Humbled by 'a' CAT

It was mid 2008 and I had switched over to a new company in search of greener pastures. I had 2 options (at least that’s what I thought):

1. Learn the nuances in Automotive embedded technology, master them and live with them.
2. MBA – having colleagues thinking on same lines was an additional incentive.

Being the usual “Cat on the Wall”, I decided to pursue both the options to the fullest extent possible.

Fixed timing in my new work place meant that I could follow a standard plan of studying in the early morning and slogging at workplace for the rest of the day. Off on Saturdays and Sundays was a real bonus.

It was also the time when recession had eaten into my company’s projects and the place that once seemed greener, turned barren in no time.

Come November 2008 and I was all set to bell the CAT…high 99 percentiles in the mocks had boosted my confidence. Things however unfolded differently on 16th November. Pressure had gotten into me. Post mortem based on analyses from various institutes revealed that my performance was of the ‘touch and go’ type.


It was Jan 9th 2009; I had kept my fingers crossed so far, hoping for some miracle to happen. The ‘GOD’s however differed and I failed to get the much coveted IIM calls. I had missed the VA (92 percentile) cutoff by ½ a question for L and K. An overall percentile of 98.53 was good enough only to get a waiver on Mock CATs in 2009. I was beside myself with rage (recall this line from cat08?). Adding injuries to my wound, my XAT performance too was abysmal.

The year had started off in the worst possible way. My confidence levels were an all time low. It took a couple of weeks to recover. But I had learnt the lessons.

- CAT is a different ball game. With so much at stake, pressure is inevitable. Cracking it, therefore, requires a lot of “attitude” along with the aptitude.

- Verbal Ability is not synonymous to English. It is more of how one uses the English constructs to express his ideas/views lucidly. Reading regularly and keeping abreast of the latest developments in this world is the key.

- Clarity of objective is paramount. Get your priorities right. Sketch your career path with no bifurcations. Only a dead end in the intended path should lead to another path in a new direction.

- Last, but not the least, enjoy every moment of your life. Do not sacrifice the late night movie or the adventure trip with your friends for some unplanned mock test or assignment at work place.


Stay tuned for some more posts on how 2009 had its share of fun and adventure.