All I wanted to Speak about CAT - Page 40 - PaGaLGuY.com - The Everything of MBA in India and Abroad, CAT 2009, GMAT, XAT, MAT

madhulikasambit · **Re: All I wanted to Speak about CAT -** 18-01-2009, 04:00 PM

Well i may not be the winner in the CAT race but i am really happy with my performance. i dont know whether this story will be an inspiration but this would be what i wanted to tell about CAT

2007 OCT
it all started as fun ,when i stared at my college notice board with alphabets resembling JMET..i never knew wht it was but just bcoz friend were filling up the form i thought of giving it a try for fun.. this was my final year of engg.. i was happy with my placement in wipro and a gold medal as a feather on my cap for my excellence in field of biomedical..
2007 DEC
i gave the exam in baffling two hours .. with a disastrous score which fetched me a far fetched rank of 10,000.
never bothered it... was seriously planning for filling up my pockets with the money i would earn from wipro.. days passed by finally i became a betech graduate with 9.53 CGPA this was the month of MAY 2008

2008 MAY
this is the most historic month when one of my friend who got admission in IRMA called me up to her hostel to share few things...
these things were none other than the most coveted T.I.M.E material and past2 yrs mock CAT papers.. she was the one who initiated spark in me and asked to make my life purposeful and not waste my talent off..

i came back home enrolled with T.I.M.E for mock cats.. and it was the first feeling when a sweat just rolled down my brow.. i scored -2 in DI ...
whole paper was greek and latin.. i was weak at 11th and 12th maths as biology was my major and took an year break for medical prep so quant was gone case too...
2008 JUNE
started up preparation haphazardly by solving one mock cat paper for 2/3 days as my concepts were weak
2008 july
then came the advertisement for CAT 2008.. and it was sunday my mock cat was worst of the season with mere 44.4 percentile score.. i decided to take formal crash course.. hence packed my bag for bangalore
2008 AUG
the classes started morning 7 to 9 am ..
i could see all aspirants with work -ex i was sorry for myself as till then there was no call from wipro and even i became lazy not looking out for a job.frustration was mounting up.. constant pressure was built up from family side as to perform it in this single shot else to look out for a job and get married .. second option i couldn dream of :-x so it began
1.7 to 9 am class
2. 10 to 12 quant from time material( i had to learn from basics .. even had to learn from my 11th std baby sis)
3. eating sleeping watching tv reading news paper
4. 3 to 5 pm DI/lr
5. night time used to be waste of time mostly with my cousins
could see improvement in quant score and di too both above 90 percentile
2008 oct
i could sense my two section beign stronger but my english going to the negative side.. it was late and my efforts to english were low... then started mugging up word power..no use though.... crramming grammer which didnt help... i lost confidence.. then got an idea of storing my daily performance in an excel sheet and it started to show up the lagging area ,the time i wasted ..everything... byt this month when everyone on prepared i was struggling with english
somehow i used to give as many mock test as possible to keep my confidence level up...
nov 16 D-DAY
pretty cool ..with my prep but was worried abt english.... looked at the paper hot a shock og 40 qs in english... became nervous and managed to score 104 with qa-96.53 pc di-90.2 pc va-86.7 pc oa-104(95.71 pc)
this would fetch me no calls but atleast i know where did i lack in... now i have applied for jobs rather than wiling away the time.. i know how to go ahead... we need proper planning and structure

please puys(newbies) if u happen to read this plan 2 months to grab all the concepts... better late than never
devote atleast 2hrs a day it will do... an excel sheet to log in ur daily studies will always help u in accessing ..never ever concentrate just on ur strength try to convert ur weakness into strength as i did for my DI.. never lose hopes... try and try... never give up under any circumstances... hard work will really win and i know i will win and next time i write here it wioll be a success story .... :snipersm::snipersm:

hvharsha · **Re: All I wanted to Speak about CAT -** 19-01-2009, 02:28 AM

A disclaimer in the beginning, this is not an inspirational story of how I managed to crack CAT and get 5,6 or 7 IIM calls. There are many other such supremely inspritional stories on this, the most sacred thread of them all.
Instead, this is a story of a good performance and a case of so near, yet so far. Ideally, I would have posted this after the GD-PI are over but then, who knows- Kal Ho Na Ho :P

One more disclaimer, this could be long :P

Ok, enough of disclaimers, here I go.

