[vivekkahn]

CAT...over the last one yr, I always thot tat wen i wud actually sit down to write this post, i wud have so much to say, but right now i dunno wer to start...
so i ll start from the beginning...

i have always been average wit studies, easily losing focus...
this over a period turned into a gradual tendency to shy away from studies at first chance given, like going out to play...
i messed up my 10th and 12th exams both, keeping first class somehow...
attempted JEE under parental pressure, but no real desire and motivation...even thou i hated preparing for it (main reason being the notion tat its damn enuf...tat its almost impossible to crack it), but tat prep paid off wen i fared reasonably well in AIEEE and managed to get into VNIT Nagpur, after a long time i felt good abt myself, tat i was somewhere i belonged, with like minded ppl...spent the best yrs of my life here...no parental supervision, nobody to answer to, absolute freedom...the downside i became more causal towards my studies...spent more time hanging around with friends...and this showed in my results...but i didnt really care at tat time...In 6th sem i realised tat i was just throwing away my life, decided to take control...sat for placements, got placed, fared slightly better in my last 3 sems...
Technical area was not really my forte, so turned my focus towards management...wrote xat and snap in final yr, no real effort, just went with the flow (evry1s writing, so even i shud), and well as expected nothing much to write home abt wen results wer out...Graduation done...

Y CAT:
Decided to give CAT a shot wen i was waiting for my joining date...filled up the form, joined CF test series, as thot Time was too costly () for an unserious attempt, wrote tests only on those sundays wen i didnt have anything better to do...

Decided to fill some forms (IMT, NITIE, SP Jain), as i thot i shud be able to get close to 96 with some effort from my end...decided to appear for snap, xat and fms...studied daily 1 hr at night, to keep dad off my back...only did QA, as solving QA was challenging, and fun...VA was not too much bcos of one time GRE aspirations...

My joining date came as oct end, so got busy wit tat, and then actual training, slogged a bit in last 10 days, in a desperate bid to fare decently in CAT...

went to b'lore, as had my center changed to b'lore...had fun with frnds on saturday...

D-Day...18 Nov 07...
reached my center (christ college) at 9 itself, had b'fast...bacame nervous wen i saw the crowd ther mostly evry1 studying formulae...
called my best frnd...tat guy is always able to make me feel at ease...talked to him till he and me both entered our respective exam halls...he basically calmed my nerves,...so went in there with no pressure, no expectations, just gave my best shot, and walked out contented...

150 mins (Take 1):
Had decided over some CF mocks, tat i shud start with QA, then DI, and then finally VA, with approx equal time distribution...
so started with QA, was too slow while attempting, so by the time i had done 14 attempts, it was almost 1hr 5 mins completed...a moment of panic...i screwed up...took a gulp of water, took a min to ponder over wat i shud do now...decided tat i shud do VA (vocab q's only) in say 20 mins and then proceed to DI for 40-45 mins (this was done so as to ensure i dont screw up VA by running out of time at the end)...did all VA in arnd 18-20 mins, told myself tat things are back in control and tat i can do it...moved to DI, with this confidence, attempted it for arnd 45 mins, but wrong choice of sets cost me some time...
then finished up the RC part, with just 1 qn left unanswered at the end...
and thus i got a contented feeling from CAT...:angel:

Aftermath:
calculated my scores acc to Time, was shocked with the scores tat i had managed, and tat it was acc to time arnd 98.5...thot Time was predicting too low...forgot all abt CAT becos of hectic training, appeared for snap, xat and fms also...fared decently well in first 2, and fms i didnt have much clue...

Jan 8 08: First blood:
Was in a training session wen i heard tat results wer out...so sent d sms, and biggest shock, i got 98.83...was dying to find out whether i had managed any calls...all my frnds wer saying tat i wud get 3 calls...

Got an IVRS nos for all IIMs from a frnd...finally got thru to L, it confirmed tat i had Indore, but ther was lots of disturbance and long pause, so i thot tat i might have more calls, after 3 calls, finally accepted tat i had I...

