[rohitsaxena00]

Originally Posted by 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..

boss uv written one of the best posts on this forum !!

i rate this post 20 on 10 !! it is seriously so logical....i see ppl sloggin for CAT n XAT sacrificing everything , job, relationships , personality , parents , newspapers , general knowledge...i feel it doesnt make sense...doing business is so different than studying so hard..

its an irony how ppl with 600 on GMAT are there in wharton and ppl with 99.7 in CAT are not there at IIMs cuz their quant was 88%ile..

I really hate the admission process here..

[John_Galt]

Originally Posted by rohitsaxena00

boss uv written one of the best posts on this forum !!

i rate this post 20 on 10 !! it is seriously so logical....i see ppl sloggin for CAT n XAT sacrificing everything , job, relationships , personality , parents , newspapers , general knowledge...i feel it doesnt make sense...doing business is so different than studying so hard..

its an irony how ppl with 600 on GMAT are there in wharton and ppl with 99.7 in CAT are not there at IIMs cuz their quant was 88%ile..

I really hate the admission process here..

Thanx for the appreciation mate!!

I have been lucky enough to have some really big entreprenuers as professors here,and have noticed one thing apart from all the technical knowledge that makes them what they are:a childlike passion for doing better and better.And this passion arises from self-made standards,not rat-race like competition.Unfortunately,the admission process for our B-schools is so very competitive that,unless you're among the lucky first-attempt admission getters,by the time you do land in a top B-school,this childlike passion dries out.

Frankly,after a coupla failed attempts,the motivation for a major chunk of aspirants remains proving themselves before peers who have already secured their admissions,or who have found greener pastures in their job assignments.Now how exactly can such a system produce people who are filled with a zeal to innovate is a question to ponder over.

That doesn't mean that the system carries all the blame.The problem with a country our size is that even if 10 more IIMs are opened,you'd still have the same competition for the seats.What I genuinely think of as a solution is to demarket this overly hyped MBA phenomenon.That way people who actually want to manage businesses will apply to B-schools and the rest will find their true callings in life,which is good for them and for the country.

All in all,sacrificing one's life over these three letters is a bad bad idea in my book.Eight months into into B-school,I can vouch for the fact that the things that gave me the deepest creative satisfaction still do so,much more than my "Top B-school student" status does.I guess MBA is a means to an end after all!!

[thestig]

