain. Only good thing was VA was still my strength and I cleared VA cutoff of CL mock.
I read here that we should not be down by seeing mock scores. I carried on with my work. And every time I was getting better. I used to take two mocks and analyze them properly. I learnt a lot by analyzing and how to move forward. However still I was not able to clear all sections. This was continuously nagging me. Finally I decided to take leave from job. I made a false medical certificate and went home for prep two months before actual day.
While surfing PG I got this Rocky balboa quote which kept me going all the time

The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that

I used to do daily one test and used to take one section. My mock scores shot up. And I got my confidence back. My mocks were varying from 95-99%ile. But suddenly before last mock I scored 70%ile. This was a show down I started having second thoughts what if same will happen on the D-day. That was first time I came on SB and that day grondmaster and Harsharocks were online. They helped me out through that.
HR gave me the links of previous year IIM call getters mock scores. It really boosted my spirits and I felt a new energy inside me. With all my energy I revised everything last mock I got 98%ile all sections cleared

I was filled with joy but somehow was getting restless each day. The night before D-day couldn’t sleep. I guess it was an emotional affair. Paper came. It was on last year pattern. I started with my strength VA which as never let me down (always scoring around 95-99 %ile in that). This time per RC questions were less. One hour went I managed to do only 17 questions which were very less as per my performance. I was really disheartened took up DI and started solving. Easiest of all I couldn’t get in terms with paper. Half an hr was left and full quants was left. I felt I have lost it just managed to do 8 questions.
Came out no feelings.. nothing. Was just lost.

Dec 2007- Present

After this I came back to Chennai and met utsavmamoria through SB. And then the Chennai meet started that was my first outing in the year. I met many wonderful puys. The kind of enrgy and zest I felt it was never like that before. I used to personally loathe the place. But after meeting these people I found a new reason to stay there.Also to mention rajat (rmbt) one of the finest and balanced person I have ever met here. I got to learn a lot from him specially how to be cool. And crack GDs

Results came 96.65%ile with 95.34 in va, di-93.89 qa-88.72%ile .IIMs dreams was lost
However after a long time I got one single IIM call IIM Shillong.
Today was its interview and I felt this is the time I should write my story. I have converted few other colleges and would be taking one of them. I owe all my GD/PI preparation to utsavmamoria and his GTalk sessions.

What I learnt

• CAT: U gotta be cold .One should kill all his feelings towards it while attending it
• DOnt burn urself out. I believe in the end i faltered coz of working more than needed and in the end i felt saturated. It should be a balanced act
  
• CAT is not the end. CAT is the means of achieving an end. We often miss bigger picture
• While preparing for GD/PI I learned and realized it’s very important to know yourself. We should not be egoist one should fully acknowledge his strength and weaknesses
• Analyzing the mocks is the most important thing to do

x-x-x-x-x-x

While concluding, I would like to share a mail I got when I used to have self doubts. Hope it will help someone as it helped me. It was from utsav only

Hi

This is all i want to say

I believe that what you are going through we all go through at some point in life, albeit at some different levels.

It all boils down to the debate of Ends v/s means .The end can always justify the means. But each and everything you do may not be focused towards achieving the means.

Achieving the End is like the Tour de France. You may not win every stage, you may not always wear the yellow jersey, but in the end the one who endures and comes out on top collectively is the Winner.

Faith can move mountains. Just keep faith


p.s Converted IIM S. and joining the same

[abhay.doomra]