Birth of a little dream...
Since whenever I had known abt IIMs, never even in my wildest dreams had i ever thot tat someday i wud be fighting for a seat in the coveted IIMs...overnight my parents changed their perception from me being a gone case to i can get the job done...Infact so strong was my fathers belief tat i started to dream, tat i belong in an IIM, add to tat all my frnds, who kept on saying tat i belong ther, tat i can do it, its not beyond me...This is wen a dream was actually born, one tat wud one day be something tat wud change me frm easy going fellow to someone burning the midnight oil...

(To be continued)

[vivekkahn]

GDPI season + Results:
Enrolled with Time mysore, but due to insufficient no of students, attended GDPI sessions in b'lore. Eventually the enthu started to dip as training got more hectic, with regular tests every monday. After flunking in one test, I couldnt attend the GDPI sessions every weekend, so eventually started skipping weekends, and couldnt even attend the bootcamp.

I had an I-call, NITIE and IMT calls...When the GDPI season started, I had attended 0 mock PIs, and arnd 3-4 mock GDs..
First up it was IMT in mid feb. A fish-market GD, followed by a so-so PI, meant my IMT selection was diff, but ppl kept on saying tat due to a high CAT score, i wud still get thru...

Next came the big 1, my indore interview...my best GD and PI to-date...
NITIE...so-so GD, followed by so-so interview, negligible hopes...

Got rejected by NITIE a week later, still IIM dream was there...pretty got waitlisted by IMT, so it was IIM dream alone..wait for IIM results kept getting longer as the results were delayed to OBC quota implementation issue...finally when the results I was rejected, not even a waitlist...felt like i could cry all day...felt like i have disappointed my father again...finally at night i called my parents tat i didnt get thru...They told me not to worry, as IMT waitlist was ther...which remained just tat...
When i visited home in early june, i found out tat my disappointment was nothing compared to my dad's disappointment...i realised how much he wanted me to get into an IIM...I was back to being a disappointment (he thot i blew a gr8 oppurtunity bcos i wasnt serious enuf)...tats when i made up my mind, tat i m gonna make his dream come true...tats wen it became my dream...to get into an IIM...

Mission MBA:
June:
Gave a bit of thot abt my course of action, shud i quit my job and prepare in mumbai, with better resources at my disposal...talked to my friends, took their opinion, was still pondering over whether i wud be able to prepare alone, with job in Trivamdrum, when i read this "A dream isn't something u see while ur sleeping, its something which keeps u awake to work towards achieving it". These words really inspired me...
I made up my mind, tat i wont backoff and take the easier route by quitting, plus i know myself by now, if i dont have something to keep me busy, ie if only purpose of my day was to sit and study for something, then it wud be highly likely, tat must probably the enthu will fizz out in a week or so, after tat things ll move at a sluggish pace...Made a pact with myself, tat no matter wat happens, i ll try my best to study close to 2 hrs daily...

Started preparing for CAT...enrolled TIME and IMS test series...

July - mid August:
office timings made it difficult for me to make much time to study...had visited PG during my IMT waitlist period to know wat was going on with IMT...started exploring PG...slowly i started discovering wat an abundant resource was here at my disposal...so decided to do all I can on PG during office hrs, and study QA or DI 1 hr daily @ night...
based my VA preps purely on PG threads...then MMDT happened and i made some like-minded friends, found some ppl i looked upto...these things acted as a motivating factor for me...
Mock performances were mix-bag, but when I worked on some topic, I was able to do its q's in mock...Came to a conclusion, tat accuracy was my way for QA...Time management was a big issue for me...there was an inherent fear of DI (bcos of CAT 2007)...eventually tackled it in one of the mocks,and found tat it can taken care of, provided i give it its due...a decent time distribution allowed me to get my 1st ever 99+ %ile in Time...this gave me the confidence...I realised tat the battle was won more in the mind, then on the paper...I decided to back myself...approached all mocks with lot of confidence...I faltered on many occasions...but the reason on most of these occasions was the lop-sided Time management...so still managed to keep my spirits high, and set abt my task...VA on PG, QA @ home, and DI only in mocks...
The fact i was still able to keep my pact, sometimes gave satisfaction...

August (end) - September:
Eventually things got difficult, and I cudnt get the motivation for night study...due to proj work i used to return home by 11-11.30 and too drained to do anything beside watch tv...
But the point tat i had covered most of QA topics by this time, didnt let the frustration creep in...
Time to start writing additional mocks was here now...Started writing mocks on saturday and analyse them (which actually got carried over, until there was a scary pile in corner of my small room)...so decided tat i wud atleast analyse the sunday Aimcat on the same day or by monday EOD, so tat i can get any doubts clarified on Aimcat discussion threads...