Let me start off with a little about myself. Im not going to state the usual 10th marks, 12th marks grad marks stuff which is considered a profile. I come from a middle class family.I spent six years of my life in Mumbai till 1993. after the riots my family decided to move to Goa as it would be a better environment for me and my sister to grow up in.
Life in Goa is pretty slow. You see people you know atleast ten times a day, everyone knows everyones family and etc etc. I went to supposedly the best school in the state. When I was 12 I started the sport of Sailing. Most of you would ve not heard about it and I don’t blame you all.(look it up on wikipedia). Sailing introduced a whole new world to me. I used to train hard, work on my fitness every day and soon I was one of the best in India(dont mean to boast here). I took part in numerous competitions across India and the world. It was a big thing for someone just 14 years old. I was meeting people from different countries who taught me new things and gave me insight into the rest of the world. At the age of fifteen I was on my way to the ASIAN games in south korea along with Sania mirza, Mahesh bhupathi and pankaj advani. I was ecstatic as I was the youngest member on the entire Indian contingent.anyway that was an experience I will never forget. Years went by, I moved to the senior classes in sailing. Won a few events but two years ago after I missed out on the DOHA ASIAN GAMES . I had to pull out of the sport for lack of sponsorship. I was devastated and the I kept feeling this need to prove myself in something else. I delved into books and Economics. I would just read ,read an read. I decided to answer the CAT in December 2007 as I was missing the big stage competition and needed to prove my worth to myself…. Here goes….
My CAT preparation started back in Feb 2008 when I enrolled in IMS near my house. It was the start of a grand experience for me and the start of what I thought would be the next chapter in my life. Months went by and the prep was going fine. I was concentrating on quant as I am a BA student and this was my weak section. In may I went for a two month holiday to the US and when I got back in july the mock season was in full swing and I immediately joined in. I was so dedicated that I even carried my Arun sharma book to the US and was sitting in California and parts of manhattan solving quant questions. That was how much I wanted to get into a top b school.
July- October 2008- was solving a mock cat religiously every Sunday. Had even got around twenty AIMCAT s from the year before. I would spend hours solving quant, DI sets, RC’s. spend even more time analyzing mock cats ( I thought I was atleast) my scores varied between 90-98 and the mentors at IMS drove me further to believe I could do it and that I was one of the potential IIM call getters.
I would not go out of my house and meet people, I would stay in my room,at my desk, not socialize with family, not watch Tv etc etc. my activities consisted of CAT , reading the Economist magazine and just reading novels. I would also browse through the websites of colleges I wanted to get into.
November 2008- D-Day got nearer and I would keep myself motivated, kept talking to myself in the mirror, writing small pep up notes to myself and just staying focused and confident. I honestly believed I could crack the CAT if I stayed focused.
On November fourteenth I left for Mumbai from Goa(where I live). Arrived on the 15th morning,went to my neighbours house, collected the November 9th AIMCAT and began to solve it after breakfast. I spent the rest of the day just going through formulae and resting. By around 9pm I ate dinner and tried to sleep. Sleep did not happen. Kept tossing and turning till four AM when I finally fell asleep.
D-DAY- reached the center at the time I was supposed to and immedietaly got intimidated by the number of candidates I saw there. Kept trying to focus, gave myself a small pep talk in my head and when the gates opened I went and found my allotted class room and sat down. Even before I got the paper, I kept thinking about cutoffs, IIM, will I make it, what if I don’t and everything else related to an MBA except the task I had at hand.
When the booklets were given to us I skimmed through and started off with Verbal. Attempted almost 30 questions( yes that’s how confident I was).. then proceeded to quant.i had almost an hour and half left. Barely read half the quant questions cause I was in a hurry to reach DI (don’t know why but this was a big mistake) after 50 minutes I finished only 7 questions and I decided to jump to DI. Messed up here big time by answering all the questions. Don’t know why I did this but I was not in a clear state of mind, mind was racing, thoughts were unclear. I just succumbed to the pressure. By this time I knew it was over as it is obvious an average jack like me cannot answer all the questions and then expect to get even ten right as the DI was tough this time.
Anyway when the time was up, I handed over the OMR and knew it was over. I knew it was over because of the sick feeling I had in my gut. It was an ache mixed with nausea along with a grip like feeling as if someone was clenching my gut with an iron fist. I sat in a taxi and headed home. Cried the whole afternoon cause I knew it was over and I was the only one to blame. All the hardwork, all the sacrifice and all the belief. i just threw it out of the window by messing up the CAT. I spent the night crying as well. Spoke to loved ones and they all tried consoling me telling me that the IIMS are not the end of the world and that I will get into a good college eventually etc etc. I still was not able to console myself and I just spent the next three four days in misery and wasted time thinking about things I could ve done in those 2 and a half hours. Went through the paper countless times solving the quant and DI properly knowing I could ve got atleast 12 right in each section.
D –Day till the XAT day was spent answering the IIFT exam, SNAP and NMAT. Dint touch my prep material for a month. Had a good Christmas and new year at home with friends and family. Enjoyed the holidays and kept my mind fresh for the XAT,
JAN 4th- opened the booklet with a clear mind.no thoughts about cutoffs, XLRI or anything like that. Just stayed in the present, focused on a question at a time and aimed for accuracy. I felt calm while solving the paper, my mind was clear. Had a good feeling about quant and English but was little hesitant about DM as I had sacrificed an entire LR set to answer the two case studies and when I double checked my answers of the case study with my mother (who is the manager of her own printing firm) she said my answers were wrong from a managerial point of view. I still hoped that they would match the XLRI key.
Jan 9th- CAT results out, my guess was more than accurate. I had a measly 32%ile in DI and an overall of around 80%ile. Dint bother about it then and knew that IMT, MDI, SPJIMR etc were all out of reach.
XAT results came out around ten days later and I had a 98 in verbal, 97 in quant and a paltry 79 in LR/DM. Overall I had 98. I was not very surprised as I knew it was the case studies that let me down and there was nothing I could do about it.
Finally at the end of a long year I had calls from just NMIMS, XIMB and GIM. I plan to attend all their interviews and take it from there.
WHAT I LEARNT FROM THE PAST YEAR AN MY MISTAKES-
• With regards to preparation my mistake was not properly analyzing the mocks. That was my only mistake. I was sure of everything else.
• With regards to the CAT (d-day) I learnt that it was my overconfidence, my distracted mind and my unnecessary thoughts that got the better of me. I am taking yoga classes currently to develop better concentration.
• With regards to the MBA scenario in India I have some advice for future candidates. I may not be the right one to give this advice but I formulated it with the inputs of friends in top bschools and friends who are in the industry. Do not rush into doing an MBA in your final year of college. It will be one the biggest mistakes you make when you look back ten years down the line. Work hard during your last year of college, enjoy your time. After graduation work for some time. Work with people. Explore the country, get the opinion of others, learn how other communities live and how business is run at the grassroots level. Get first hand experience of life as it should be. You’ re still young and life is not about the corporate pay package you get, the job profile you have or which college you are from. It is about how you deal with people and function in society and an IIM will not teach you this.
• I took missing XLRI by a few questions as a sign that I should do something more with my life before jumping into the MBA race. I plan to work with a business development NGO for a few months which helps small businesses grow and consults them on their functioning. This will give me good experience.
• Sure at the end of the day you will need a job to sustain yourself and family, but you also want to look back on your life and know that you truly lived and did all the things you wanted to do. The world is huge and when you do actually step out of your little niche you will realize this.
• No doubt we are all in generation Y and we are career driven , motivated and ready to take on the world. But if you read previous posts and other threads, you will see that life after an MBA is even harder as you will be working long hours and with great intensity.