My first serious conversation about "The" CAT was during my 1st or 2nd yr Engg (or so I think, anyway). This was when my dad told me about some collegue's son who was appearing for it and he asked me why dont I appear for it, given my penchant for Maths and English. He asked me to just find out about what its all about and see if it can be given a shot. I bought a Galgotia book and being the lazy bum that I am, duly consigned it to the topmost shelf of the cupboard.

Although I never took it seriously, I kept hearing of CAT and a managerial career via newspapers or my dad or tv or somewhere else. Ironically, it was the infamous paper leak incident which engaged my attention and made me ask "Whats the big deal?" Found out most o info about CAT and decided it most probably is not my cup of tea/coffee since it involves the dreaded "G"- of GD. Why was it dreaded? I was an in and in (as opposed to out and out) introvert and hence was hopeless when it came to any kind of public speaking. Result- it was again put on backburner. Some of my friends took it during final yr but not me. My thoughts: If I work for an yr or 2, maybe I will become good enough to clear a GD. First part of that plan got executed when I got recruited into a top IT firm.

Contd.

hvharsha · **Re: All I wanted to Speak about CAT -** 19-01-2009, 03:03 AM

CAT 2005: All thought of CAT was forgotten till time to fill up the form. Filled it up just for the heck of it and with same thoughts, attended it. Fortunately or unfortunately, I had never seen a CAT paper or mock. Got the paper (the one with 2 and 1 markers), solved whatever I could, decided it was too low to be anything decent and marked blindly during last 5 mins. Results came and as expected, scored low (5x.xx). Silver lining was, whatever I had actually solved was good enough for high 80s in %ile. Decided it was not bad and vowed to do much better next time.

CAT 2006: Ditto Ditto Ditto and more Ditto apart from random marking. Result was low 80s. Since this too was an unprepared attempt, I gave myself more credit (I am a bad critic for myself

) and vowed strongly to do better next time.

CAT 2007: There was no more dittos this time. I was frustrated with the top IT company where I was not getting what I deserved and was from the looks of things, had to either beg or blackmail to get my just desserts. Decided it was beneath me and armed with the fact that my public speaking (more like group speaking :P) had improved, I decided to get serious about CAT this time. Decided against enrolling in coaching or test series since I thought I could do it by myself. Managed to fall in love during this year as well and the lady gave lot of support and encouragement. More of it came from family so thought this was it. Applied for all the exams other than JMET and quite a few colleges as well. As (bad) luck would have it, got a project on crazy deadlines just as prep time came along and had to slog my rear end off to manage things. CAT came and went and result was as expected: 8x.xx. Other exams were srewed as well and all hopes were dashed. Frustration grew exponentially at work place and I had no options left. Then a school friend called and as we discussed, he asked me to give it my all and give it one last shot. I decided to take this feline creature on one last time but also decided that it wasnt just enough to prepare. I needed to make sure there would be no more deadlines, no more night-outs and no more distractions.

hvharsha · 03:15 AM

2008: The decision to quit my job was made and it got universal support from my GF and my family. Emboldened by this, I went ahead and let my manager know about the decision. Finally quit after 3 bittersweet years on the very same day that I had joined. Joined mocks and a coaching class and I was all set to go. Mocks started ok-ish, went to good and during final couple of months, reached bad. This is where a good partner comes into picture. I was almost ready to give it all up and go back to search a job when she convinced me to stay and fight rather than take flight.