My friends, always where there by my side, albeit only on phone, as i was too far away in Trivandrum (stranger in a strange land...)
They never allowed me to take the disappointment of bad mocks to heart...Helped me stay sane, when things werent going my way and work was frustrating...

October:
By now PG legacy (UDT, DT) was back, and i nominated myself for UDT, and got to be a part of this legacy, with a lot of enthu UDT was kick-started...found my new abode on PG...felt like an achievement at tat time...

The interaction with fellow members, discussing strategies, regular confy's were immensely useful, as in providing the insight into wat shud be plan of action for last 1 month, and all...
Simultaneously, on seeing ppl write 3 mocks a week, I tried to write a mock on any off day tat i got...fortunately october was a generous month in terms of tat...
so i was able to manage on an average 2 mocks a week...

But my life had become way to monotonous, office till 9=10, then food, and tv...this was making it difficult to get any enthu into things, and i was starting to feel drained...decided tat i needed a break from all this crap...

decided tat i wud go home (mumbai) for diwali, this wud give me the break tat i desired...

November 1-10:
Decided to prolong my break to till after CAT, regretted giving Bangalore as my centre...spent some time with friends, watched some movies...planned my time, wrote 3 mocks a week, worked hard the night b4 Qunatum of Solace was releasing, as next day was gonna be my day out...enjoyed with friends, QoS was gud...

Pretty soon CAT was just 1 week away...
They say save ur best for the end...it looked like i was saving my worst for the end...managing less than 90 in Aimcats 902, 903...decided tat i m gonna do well in my last mock, take this as a feel gud mock b4 CAT...

But time had something else planned, they dished out a damn tuf paper, and man was i found wanting there...(eventually turned out to be my worst performance for the season...)

Came home disappointed, came to know tat IMS had dished out exactly wat i wanted, a feel gud mock...So went to IMS and collected the paper...

Last week to D-Day:
wrote the paper on tuesday morning (11 Nov)...paper lived upto expectations..calculated my scores, and voila...my first ever 150+ score...was the confidence booster i needed...didnt even check my %iles acc to IMS..cos it was just wat i needed b4 my D-Day...

(To be continued)...

[arunxav]