I know I ve said a lot in this post and that most of you will disagree with me on some things but it is all what I’ve learnt this year. The IIM’s are always going to be around. Some of us will make it to them, some won’t. but that is not the end all and be all of everything.
I will be hippocritical and answer the CAT and XAT this year as well cause there is this itch inside me that knows I can make it throught to a top college. I’m part of this race and even though I know that life has much more to it than an MBA, I will not be able to live with myself if I drop out of the race. I am what the sytem has created and so is everyone else. In India it is all about acads, acads and more acads. It is all about the IIT’s, IIM’s and the NIT’s. its all about consulting, investment banking and IT. That’s what life is made to be here and no matter how hard you try to stay out of it, somehow or the other something pushes you back into it. All I know is that whatever I do in my life I want to do it properly.
This post is just my thoughts collected and I know pagal guy and the puys online are like friends with whom I can share my thoughts with. So thank you for reading this long post and hopefully some of you will understand a bit of what im trying to get at here.
All the best in whatever you do and remember that whatever activity, course or job you undertake make sure its really what you want to do and not what social pressures are forcing you to do.
Regards
The Stig.

[sc@rf@ce]

Originally Posted by John_Galt

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.

Originally Posted by thestig

• With regards to the MBA scenario in India I have some advice for future candidates. I may not be the right one to give this advice but I formulated it with the inputs of friends in top bschools and friends who are in the industry. Do not rush into doing an MBA in your final year of college. It will be one the biggest mistakes you make when you look back ten years down the line. Work hard during your last year of college, enjoy your time. After graduation work for some time. Work with people. Explore the country, get the opinion of others, learn how other communities live and how business is run at the grassroots level. Get first hand experience of life as it should be. You’ re still young and life is not about the corporate pay package you get, the job profile you have or which college you are from. It is about how you deal with people and function in society and an IIM will not teach you this.