Hi all,
My story of CAT begins in Jun-July 2006, during my 7th Semesters....Me and my friend Bala(the.bombardier on PG) both enrolled for IMS. Till the time SimCats began I was not so serious about CAT and thought it was an aptitude exam with Class Xth level problems, how tough it can be. Then came the first SimCat, bala topped the centre. That was like a revelation to me, if CAT is easy for me it is easy for everybody, so the difference is just about who does the questions faster with more accuracy. and that was what schooling does not teach you. That is what you learn by practice and thats what Bala has been doing all along. I went into it, trying to make up for the lost time. I gave up attending classes(they were all free attendance), just studying one night b4 the exams and all that. I just tore into the BRMs, the Part Bs and the Part Cs. 2nd SimCat, bala again tops the batch, but this time I am second and not much difference. Now it was his time to buckle up and off we went, preparing as if there's noone else in this world ,if one beats the other he is guaranteed a seat in the IIMs and so on. We were constantly 1st or 2nd(I was 1st for 3 times in 8 SimCats and bala for the rest). We would work hard the whole day and then party in the night along with other friends. Nov 19th: D-day, CAT felt good, easy paper. QA was easy so forgot about the time and went on doing it for 70 mins...Attempted English for 25 mins and DI for the rest. I was feeling pretty good about myself, Bala said he had f***ed up english, but was hoping he could make the cutoff. The day of the results, we were at our homes(semester was over) I was not able to access any of the IIM sites, called up bala...he had scored 99.2%ile with 82 in eng, so he wasn't getting any IIM calls. I asked him to check out mine. 10 mins later, he called back. I had scored 100% in Maths, 95 in eng and a dismal 78 in DI with 98.7% overall. I couldnt believe it. There had to be a mistake, I asked him to check again. He said he'll mail me the screen shot. I saw it with my own eyes. It was a dismal performance. I didn't even get a call from MDI. and that was it. My stint with CAT 2006 was over. Bala went on to join MDI while I weighed in my options, decided to have a go at CAT 2007, and took up a job with Infosys.

CAT 2007
I started again July, this time took up a correspondence with IMS. I was in Mysore at that time undergoing my training. The first thing I did was take my previous year's paper and noticed my mistakes. They were stupid calculation errors in DI, and that too 5 of them. I felt like banging my head on the wall. Now what was done was done, I had to look ahead. I startted again. I would study for CAT only in the weekends and this time it was no more concept building, it was only accuracy and speed. I wasn't able to give any SimCats this year because of the hectic schedule. I just prepared myself, ignored all advice. Just went in knowing my goal and my way of achieving it. This was my goal and I knew better than anyone else how to achieve it, with the experience of the previous year under my belt. I got posted to Chandigarh 3 days before CAT and thus could go on a leave. I came Home and just looked at my mistakes. All I was thinking of was that I will not make any more calculation errors this time. It had to be perfect. I went and wrote CAT. Came back home, threw the question paper in my almirah, had lunch and came to Chandigarh. That was it. I was not going to brood over what I did or how did it go. Replied monotonously to all questions of how it went with 'good' and all questions of 'How much are you expecting' with 'don't know, I am not checking because I am superstitious'. Finally the day of the result. I had scored a whopping 99.90%ile with 5 calls.

If I were to thank any person on this earth for this result, it would have to be Bala. The healthy competition that he provided me the previous year had proven to be a boon. That competition had helped me make strong concepts and helped me enjoy every moment of my preparation. So every time I prepared it was like having fun.

Thats my CAT story folks, Hope you could find a cue for yourself.

[trakesht]

It all started with Yamaha R1

Being not very original, I will stick to the "this is my life story" format.
I guess my first 15 years of life wont be of relevance here...you wont be interested in my childhood crushes or breaking the window panes in my school

Lets wrap up the boring acads portion first

On class 10th I scored slightly above average and got into a particular college (pre degree in Kerala-read 11th-12th) which most of my friends were joining.
Surprisingly, inspite of my efforts in studies going down, my marks esp. in science subjects shot up without explanation.
The only option that made sense to me was engineering because of easier job prospects. Hence gave JEE 2001. The screening test was a total fiasco when I fell asleep and the concerned invigilator thought that I had fainted. Naturally IITs didn’t want me to get anywhere near them.

State entrance was the next and this was the only time when I really studied hard (which for me was putting six hours a day). The resulting results (!) gave me a seat in mechanical engineering at NIT Calicut, which also happened to be near my home.

Four years went past in a hurry..

Armed with the knowledge that placement companies keep a cutoff of around 65%, I spared no effort in ensuring that my semester marks never exceeded 70%

I could convince a automobile company to take me and July 2005 saw yet another engineering student turn to an engineer.

After doing some introspection and discovering that the financial incentives were not worth the efforts in getting anything more than average grade (B in our case), I decided to be an average employee (this was rewarded with three back-to-back Bs )

Discovered orkut and pagalguy, managed to get a job with computer access and three years again went in a jiffy.