Hello puys,This site just rocks..This is my first ever post in this site but have always kept track of things going around for a long time now..K the CAT08 results are going to be out in another 27 hours and hell i dont know what else to do and hence thought of living through my CAT journey..Though i havent got the results till now i think puys wouldn't mind me posting in this forum..K coming to my story, I am a guy from Madurai and after getting 89% in X std i was literally broke up and was crying all through the result day since most of my competitors (especially girls) got very good score. The neighbours who came for congratulating me were stunned after seeing me crying. I still laugh at that day now.Anyways i am telling this bcoz this was when i started building up my determination to excel above all in XII and in LIFE. The whole year i dint watch a single movie and almost forgot what is known as time pass. And finally when the results came i got 96% and only centum from our school in mathematics..i was completely elated and kept telling to myself hard work never goes waste. After this i literally wasted my time playing cricket bcoz of which i screwed up big time in engineering entrance.( My father always wanted me to become a doctor but i just hated the smell of it) Now after the results came, i wished doing aeronautical course in Anna University, chennai but all i could was to get into the best college in Coimbatore in BE mechanical thinking that i would do M tech in aeronautics just out of craze..But the college life truly changed me inside out.. As i was a very tall guy i got into NCC(C certificate holder now) and college hand ball team (national player now).. Our college is very famous for the student organizations.. and extra curricular activities, the very first day when i saw a mech student sitting in blazer in the podium during our induction day as the chairman of students body i got inspired and dreamt of a day when i can be sitting there. The college life was a roller coaster ride and i came out of college with a lot of friendships,and as the chairman of the students body. though its tempting to write much of it i am restricting myself and now starting my CAT story..During my third year some 4-5 of my classmates had joined ***** institute for CAT prep..One of my best friends also joined..I dint know wat was CAT wat was IIM but since my friends were speaking great about MBA and one fairer sex i too joined.. I attended something around 20% of the classes since i used to be held up very much bcoz of my college activities..There has been days when my college gets over at 4:15, going to NCC from 5:00 to 6:00 and playing hand ball from 6 to 7 coming back and again leaving to college from 8:30 to 2 AM taking volunteers for some work or the other..In the class though i was very lazy sometimes i was able to solve very difficult qns in the simplest of ways and in far lesser time than others.. the looks in the eyes of others initiated a spark within myself and it was something that i have always been nauseated with. I decided to give CAT my best efforts. Then comes CAT 06 wherein i attempted with just 1 week of prep(dint have much of a time since i was the chairman during that period). On the D day i felt good after finishing Quants and Verbal but due to over happinessi committed major blunders in solving DI qns and finally wen the result came i got97 percentile with>94 in verb and quants but a meagre 75 in DI. I cursed myself that day but it gave me the confidence that i can excel soon.After my engg i was placed in a software and another a core company in Nashik.I decided to take up the core job after my friends advice that it would help in mba. Anyways started prep for CAT 07 for 1 month since i had decided to have a go at CAT 08 and was determined not to let my percentile in the downside of 97.I prepared a solid 5 hrs a day after my working hrs. I was able to manage 99.53 percentile with 99.56 in quants, 99.36 in DI and another meagre 75 in verbal. I knew that it was difficult for me to clear english cutoff after the exam but was expecting some sort of miracle to happen but it dint. And finally i dint get a single call. I dint cry i dint repent i just took the lesson out of it never undervalue any section( i had given only 35 min for verbal that time) and that i can be an IIM graduate..So started preparing for CAT 08 like its my last try from february 08. I joined with correspondence course of another institute and on an average was prep for 4 hrs a day right from feb till nov 16 08 and a near 0 hrs during weekends ( i think u know what i would have done during that time, like every other guy i just used to -"sleep" nothing else, please believe me) In the mocks, i started with air 52, touched down earth and towards the end got air 56. My performance was perfect U shaped. The day before the D day i was just reading old novels( i was a fast reader) and hence finished off two. Then came the D day wen i was at the exam centre 2 hrs befor the exam. After seeing that 160 for verbal section and 100 max for DI and quants i felt butterflies in my stomach thinking back my poor performance in CAT 07 verbal. Anyways leaving my faith in GOD and started solving and sailed off smoothly. After the exam when i reviewed i came to know that i had attempted 12 each in DI and Quants out of 25 per section and 25 out of 40 in verbal. I thought after seeing the number of attempts of others ,and expected score i just felt my heart break and started ****ing that afternoon itself And after a good sleep woke up in the eve and checked out the keys wherein i got 11 out of 12 right in quants, 12 out of 12 right in DI and 17/18 right out of 25 in verbal. It was a wonderful feeling from then on waiting for the results, expected-DI-44, quants-43,verbal-60/65 and overall-147/152. I just pray to God that the results doesnt come as a shock for me tomorrow and puys please pray for the same.I was packing my bags yesterday since i have resigned my job and tomorrow(jan9th,09) is my last day in this company when i arranged all the books and papers that i have gone through in the last 10 months. when arranged vertically it rose above my knee and am 6'4"!! it gave me a smile on my face remembering the effort that i had put in. I just have a nostalgic feeling for writing CAT and would just say that it was an extremely good 3 years experience chasing CAT.Whatever turns out tomorrow i just want to say I love this wonderful earth, our country, the CAT and this addictive site. I started off this post thinking of nothing in my mind and have just posted my feelings and experience. I will again post in this forum soon if i make it(read IIM) for helping the future aspirants with some tips and if someone finds going through this post fruitful.
I just wanted to communicate that i have got 99.68 overall with BLACKI calls..

[str1der]

HOW CAN I MISS ALL CALLS WITH THIS????



TR Number 6250569 Application Number 157638
Name ANKIT SOOD Date of Birth 29/03/87

Test Section Score Percentile
Section - I Quantitative 44.00 (out of 100) 97.84
Section - II Logic & Data Interpretation 29.00 (out of 96) 86.65
Section - III Verbal 85.00 (out of 160) 99.79
Total 158.00 (out of 356) 99.78

Xth 93%
XII 86%
BE 67% (6 sems.)