So true guys.Unfortunately many of us(including me) get into this rat race of 'Cracking the Process' which finally gets converted into a fight to maintain the 'Ego'.The CAT has become somewhat like a post-grad IITJEE nowadays.Candidates concentrate on strategies to tackle Cat questions.Later on they manage to mug up answers to questions like 'Why Mba?','Why Finance/Marketing?' etc.But what majority of us fail to realize is that an MBA is not just about getting that 'Brand'.Its about an over-all development.So what if that dream college has xx average placements this year.The question is 'Will YOU be able to grab that dream job after 2 years with this level of preparation on a level of Maturity,Intellect,Communication skills and stuff' The question is 'What after MBA??'.Will you really get 'There' after 10-20 years.Will your progress be a graph going northwards or will it remain constant after those three magical letters are branded on you.
I know,this might sound like a case of 'Sour Grapes' coz I didnt perform that great in the exams this season,but maybe all those 12 months of ordeal i went through have surely taught me many things.
As some mod's signature aptly says
'Success retained me a boy ,failures made me a man'
[Ps:My story can wait for 1-2 more Mba exam seasons ]

[ayansarkar]

My story

The beginning : Right from my childhood, my peers, my elders, everybody believed that I was an extremely bright boy with an exceptional IQ. I was very good at maths, physics, and english. When I reached Class XI, I came to believe that people with good IQ are supposed to crack IIT.:nervous:
So I gave a shot at IITJEE without any preparations ... (I was unsure of what I really wanted...and I was very lazy too...) Got an AIR of 4404..wasn't good enough....
I tried 2 more times ...(with better preparation)...my AIR slipped to around 6000 and then to around 9000. I dont know what happened !!! Probably I lost interest in studies !!!:confused:
Engg days: I took admission in Bharati Vidyapeeth...and somehow dragged through my B.Tech IT course.....with just 57%:downwards: I got a job in Cognizant(first company at our campus) I was selected because of my excellent performance in aptitude test...although I didn't had 1st class.

CAT time: Most of my friends were appearing for CAT during my final year engg. They said CAT is THE toughest exam of the world and supposed to be cracked by the brainiest of people. I almost had a sense of deja vu...I felt exactly like my IITJEE days. Although I had no clue about MBA or CAT, I still decided to appear for CAT (CAT '06 OA 96.97 QA 95.27 DI 93.93 VA 90.71). Of couse, I was over-welmed at my performance. Without any preparation at all...I secured a good score, with 90+ in all sections. Most of my friends (who had done full 1 year class room course) couldn't even manage a 90 overall percentile. (Some of friends cursed me for not applying to other non-IIM intitutes or other MBA exams etc)
So I decided ...next time I'll crack CAT for good. I thought ...that with some practice I'd easily score a 99 perecntile and get in IIMA. Next year though, I was totally engrossed in my new environment at Cognizant...but I took some time to get enrolled with Career Launcher's correspondence course. I found the study material very easy....and I felt very confident about CAT. (CAT '07 OA 94.86 QA 87.72 DI 91.54 VA 90.93) I slipped up again...it was as if the ghosts of IIT were haunting me...I dont know what happened..instead of stepping up 2 percentile...i went down from my last attempt. I had lost hope(& was thinking to abandon the idea of any competitive exams for the rest of my life) but one of my friends urged me to give it one more try.(CAT '08 OA 98.85 QA 96.02 DI 87.92 VA 98.23). But no IIM calls (made some horrendous silly mistakes in DI....also really petrified by change in IIM admission policy). I have just 2 calls IMT and MDI...Totally screwed up IMT GD/PI. Waiting for my MDI GD/PI now.....God only knows what is there in store for me....

[lilfiero1]

I dont really know wen my CAT story begins. I had already spent 9 yrs in the Navy. Had always wanted to join the defence forces, so joined immediately after school. But any scope of moving ahead in that career came to an end after an accident in Visakhapatnam in early2008. Woke up with a paralysed right arm and shattered dreams. In May it became clear that my condition is not likely to improve so thought about lookin for another career. Decided to give CAT but the hospital refused to issue a disability certificate. ( some rule that it can only be issued 52 week after the accident in cases of severe neurological trauma). Filled the form anyway. Started practicing writing with my left hand. Was still in the hospital as I had to undergo multiple surgeries. Bought second hand preparation material of TIME. Studying maths after so many years was like trying to learn German. Both my writing and my quant improved steadily. Had always been good in studies so it was just a matter of time. Came out of the hospital in september. Was transfered to a desk job in Delhi. ( could no longer serve on ships ).
Reached the exam venue 2 hours in advance. Had three icecreams and a large pack of wafers. Tried to shut off my mind from the crowd and the noise. When I entered the room I realised that I had made a blunder by always practicing on the large table in the hospital dining hall. Here I was faced with a small school chair with an extension of the armrest acting as the writing area. And on top that all these chairs are made for right handers....which I no longer was. Tried to shut off my mind from my own despair too.
Dont know how many questions I answered. Have not looked at the question paper since then. Never tried to find out the key or compare notes with others that had given the paper. Was holidaying in Manali, celebrating the first anniversary of the day that changed my life when I got the news that I had four calls. BILK. Interviews are over. Went well. Dekhte hain zindagi aage kahan le jaati hai.
Have not really been active on PG so dont know anyone here, but some of you might have been in my group in the GDs. I am the guy with his right arm in the blue sling. Best of luck to every one for the results. And those who couldnt make it this year.........there's always next time.