But I digress

CAT was all thanks (?) to some friends
One of my roommates in Pune got an admission in Penn State for MS in 2006.This inspired me to give GRE in Feb 2006. A not so bad score (600+800) made me decide to apply to some universities for Fall 2007

A few months before applications started in 2007,I discovered the glamour of MBA abroad thanks to another friend who had given his GMAT. Took his GMAT book (Kaplan I think) immediately after his exams and read mainly RC.
Two weeks (and four hours of numbing cold in the exam center in Mumbai) later I had a decent 720 GMAT score. I was all set to apply for 2008 admission season.

That was when yet another friend got a call from IIM C.
This inspired me to, no awards for guessing, write CAT 2007.
Joined CL because at 1000 INR, it was the cheapest option,
Was able to cross 95% once in the 5-6 mocks that I gave.
(The DI and QA was super tough for me. CAT 07 quant questions were more like a joke compared to the fiendish problems of CL)

November 18th came. My only concern at the end of the exam was the long line in the men’s loo

The results surprised me with a 99.64% and LIK calls.

Interview preparations consisted of buying Hindu. After a few days discovered that the paper that I get was one day old and chucked it.

L interview was horrible, After three years of cerebral rot, had forgotten the skills which made me convert my last interview at college

K interview was good thanks to the interest of the panel in Tata-Nano project, which I was "working" on

I interview was decent considering I was under a hangover with 30 mins of sleep and half a bottle cheap whisky the previous night.

To be updated after results announcement

That’s about it..
If you had read the stuff above, you might judge me as lazy, aimless etc. Guess what, You wont be that far off from the mark!

I have read through some really inspiring posts from people who had overcome many adversities and the worst of them all self doubt
Hats off to you guys!
A good percentage of people here will be quite focused and WANT an MBA from XYZ college, and I am sure it is just a matter of time before they attain the goal

For the lazy guys and procrastinators like me out there (and only for them)... relax guys. Ultimately it’s just a degree and a bunch of colleges
If you want it badly, decide on the strategy that YOU think will get it there, suggestions from others will help, but ultimately you are the best person to decide the tactics for you
Think hard on why you WANT an MBA. Very few people out there will NEED an MBA
And life will go on. Whether or not you will get an MBA..
This may not be the best of "All I wanted to speak about CAT" but hey, this is my take :-)

Oops..forgot about the yamaha
One of my rare dreams in life is to get this bike.
Which require a spare million rupees in cash
Which require a high paying job..
Need I say more?

[get_amazed]

hello puys,
i posted some time back about how i am here in for MBA due to that one girl who has been fighting CAT since the past 3 years. Well today i am proud to write that i have converted or am waitlisted in every single institute that i appeared for in GD/PI.

I had been waiting for my SP Jain result, and with the 1st list out today I am at wl-12 in finance, and being a fresher i am quite happy to have got through amidst the more experienced people. I am joining IIFT however.

This performance has taught me one thing. Perseverance. Hold ON. SRk's recent dialogue comes to mind buddies. Picture abhi khatam nahin hui hai, picture to abhi baaki hai. Well dear puys, i dont know how tough the journey in this MBA is going to be, and how i will get through, but i will fare well in the end, that i am sure of.

For all those people, who have ever been to this thread and have regained the strength to give CAT or other exams, buddies, dont go for belling the cat, run the CAT down. And hold on. The days you would have spent preparing wont go waste. Study hard, study with a plan, and study constructively.

You will see through CAT and any other exams that you ever give. Give the exams, and give it hell before you leave that exam hall. best of luck puys, all the time, all the while.

[varun.ppl]

MY TRYST WITH CAT'07

I was one of the 2.3 Lakh aspirants who aspired for CAT this year. I started my "so called" preparation way back in January 2007. I remember the ironic date 23rd January, 2007 when i landed up at IMS,Barakhambha Road & enrolled for the Catapult Course. They said that why not join the APEX batch as your basics are clear enough. I said "Are u going to give me any concession in fees". My first Mgmt lesson.

The classes began with a big boom. My batch was like a mixture of all the indegredients. There were people from IIT's, from DCE's, english gurus from St. Stephens & it also contained me : an avg. Jack. Our faculty was pretty decent. The Maths teacher was too great with his humour & The English faculty had a demanding accent. Well she was a goddess for me as i was a sucker at vocabulary.