Plus one more thing, I am running my own startup for the past 12 months, but I cannot include that as work ex. as it is not full time! F*** the IIMs It is rightly so that they are not included in any rankings of business schools all over the world, while ISB is ranked 20 in the worl on financial times. They take the overall eprspective. Students should be uploading individual applications to IIMs not like this.

Does the IIM mean to tell me, that I, as a student entrepreneur suck at work ex, while someone who worked 20 months at a company can be better than me? I am not saying they are not, But I never got a chance. This sucks, and no matter what any IIM student has to say, the admissions policy this year is very confusing, totally non transparent and not worthy of the tension of 2.6 Lakh candidates. Truly disappointed with the 'pinnacles of indian management education'

Ankit

P.S. -> One guy got a call from IIM-I at 99.7 oa, VA 99.1X QA 99.2x and DI 84.XX, no work ex, lower acads than me. Please justify that! NO 99.9X for him

[reachmonil]

Originally Posted by str1der

HOW CAN I MISS ALL CALLS WITH THIS????

Its quite understandable that you are thuroughly disappointed at the turn of events. But, venting out your frustration on the forums with posts flavoured with a few f**ks and s**ks won't help, will it?

Like you pointed out in your post that you know of a guy getting a IIMI call at the below mentioned percentiles, try getting his TRNo. Then, write a mail to the admissions team and/or dean of IIMI with his and your TRNos. asking for their persusal on the discrepancy and what could they do in their capacity to resolve the same. Infact, why just IIMI, send a mail across to all IIMs, no harm in doing so.

I did the same a few years back when a top-notch institute didn't call me despite a 99.81%, and believe me, it helps.

PS: You choose the wrong thread to post your query.

[jatschhabra]

sxjhbdjzssdfsed

[cat.ka.maara]

Originally Posted by jatschhabra

Well, this is my first post on pagalguy. Never thought that I would be writing my first post with such a grim face and a remorse and grief-stricken heart. But then thats life. Not everything comes out the way we want it to. I always used to read this thread and get inspired. My preparation for CAT started way back in Dec 2007. Things began well and with a lot of enthusiasm and passion. Was well on course till March.

i like your jeal. make it next year.

But dude you did not deserve to get in this year and be happy that u did not. no offense meant. i teaches u a very imp lesson and the thing i wanna tell is only duds are so very dependent on girlfrnd and bf. you lost one yr of your life because of a girl who leaves u when u most need her. full proof that you are stupid and that u did not deserve to be a manager at dis point.

As I said earlier you are stupid for me and thats y i didnt thank u.but i hope that you realize that you were lucky to face it early in life. when you have the time 2 correct it. and when u can repair d damage without much loss. hope you get the Stupid tag off you by next cat.

P.S.- moderator- i may be abusive but this is my true feelings for ppl who are so very dependent on their partners. relationship r meant 2 go ahead not lag behind. If i am breaking any rules plz delete d post.

[anir-iim2005]

Originally Posted by cat.ka.maara

you lost one yr of your life because of a girl who leaves u when u most need her.

Excellent mgmt. lessons, dude. Very well written. But I would suggest some RC skill improvement lessons for yourself. Reason -

My girlfriend of 2.5 years left me( for dying).

Did you read this sentence carefully before posting the comment?


This thread is not for these kind of discussions, so I will stop here. But be a bit more careful before posting such remarks.

[John_Galt]

CAT...ahem...good old friend...good old old foe

My story started with CAT'03.I was in my final year of engineering,yet another IIT missed call case.Wanted to prove my mettle.Wanted to show everyone just how good I was.An M.Tech didn't look too glamorous.So embarked on the journey taken by umpteen engineering souls:CAT.

I knew I had my way with verbal.Not to say that I was particularly weak at logic and quant or something,but my logic/quant scores always followed a very famous trend:randomSo it was quant 99 and di 70 for me in one mock and just the reverse next time around...:rockedov:

Anyways,somehow practiced 1892829238 mocks to make sure that things fall into place.They worsened.

Someone advised me a time tested solution:booze and sleep.I gulped a litre of whiskey,slept for 7 hours,woke up,ate and slept for 13 more.When I woke up,I felt ten years younger.My mind started to race.My mock scores improved.