Nov 16: Reached my centre well in time, got seated, blah, blah, blah. Got the paper. Saw the no. of question and did a silent sitting dance. 40 Qs in VA which was strength. That was mistake no. 1: I judged before seeing the Qs. Started with VA and finished about half of it when I realised I might end up spending more time in VA than needed. Took to QA. Had decided to give it 50 mins but could do only 7 Qs in 50 mins, so decided to give it 10 mins more. Could manage just 1 Q in those extra mins. Almost in panic, came to DI. Biggest mistake ever of my life. Could give it just 40 mins since I would run short of time for VA otherwise. did 10 Qs out of which 1 was a fluke, 1 semi-fluke and 8 good attempts. Did RC in the last 18 mins and managed to get one more QA question in last 2 mins. Was confident of QA and VA but DI seemed dicey. When I checked the various keys in the eve, my fear turned true. I was scoring 101 with 36 in QA, 45 in VA but a meagre 20 in DI. Had committed my usual silly stupid mistakes in 2 of the questions. 10 marks right down the drain and I knew my IIM dreams were all over. The instis said I was scoring around 95 %ile which I was not at all happy with. All I could do now was wait for results. Meanwhile gave other exams. All were much much better than last yr but some way short of being good. JMET result came and got nowhere. Thought it was all doom and gloom.

JAN 8: The keys came out, from what I had marked in the Question Booklet, I matched each and every question. QA and DI was exactly as expected. But VA was a pleasant surprise. Keys sided with me for 3 questions which the instis said I had got wrong. Now, I was scoring 116. DI was still 20 but then, I knew it would be bad. Waited for 12 am for result to make itself known. Kept trying till around 12:15. Then the page opened. Entered my details and the result page opened. First thing I did was to see at the bottom for IIM calls. My expectation was confirmed and there were none. Then saw the score. More surprise of pleasant kind. I scored 121 total (98 %ile) which was 5 more than wht the keys gave me. I guess I had marked a bubble incorrectly

or u can call it correctly. The score was:

QA: 36/100-> 94.63 %ile
DI: 20/96-> 69.39 %ile
VA: 65/100-> 98.59 %ile
OA: 121/356-> 98.09 %ile

I was disappointed because I knew had I got those 10 more marks in DI, I would have given myself some sort of chance for at least 1 call. It would not have hurt as bad if I had completely messed up those 2 Qs. But then, what had happened had happened.

Looking back at my prep and the way I gave up sometimes, I think I scored well enough and am in line for some calls at least. I am also extremely thankful for having such a supportive lady in my life and an understanding and supportive family with me who kept me going every time I felt like giving up. I dont know where I will end up and what the future holds for me but one thing I can say for sure: "You can, if you think you can".

PS: This is not the end. I will be back to update what calls I got and which ones I converted

varryset · **Re: All I wanted to Speak about CAT -** 21-01-2009, 02:26 PM

After an avge cat and after missing out XL

Emotions turned into words---
My destiny eludes,my faith quivers, my endeavour trickles down the drain.
All the effort all the devotion all the excitement , has it all been in vain?

Is it failure , or is it not having achieved success , the cause of my bane?
One wins and 99 others lose, isn't it an unfair game ?

Very Few taste success ,others get the pain .
To put up a composed face, damn, I need to feign.

Despite assiduous efforts, lady luck plays her own game.
The fact that , not once was she with me, drives me insane.

Guess I didn't invest enuf time , or I did not use a smart brain.
Or if it is something else , would U please explain?

spatwardhan · **Re: All I wanted to Speak about CAT -** 22-01-2009, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varryset

After an avge cat and after missing out XL

Emotions turned into words---
My destiny eludes,my faith quivers, my endeavour trickles down the drain.
All the effort all the devotion all the excitement , has it all been in vain?

Is it failure , or is it not having achieved success , the cause of my bane?
One wins and 99 others lose, isn't it an unfair game ?

Very Few taste success ,others get the pain .
To put up a composed face, damn, I need to feign.

Despite assiduous efforts, lady luck plays her own game.
The fact that , not once was she with me, drives me insane.

Guess I didn't invest enuf time , or I did not use a smart brain.
Or if it is something else , would U please explain?

Hey man nice composition.The same applies to me as well ,but just believe in yourelf one day the lady luck will be definetly with you.I know it's easy to advise and difficult to practice but i guess that is the best thing one can do at the moment....