The first gyaan i got in class was in Maths remember squares of numbers till 100 & in English remember 1000+words of vocab. The first task was easy enough while the second was next to impossible for me. I was dreaded with oxymorons & stuff like that which became a nightmare for me. As for my vocab it was still :P

With my CAT bandwagon going steadily it was time for summer break for a month due to Semester Exams & etc reasons. I was happy that i was free. When i returned my whole batch had dispersed. Some had shifted to Mumbai, sme joined other batches & i was like a loner.

So, i joined a batch which had a couple of friends from my class of B.Tech. Now the party had begun. The month early July. Every Saturday & Sunday proved to be party days for us. After the pathetic class on Geometry & lessons on Game Theory & all crap on The Alchemist & The Fountainhead i found some respite in the Coffee we had. Sometimes we headed out for a dinner after classes & we were really enjoyin life.

Suddenly, one day it was declared that the course is over. you will now be having your Mock CATS(SIMCATS). I was struck by grief. My moments of pleasure had disappeared. I was awe struck that what have i learnt during these last 5 months or so. But as they say "Once Bad, always Bad". So i thought let the tests come.

They began & i scored. I thought first time lucky. Got 97%ile in First Mock. The next mock a bit low. slowly & steadily the D-Day was approachin. It was 18th nov, 2007. The venue had been decided at Hari Nagar, New Delhi. But rite now mocks were my priority. Though i was scoring in bulk in DI/LR, avg. in QA(Maths) but i was outrite poor in VA. I never managed to score above 70%ile in VA in my entire mock span of 16 Mocks. & my lowest was 40%ile.

The date 11th Nov, 2007. Last Mock , Lst Week bfore CAT. I said Bring it on. I was bambbozled by the paper. It was a shocker. I got just 88%ile. My trust in me was on thin ice. But i never stopped. Enjoyed a few movies that week. One of them "CINDRELLA MAN". I suggest everyone to watch the movie to regain confidence if u think u hv lost it.

THE D-Day. It was a grand day. Since morning i had received tens of messages of Best of Luck wishes. After responding to them & hearing some advice from my parents, i left home for the battleground. On reaching there, my legs were shaking. I was having goosebumps. But on witnessing the other warriors there my fears of defeat disappeared. I just memorised the good ol' days of my life & entered the arena. The test began. The seals broken. Now it was time for my pencil to do the talking. I started with my strength LR/DI. I realised that something was wrong wid me. 45 mins gone & i have just marked 2 questions. I lost my nerve. I closed my eyes for a min & took some deep breaths. Took the Quant portion & one by one the questions were getting solved. Solved 13 questions in 40 mins. Now took to the most dreaded part of VA. I was actually finding VA easy today. Solved 16 questions in 40 mins. I still had another 25 mins with me. Now i started with the back portion of DI. Man! they were like a piece of cake. I was flying through the questions & managed to solve about 11 of them in those precious 25 mins. But i knew the effort wasn't enough. I had fallen short. I reached home & told my dad that Maths was easy, english doable & LR tough cookie. My dad pressed on the power button of the TV & news flashed in the QA was difficult, Eng above avg & LR damn easy. I was in tears & i knew that battleground was lost. But still, i felt that i might make it. By evening the solutions were pouring in. Thru various institutes my scores were like this:
QA: 37
DI: 27-32
VA: 19-34
OA: 83-103
The cut-offs were being projected as 100+ for a single call but i had lost out in DI bcoz the cut-offs were way over 40.

I had to forget it quickly as the next paper was line that was IIFT. I gave the paper & i knew of my fate instantly that i won't b clearin it. The results too confirmed this in the next 15 days itself.

On 8th Dec, 2007 was the date scheduled for JMET. I took to it keenly but the paper was too much for my might & i ended up getting a rank of 3246. Didn't apply to any IIT as it was futile.

The next week was SYMBIOSIS which i don't know why i had filled up. The paper was awesome & i thrashed it. The score which came about was 82.5. I filled up SCMHRD but damn didn't get a call. I was loosing heart.

On 30th Dec, 2007 the last paper of the year was NMAT(Narsee Monjee, Mumbai). Another soft chewy paper & i expected something from it. I got 87 marks & a rank of 1616. I was called for GD/PI but yesterday after the final results i wasnt able to convert it too.

Now came XAT. The toughest paper. It was a disaster for me. With Verbal screwing me again & i getting a meagre 92.97%ile.