I did decently on D-day,scoring 62 odd as per keys.Quant however,played a small trick again.My coach,however,thought I'd land a call.I thought he was out of his mind.

Results:98.6 with 88 in qa..a call from L...no MDI no NITIE.I called them up and asked why?They said they didn't entertain less than 90%ile in quant.Gosh...I wonder why I hadn't taken care that a mod is always positive and that the angle in the figure sure looked obtuse

Attended L gd-pi.I had a cough problem and was on a drug that was also used to tame elephants in heatCould'nt speak a word in the gd.In my PI,they looked disgusted.I looked flabbergested.Sure as hell,I was kicked out of L.And it did happen.

Now the same story repeated for four more years,with only the institute that the panel represented changing each time.In the midst of it,I had been into four different projects in my company,had given a futile attempt to patao five girls,and six of my friends had passed out of IIMs.

I also participated in the CAT retest movement in 2006 when due to paper errors,I screwed up the test.We lost the case against L I also saw an FMS waitlist never converting itself.And the icing on the cake,I recieved AIR 19 in the All India category for MAH-CET.The All India seats in JBIMS were,well,18And yeah,IIFT had already rejected me twice,a feat I was to do an encore to soon

I said:the hell with MBA.I got myself into a client centric role in my company.Also did a lot of independent work with my friends who had succeeded in their entreprenial ventures.Had a hell lot of fun!!But somehow,that stupid bug in my cranium said:Write the exams one last time!!

"Okey wise guy" I said.I enrolled with a coaching institute where I basically enjoyed myself I was certain on one thing:I was not really gonna run after MBA now.

CAT came and went,and so did quant again.I didn't bother this time.I got some 95 odd in SNAP,the cutoff being 82.The only problem:I forgot to fill SIBM and SCMHRD formsDid really well in FMS and was sure of a call.Eventually missed it by 0.4 %ile Was sure of getting XL-PM and IR atleast.Had a 98.6,but not the call.

Fast forward a coupla months.I had converted XIMB,and had resigned from my job.Now the same old result awaited me that had ditched me by 1 rank last year:JBIMS.Had some serious unemployed fun till the results.And had fun when they came out too.I had topped the All India category this time,and had recieved a 39/40 in gd-pi.Well,I thought that the gods were always pushing me towards JB.Joined here,and have loved every moment here ever since.

As I look back,I identify two distinct things:
1.I could have done a few quant questions right and could have been a four year old IIM alumni for all you knowOr I could have gone into IIFT or FMS or JB itself a year ago,had a few things gone my way.But there sure is something called destiny,and I am too lazy to keep challenging it all the time

2.I could have gone for national level bodybuilding(I have competed at state level).I didn't.I could hve saved my relationships.I didn't.I could have made my college and job days more memorable.I didn't.Why??You all guessed it right..

Reflecting on all that,and seeing all this tension,stress,heartburn regarding %iles,calls,sectional cutoffs...blah blah blah that people face,I have a very simple advice:Enjoy what you genuinely do.Discover things you really love and practice them.Don't burn yourself out on what is,well,just a test.Don't buy too much into the "top institute","hallowed portals","lifetime achievement","proving your worth to the world" slogans.They might give you an adrenaline rush,but nothing is more satisfying than normalcy.

And yes,be wiser in your reason for aiming at an MBA.Learn about companies,their strategies,their marketing/finance/operations/hr....related plans and policies.You might do some entreprenial work if you want.Try and do some work with NGOs.Maybe trade on the stock market(It's a good time to buy).In the end,all your big B-shools are institutes that teach how to run a business.You might do well to have a first hand experience..

[himanshu6188]

Ok... i know i am a bit (no, too) late to post here, but i never noticed this thread, i am a newbie pagal u see

So... where do i start from?
Flashback: 2005: (anytime u get bored reading this, skip to 2008 )
I am preparing for my engineering entrances, didnt work as hard as my mates... regularity required for IITs is missing, managed to clear screening but failed to qualify mains. AIEEE - rank 9k , where a 6-7k would have got me through to a good NIT atleast (i am a delhite, n 4yrs back, due to state reservations in all NITs, 9k wasnt good for a delhite, today, it is a decent rank), DCE - 1100, once again, missing something respectable by a whisker, i could have studied in DCE, but environmental engg as a discipline turned me off, 2 more ques correct, n i would have secured a seat in mechanical. The only thing i am left with ... Indraprastha University (IP) (i know many of u reading this havnt heard the name) n that is the very reason i am confused... should i drop a year, coz people around me say i have got the brains, i just need to work harder... or should i study in IP n save a year. :sad:
Then some expert feedback went like when u have to go for an MBA later, it is the mba college only that will matter after u passout from there, so dont waste a year.