[maxell]

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.

Friend, it needs a strong heart and determination to speak about your grief. Only real men can do that. I believe that even when u were so depressed about your loss and managed 92, its a big deal in itself. That you are passionate about your relationships is an admirable quality and is sure to get you somebody equally good, if not better ahead in life.

That you have posted all about it in a public forum, shows that you have gotten over it and are ready to take all of life's challenges. You have ur parents' blessings.


All the best, bro. and wish you a wonderful life ahead !!!

People reading: The original post by jats is here : http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-an...ml#post1337658 (All I wanted to Speak about CAT)

[gods]

Hey fellas...I dont know where this thread should go. Moderators, if you think it should be going to another place, please feel free to move it.

Tyrst with CAT.

Well my tyrst with CAT began sometime in July 2003 when my dad went and bought the CAT form and asked me to fill it up. I really did not think there was any chance that I could crack CAT (esp when I had no interest of putting even 1 hour to study) and told him that it was waste of 1000 bucks which I could have put to good use if he had just given it to me.

After my BE, I was placed with TCS in June 2003. By October 2003, I had not opened a single book on CAT preparation. When there was exactly 20 days left to CAT, my roomie suggested "dude, why dont you give it a serious shot. Your dad paid the money. Atleast for his sake....". Next day I xeroxed some IMS CAT test papers from a friend of my mine who was preparing seriously for CAT. She was generous enough to share it. I gave about 20 Mock CATs in the 20 days running upto CAT with my roomie keeping the time for the test and also scoring the marks. This is with no preparation of any addional material.

The D-Day finally arrived. I came out of the exam hall absolutely disgusted that I botched it up so badly. I think I would have scored something like 40 out of whatever no of questions there were there (180 ?). Then I saw the news: "CAT cancelled". I couldnt believe it. Never before and yet it was like God was giving me another chance.

That really spurred me and I decided to prepare seriously. Preparing serioulsy only meant giving 2 mocks a day. In the Feb retest I think I scored 75 correct answers which I knew was enough to get me A. My 10th and 12th were at 90 and 95 % and I was a state Tennis player.

I also confided to my friends, that I am not ready to go to any other B-School but A. Otherwise I would prefer to go abroad and work for a few years and take a US MBA.
When the results were declared, I got just one call. Guess which one ? IIM-A.
It was unbelievable.

I went to the nearest TIME GD center for the next 7 days, I hour a day, to quickly brush up my ability to speak in a group. The one instruction given to me for the next 7 days: "Never speak for more than 30-60 sec and not more than 3 times in a 20 min GD and always speak with a voice which has an authority to it. If need be, start by speaking louder than the rest but bring it down once you have attention". a.Make your point, b.reinforce your point with an exmaple, c.conclude your point. Those were three golden rules to the crack GD. I did exactly that during my IIM-A GD. I think they loved it. The rest of the group just kept on speaking and shouting, literally bursting their lungs,trying to score their points. It was unbelievable how people could miss such a simple trick. Infact one of the GD evaluator was simling at the foolishness of the group in speaking the way they were speaking.