Ravitosh · 03:30 PM

Last year at approximately the same time I had made a promise to myself that next year I would be writing on the IIM Call getters profile thread...
Finally...Here I am...but with no such promise for next year...bcoz i knw my IIM Dreams are over!!!

The journey starts with CAT 2006...dreamt only of getting into IIM- A/B/C...nothing else...not even L/I/K...was in final year college at that time...didnt study for the semester exams which were to begin next day after CAT,...finally the C-Day arrived...gave the exam...and the verbal section was the toughest to have come in CAT (atleast thats what the experts say!!!)...i knew i had not done well..that was the gut feeling after coming out of the exam hall...but i was somehow confident of my verbal..afterall that was my strongest section

...finally the results came...verbal was 99 percentile..quants was 97 percentile ..and DI was just 86:-x...missed out by 2 questions perhaps!!! got an overall of 98.3 which was obviously not enough(bcoz i just have 83 % in 10th..92 % in 12th..and 77 % in graduation after qualifying IIT-JEE....no profile..uh!!!)..wats more...got my lowest GPA in the 7th semester...

I was down ..but not out!!! set my eyes upon CAT'07...this time the aim wasnt only IIM-A/B/C..but also L/I/K..and MDI...frankly speaking didnt get much time to study...had a job from campus..and they gave the joining in Aug...after 2 and a half months of training...it was already nov..time for another shot at CAT...after training I got my posting in Pune....thankfully i had anticipated this and gave my center choice also as Pune...but guess what..the exam was on sunday and i was coming to pune on saturday(just one day before exam..thanx to the training!!!)...somehow i felt i wudnt make it this time thorugh..bcoz my prep wasnt that good...again gave CAT...same type of verbal section..but i was again confident....quants was a monster...but i did relatively well...DI again proved to be my achilles heel...got 97.5 in verbal...94 in quants..and 90 in DI..OA 97.73..again all dreams shattered..got a call from MDI...but cudnt convert it...

Now..Target revised for the next shot at CAT...CAT 08..any college will do..i just need to be an MBA..filled up all forms...CAT, XAT, JMET, SNAP, FMS..u name it and i have it...this time i gave more than a 100% for CAT(thats the only satisfaction i have as of now!!)...for the first time i was feeling that i will make it through this time...the D-Day arrived...for a change verbal was easy...and DI was tough...I was confident of my verbal( thanx to 99 and 97.5 the last 2 times)...i had a great feeling after coming out of the exam hall..i felt i had conquered the world...had done some 52 marks in quants...and 40 in DI...seeing the difficulty level of the paper i knew that was very good...and verbal i had done 25 questions out of 40...i was confident i wud score good in verbal bcoz it was definitely easier than the previous 2 years...the results...

QA: 98.5
DI: 97.4
VA:90.99 ( my strongest section brought about my downfall in my last attempt at CAT!!)...missed by 1 or 2 questions again..

Overall: 98.66..no calls..not even profile based calls..bcoz i dnt have a good profile(they say!!!)...it hurts when ppl below ur percentile get calls on basis of 10th and 12th percentages(when probably one hasnt even heard of IIM-Ahmedabad!!!)...but i guess thats life..thats destiny..u have to accept the things and move on!!!

never actually stood a chance at exams like SNAP, NMAT..bcoz i was never a speed player who cud do 150 questions in 2 hrs...screwed all exams..SNAP, NMAT, IIFT, JMET..all down the drain...XAT...again english brought about my downfall...got 78 percentile in verbal in XAT and 99.25 in reasoning (my weakest section when i started 3 years back!!)...

I now know i will not try for CAT again...if i dnt get through anywhere this year(NITIE/IMT/MDI..my lone bets!!!)..then its GMAT for me...

bye bye CAT...bye bye IIMs...

helloworld_adi · **Re: All I wanted to Speak about CAT -** 22-01-2009, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravitosh

Last year at approximately the same time I had made a promise to myself that next year I would be writing on the IIM Call getters profile thread...
Finally...Here I am...but with no such promise for next year...bcoz i knw my IIM Dreams are over!!!