After putting a lot of thought to everything, i decided to go with the 2nd option... fine for now i will compromise, but 4 years later, will come back with a bang... will show everyone around what i am capable of... wont take things lightly as i did in the past 2 years
so i am currently pursuing B.Tech in CSE from IP university

i am the topper of my batch, n have been a consistent performer in all 6sems so far

2008
I joined a coaching institute n worked hard (n smart :-)) was doing well in the mocks (sims) n i had already started dreaming of IIMs... L,K,I started to seem within reach
Vocab n grammar posed problems, but i managed to perform respectably well in VA through Jumbled paras, FIJ, RCs... quant was good n DI was great... n this made me fix my attempt order: DI, RC, VA, quant


D-Day (16th nov)
The instructions came as a shocker... more weightage to english!!! I am doomed... (I found out that 40ques, section 3 is english coz when i flipped the ques paper, i could faintly read the ques of the last page which were clearly from RC) n i decided to keep my strategy the same, 50min for VA, n wont give much time to RC... one of the poorest decisions of my life, when decision making mattered the most!

I started with DI, was overwhelmed by the changed pattern, n was nervous as it was my first attempt... my hands were ice cold... out of the first 6ques i attempted in DI, only 1 was correct... then i started to settle down slowly, after DI i moved on to VA... too many vocab questions, but i still tried to attempt as many as possible, attempted 2 RCs n was left with only 45min, so had to leave the other 2, (u know all 4 RCs were simple, especially for a guy with poor vocab, attempting the RCs was a better option). Quant went average, as always

I returned home, n was shocked to see the keys...

QA : 48 (13c, 4i)
DI : 63 (17c, 5i) yea, no incorrect ques after the first 6
VA : 33 - ims, time (11c, 11i)
28 - CL (10c, 12i)
Total 139, 144

All IIM dreams seemed shattered after pathetic show in VA...
there were 2 controversial questions out of the ones i had attempted... 1 was a fill in the blank, 1 was based on multiple usage... according to ims, 1 was correct; n according to time, the other... CL said both were incorrect... in case both were correct, my score would rise to 38 n i could dream of IIM I,L, a far fatched one... n started literally praying for this...

CAT RESULT DAY

The cat answer keys were out (n i couldnt find the result)... scores in quant n DI were same... but... i was confused on seeing the VA answer keys... the score turned out to be 48!!!!
I didnt trust these scores, both the answers were correct, but the score should have been 38... i checked n rechecked... so did my brother (SP Jain alumni)... n then I carefully started comparing the answer keys... what i realised was that 2 other questions, which i assumed to be incorrect, as announced by all 3 dependable institutes, turned out to be CORRECT!!! :angel:

So here is what the actual picture turned out to be when i finally opened the results post midnight:

QA: 48 98.72%
DI : 63 99.95%
VA : 48 94.9% :1eye:

Total : 159 99.8% :2gunfire:

Calls: IIM A,B,L,I,K

I was overjoyed, woke up everyone at home... n we had a mini celebration!!!
It was like a dream.... my first post was in the MDI thread after i checked the answer keys of the institutes, n i asked what chances do i have to get through (with 33 in VA), n the reply said that VA may play a spoilt sport... i had made plans of going for CAT 09... of course, they had changed in a matter of a few hours on the result day.

N the story aint over yet... i need to toil hard to convert these calls... but i have come a long way from zero to 5 IIM calls in a single day.

N my message to everyone reading this post is that dont be disheartened by ur past... work for ur future... take ur past failures as an inspiration... have the attitude that u can change everything.... and u will rock!!!

and those who are yet to begin preperations, plz dont ignore vocab... read a lot, mug up the word lists... remember, vocab is 1 of those areas where the improvement during preperation can be maximum

Will post after i get my gd-pi results... hope to get through
(to be continued)