My intereview went ok. I was surpirsingly nervous as earlier I did not even care. But now, I had come this far. One call and no backstops. CAT cancelled, Retaken CAT got me the single call, Great GD and it all boiled to one last hour of un-berable torture. My interviewers (3 profs whom I would come to respect even today) asked some really good questions on economy, financial matters and some critical quesitons on my personality and goals. I think that was the first time I was really tested. I was dead clear on what I wanted. Needless to say the goals and aspiration change once you enter A. You start aiming bigger. This is a fact. The place will transform you. My suggestion: Be prepared on your goals and personal questions as that is what can get you A or send you home. It doesnt matter how much knowledge you have. Infact I clearly remember a blunder I made, when they asked me:"which were the worlds top 3 economies in dollar terms".
They are looking about how much you know about yourself.

Anyways, I cleared it. Infact as I came out, I knew I had cleared it even though I was stressed. It has been 3 years and I cannot believe the contribution that life@A has made to my thinking. Will always remember the day when I told my Dad it is a waste of time.

Hope this helped in you prep and run up to the D-Day.

[hari_87]

Well, my season is officially over now, and i needed some space to vent my reactions. My CAT dreams started when i was in the finishing stages of my second year in college. I don't know what made me decide to pursue CAT. What i remember is that my friend and I started looking at a few CAT problems all of a sudden, and we felt it was our kind of exam. Well, then coaching classes started, my prep started slowly, and as AIMCATs started, and the D-day neared, it got more and more vigorous. My performance in AIMCATs was inconsistent. I had scores ranging from 70s to 99+. I kept putting in more and more work, but was just not able to get the consistency in my performances. At a point, I had to make a decision about whether or not I should apply to top non-IIM institutes(read MDI and NITIE). At that point, I felt that my performance was inconsistent, and I was not confident enough to apply for any of those institutes, for fear that it might go waste. When I look back now, I feel that was a foolish decision and one that i many times regret.
November 16, 2008 was an unforgettable day. It was a day I was restlessly looking forward to for about a week. I was all pumped up, and raring to go. I wrote CAT 2008 calmly and confidently, and the end of the exam, I felt I had done well, though I wasn't confident about my VA answers. I still remember how I went home, waited restlessly for the answer keys, and checked eagerly with every key that was released. On an average, I was expecting 126/360, with a decent spread, and I was expecting about 98.5%le, and a call or 2 from the IIMs.
The evening of January 8, 2009 was unforgettable as well, though it wasn't exactly memorable. CAT results came out. I got 141, 15 marks more than I had expected to get, and an impressive percentile of 99.36, with a lowest sectional of 91.84, and 97+ in the other two sections. The twist was that I had no IIM calls.
It was unbelievable. I had spent two months in hope, anticipation and dreams, only to see them shattered in the end. I could not understand why I had not got even one call. I surely had not missed out any sectional cutoff(as was obvious from the fact that people with lower sectionals than me had got calls), and my overall was big(well atleast I think so). It was hard to take, and it caused me a lot of disappointment and agony.
Eventually, I came to terms with my failure. I realized that my lack of workex and my average CGPA had done me in. Later, I got a call from XIMB, an institute I had applied to through XAT, and wasn't planning to join. But I did want to convert it. But yesterday, the results came out, and I discovered that I had been rejected. That ended a most disappointing first MBA season for me.
Well, CAT means a lot to me. It has given me a clear short term goal, and also taught me a lot of lessons. I have kickstarted my prep for this year's CAT, and hopefully, by the grace of God, I will get into an IIM next year, and write another CAT story, this time with a happy ending.

[the_hate]

I had always dream to convert a biggy and post here...the sacred thread....but here is a total failure story of an idiot...why I'm posting here then? to motivate myself to go for one more try...to recollect myself and give my 100% one more time...
So here it goes:
Cat-06: Was in final year of my college...Had given GRE and had an admit from Denmark university...was ready to pack my bag and leave to denmark...was laughing at my friends who were part of this insane rat race....went to examination hall without even knowing CAT had maths and english in q's...did some timepass...thought to myself that maths was a joke...and verbal was something out of the world....didn't care to even check my results....after all i was flying out of this country....who cares for an MBA? but there was a hitch...i really liked a girl....had proposed...turned down....was trying to just hear a magical YES(she was still my good friend)...tried to convince her to say yes till March-07...before the college would be over...come May-07...i somehow got the reason for denial...she wouldn't consider someone who would be out of India...as her parents, family were here(it's all emotional stuff...but she had a valid point)...i had to decide...to stay back in India...take up a job in a s/w company that I had been placed into...or go to denmark and say bye-bye to my love....i chose the 1st one..
So now i could be considered...but all my career plans had crashed...I had to find a new one....didn't feel like pursuing technical studies in India...so CAT it was....