I now know i will not try for CAT again...if i dnt get through anywhere this year(NITIE/IMT/MDI..my lone bets!!!)..then its GMAT for me...

bye bye CAT...bye bye IIMs...

Its great to see you not lose heart when its so easy to and also deciding to move on. The 3 colleges you've hedged on are as good as any of the IIMs if one does well inside. It doesn't make sense to waste year-after-year of our work lives just sleepwalking through the office,coming back and prepping for cat till midnight and giving mock cats on weekends. How one hones oneself as an individual matters a great deal too and this people realise once they actually get inside the b-school and have to fight with other people with rounded profiles.

danger009 · **Re: All I wanted to Speak about CAT -** 23-01-2009, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravitosh

Last year at approximately the same time I had made a promise to myself that next year I would be writing on the IIM Call getters profile thread...

I now know i will not try for CAT again...if i dnt get through anywhere this year(NITIE/IMT/MDI..my lone bets!!!)..then its GMAT for me...

bye bye CAT...bye bye IIMs...

hey Ravi
Don't loose heart. i know what it takes reach here and still losse.
But u still have a few good calls. Trust urself and go for the shot. This time u have to convert them. Give ur best shot and give the good news to all of us.

basit · **Re: All I wanted to Speak about CAT -** 23-01-2009, 02:53 PM

Hi puys

I started thinking of doing an MBA right from the day when i started my engineering. what i lacked was proper guidance. i was just like a new born kid without any knowledge. luckily i got admission in a university which had MBA as one of its courses and i made some really good MBA friends. I don't know whether they are puys or not but they gave me a lot of info. i thought of preparing from the first year onwards but lazy me!!:sad:

Time flew and it was 2006, my final year, but i didn't give CAT 06 as i had my semester exams the next day. Gave other exams but the results were very bad. No problem i thought as i had not prepared well enough.
2007 came and it came with a bang, i got two more placements (one in 2006 itself in an IT company).

I started working from july,07 . 5 days a week and 9 to 5.

I gave CAT 07, riding high on luck and less on preparation. Result -40.xx %tile. XAt was better some 60.xxx%ile.

That was it.. needed to do something and i enrolled for a calssroom course. That gave me a real feeling of the competition and i started realising that CAT is really not that tough at all as it is perceived by many. Its just the attitude. I was not preparing upto the mark as my Mock CAT results showed but i had a strange kind of confidence this year. I knew i could do better this year. My Average mock cat scores were in the range of 70's. There were numerous problems i realised which were creating hindrance. First, alot of time was being wasted in commuting to and fro from office. then, i used to get mentally tired by the time i reached my home leaving no scope of studying further. Secondly, my mood!!

When i had time i was in no mood!! This was really bad and one of my greatest weakness!!

In order to just revise my fundamentals i had taken a week long break from office.then came the D- DAY. On that day i listened to some good old hindi songs , courtesy bus driver, and this really elevated my mood. Anyways i had decided to remain calm on that day. I was a bit surprised by the no. of q's but i gave the exam in the best way possible. later after the exam i went to the trade fair ( i live in delhi so delhites will be aware that trade fiar was going on in that week) to relax.

A couple of days later i checked my answers with an institutes key and according to them i was getting, as expected only 71.11 %ile. well i thought that i had other exams also, i should study more and give them in the best way possible. but again, not everything is in your hands. I got too involved in my work in the office that i was working virtually every day!!

CAT results were out in JAN 09. I was amazed to see my score. i had scored 88.48%ile. Not one of the best scores but i was really happy. If i could get here why cant i get above 90??

:I only need to prepare more and practise more. And this really boosted my confidence.

I really dont care even if CAT 09 will be online. the basics will remain the same. its only the medium they are changing. I have a new sense of confidence and this time I'll really BELL THE CAT. :snipersm:

I have learned alot from my mistakes. Puys, remember, the early bird catches the worm so start preparing nowitself.

Lastly, all the best to all!!