After just 2 days was the D-Day for CAT's result. I reached home by 3 & sat on the computer. But it was too cumbersome as the servers had crashed. Then, i received a msg from a buddy who asked me to get my score via SMS. did it & got this:
QA: 97.50%ile Score: 37
DI: 82.22%ile Score: 32
VA: 99.61%ile Score: 44
OA: 98.98%ile Score : 113

I was overjoyed but the thing is i knew that i had lost out on the most prestigious clg i.e. IIMs. Till evening i was trying to witness my result on the net but to no avail. Then, suddenly i got the way thru. The website opened at a snail's pace. I was cursing my service provider that whether he had provided me a Broadband or a Dial-Up cxn. I entered the details & pressed Submit.
The next page had an enchanting moment. It stated that i had got a call from IIM-Indore. Though i missed out on the other 5 IIMs but i was overjoyed with this solitary call.

Now, it was time to prepare.

[dhruv.dingliwal]

My Stints with CAT



Can't remember exactly, since when I nurture a yearning to pursue management!
My first sincere attempt in this direction was when I was in Third Year of my engineering studies, I wrote the First Free SimCAT conducted by IMS. Laga ki Sunday morning ka isse acchha kya utilisation hoga(Of course apart from sleeping!)
Aisi watt lagi ki kya bataoon!
Got the signal that lot of preparation is needed to make it to a good B-School. Asked Sapru(Siddhartha Sapru - a niece friend fondly called Bhalu ) to get me the cheap Xerox material from Chandni Chowk and it was really nice of him to agree.
And thus began my journey towards CAT. I used to take the material and study as per my convinience. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience!
Then in March, 2005 just went to PT Education to take a Scholarship Test (just apne aap ko test karne ke liye,... ki 6 mahine mein kuch seekha hai ya ....)
Eventually, ended up joining PT Education with a topper's scholarship and headed on toawards 20 November, 2005 the D-Day.
Sach kahoon to usse pehle kabhi nahin socha tha ki CAT'05 results ke aage bhi duniya hogi, with the results of Mock Tests I was assured ki I will make it to a premier B-school. But, then "Expect the unexpected" as they say of CAT... and I fell for the trap of Pattern surprise and ended up with a deplorable 95.15%ile in CAT'05 with no calls. Finally, got a call from SP Jain Mumbai for Marketing.. tried for it but couldn't make it.
Hence, ab majboori hai .... job hi join karna padega...
CAT'2006 was not a very sincere attempt, but yes I had tried and had expectations out of it.
I remember what Vinay Sir told me over phone that evening before D-Day, "Dhruv, koi pre-determined notions pe mat jaana. Cut offs ki fikar kiye bina, paper ko uske merit par lena aur ..."
Bas ek yehi nahin kar paaya , and CAT'2006 remains a harsh memory.
Now, I knew ki aise toh nahin chalega! I had to take things seriously... I wanted to perform like Mehul Agarwal( a Commerce graduate from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata now at IIM, Calcutta and a PHODU of highest level.)
Toh, I started working part time as a trainer for Quants and DI for CL, Chennai.
A month later, got a call from TIME, Chennai for the same and then, I started teaching at both CL and TIME simultaneously. I did so for 7 months and how... Khali main hi jaanta hoon!...
I am sure this would be really rare for someone to be employed with an IT company(Accenture) and at the same time work for two coaching institutes.... Those dreary Sunday noons and 3 consecutive classes at TIME, Adyar....
But, there was a lot to learn. And I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it... To break ice with the students in class.. Some were elder to me and were not very comfortable with me being a faculty..
As, I was gearing up for the final round of my CAT'07 preps, got an offer from PwC, Kolkata to join them as a Consultant. Tried to negotiate my joining after CAT, but couldn't make it..
So, I just joined... Jo Hoga Dekha Jaayega! Aise bhi CAT is all about those 2 - 2.5 hrs...

And here comes 18 November, 2007 .... Kabhi nahin socha tha... Kabhi nahin chaha tha... But, Life always reserves the best for you...