CAT-07: Serious preps started....
I delayed my joining of company from june to november....Maths seemed easy(yet again failed IIT attempt but strong in maths case)...In Sep-07...I got the YES....the most precious moment of my life.....everything seemed to be working good...scores started improving from 85%ile to 92%ile to 95 to 97 and finally to 99%ile in last 2 mocks....i was pretty confident to have a decent attempt....but finally my weakness...VA...had destroyed me...
QA-99.3, DI-96.x, VA-69.x, OA-98.45%ile
no calls even from MDI or NITIE because of low VA....
Had IIFT call which couldn't convert and rest exams were horrible....

In the mean time I had joined the s/w firm in Nov...Didn't like my job in first place...knew it was CAT-08....my final attempt....

CAT-08: I once again started working hard....analysing mocks properly.....made some friends in banglore who were really good...did group studies...mocks scores were sky rocketing high...even i was surprised to see my scoes...had maintained line of 99.x %iles...it was a flawless performance from my side....the parents of my girl had been pressurising her to marry...which sort of had made this attempt real crucial for me...I was dreaming of asking her hand as an IIM guy(I know it's geeting little bollywood style senti)...Come CAT...everyone...my family,friends had loads of expectations....but final day....i still don't know what happened....VA had very high weightage and it got to my mind...i crashed yet again....i knew this coming out of examination hall....and from my past performance....i knew I won't convert any other exam...had no hopes...
didn't know what to do...plus my job was becoming a nightmare...I hated every moment of it...finally I could bear no more...decided to resign from the job in december....
I fanatically searched for a new job and parallely wrote other exams as well...But there was no one looking for me in a time of recession....Got kicked from many interviews or the jobs were totally useless and I didn't join them...Then results started pouring in...I got IIFT, then NM, then JMET-372 and two biggies XL(99.51 %ile) and FMS both calls...I knew with so many calls..I will convert atleast one good one....stopped hunting for job and started preparing for the interviews..interviews went average with XL-BM going extremely well...
Results came...got dinged from IIFT...was expected...NM waitlisted at a low rank...FMS reject...but I knew XL was still there...
then came the bomb....XL reject...not even waitlisted...

now here I sit infront of you...waiting for IIT-B...I have given so many sleepless nights to my family...to all my friends....am jobless...don't know if I should go for it 1 more time? start hunting for job that seems to be a painful process? What if IIT-B accepts? It's no doubt a great b-school...But should i give 1 more shot? What if IIT-B rejects? What will I say to my girl's parents who are ringing her everyday with new offers of guys having 10L packages? If I've messed up my life so badly do I deserve to be a manager? I'm just an emotional fool who had fought really hard...can I do it 1 more time? I am totally clueless at this moment...crahed yet again....
I wish to thanks Banglaore dream team(esp shabadp and rssriram84) for supporting me...and BBBT...it was a pleasure being a part of the team...

I'll update my post with the final result and the final decision I take...

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updated on 13 May -
9 calls - 9 rejects. Still hunting for job...seems like won't get one...
am planning to join my family business....let's see...
these are really interesting times...behavior of people has changed a lot(both in +ve sense coz of calls and in -ve sense coz of rejects)...
but most importantly people(my family and friends) close to me have been great support....they have not changed..
and yeah...my girl has given me great support and courage...(she has convinced her parents somehow to wait for one more year..reason given - want to concentrate on career )
I thank God for showing me this day....It has been wonderful(ironic but true!)....
Next update will be in 2010 when results pour in...
Hoping and praying I end my "story" on positive note...
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Quick edit on 1st July:
got 2 converts...NM and IIFT-K...good to have some converts finally
got a decent job...
it's going to be next yr CAT for me..as promised next update after 2010 season results...
best of luck to all!