Now, 15 mins into the CAT 2007 paper and the invigilator came to get the attendance signature and found that my Question paper no. and the paper form no. didn't match the ones in seating plan... Confused.. she tried to see the question papers of neighbouring students and concluded that the question papers were mistakenly swapped by her between me and the person sitting behibd me.. She asked, "How much have you attempted?" Both of us said, "Quiet a few questions, Mam!" She said, "You write! I will enquire from IIM contact person.." 10 minutes later... she came and asked me and the other guy to swap our seats and proceed with the paper...
20 mins into the paper and such a nuisance,.. really irritated and annoyed me like anything... tried hard to concentrate, but could do only 15 mins later...
The results came... 97.7%ile overall with 92+%ile in all sections ... No IIM Calls....
I have converted my lone call from IIFT.. wanted to retry for IIMs and ISB, but, really not willing to anymore...
Will try to make the best for me at IIFT...
Tab tak ke liye........


Ek Zindagi hai...
Bas Ek Baar Jeeni Hai ....
Toh, .................................................. ........
.......................................




JUST DO IT!

[vishal_9feb]

CAT

This word ventured into my life long two years back.

May-2006

I was in Mumbai working in IT sector in big MNC.I joined TIME in Pune coz every weekend I was use to go to Pune.VA, DI and QA were three new friends in my life at that time.Prepared my level best.Then started with ever desired MOCK test series.I never scored gr8 but was in early 90`s range.
To prepare more efficiently, I took transfer to Mumbai centre coz travelling every weekend started taking toll on me.Prepared night days for dream of b-skool.

Nov-2006

I took CAT scored 90 percentile.I cleared IIFT and JMET.
I was waitlisted for IIFT-Kolkata and I kept on praying for that convert but it never happened.May be destiny wanted me to give another shot at CAT.:frown:

May-2007

I joined Time + CL test series in Mumbai.This time I scored quite good in both test series.

Sep-2007

I took transfer of my job to my hometown DELHI.Prepared diligently.

Nov-2007

Scored 97.1 in CAT.VA did me, but now I have no qualms for it.I prepared rigrously for GD/PI.

APR-2008

Now finally I am heading to IMT-G(Fin) for next two years of my life.I am very happy to get into dis coveted b-skool, which will be alma matr.

So race is finally over for me.If I see 2 years back from today, I am very happy where I stand now.

Things which I have learned during my prep has made me realized that failures can be as good teacher as is success.

Keep working hard, leave rest on destiny.

Karmadiye waadhikar ste, maa phalechoo kadatin.- said by Sri Krishna

PG Rocks and I would give most of my credit to ardent pagals of PG, who were always ready to help for any doubts during my prep.

[thebornattitude]

I failed,,,, I failed again.... CAT 06-97.94 ...07 -95.50,,,, after the results,,,, i was sitting all alone on the roadside smoking ....and thinking....." maybe i'll never achieve my dream , maybe this is the end to it " .

Then suddenly I saw an old man across the street trying to cross the road. The road was heavy with traffic, every time he tried...he failed. It went on for almost half an hour....I still dont know why I didnt go to help him,,,,maybe I just wanted to see something.....At last,,,he crossed the road ,,though putting his life in danger..... I was happy ,,,,,happy to see that he succeeded..happy to see his will to achieve what he wanted....

I was never a very ambitious guy....always craved for small things of happiness.....I did my engg from NIT Bhopal,,,enjoyed every second of it,,,,,studying came naturally to me,,,,,and never lost a moment to enjoy ,to the max ,with my frnds..... MBA didnt come to me as an option wherein I could gain lucrative salaries or posts.....I knew I will be good in it.....

I have always believed that one should do what one can do....

But why it happens that when one wants something so badly....he has to suffer to get it,, I have lost many a things in the path ......lost many frnds,,,lost many moments,,,,,but I dont regret,,,,because I know ,,,, they are with me, and will always be.....


Every night I stare at the star studded sky and in each star I see someone near and dear,,,,saying to me....." You can do it....... You have to rise....You cannot compromise.....it will hit you, make you pain, make you cry.. but still you have to win for us"

Even if it takes years to get to my destination,,,i'll wait,,, I'll rise.....I'll have to prove me to myself ....

When things seemed dark and hard and difficult to face,
The memory of some moments - helps me in my race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and down and all,
And all you have to do to win - is rise each time you fall.
"Quit!" "GIVE UP, YOU'RE BEATEN." They still shout in my face.
But another voice within me says, "GET UP AND WIN THERACE!"