Link to Part 1
As the D-Day came closer, I studied harder. I, however, cut myself off from studies 3 days before my exam. I watched movies and sitcoms to lighten myself. The D-Day arrived on October 15. The exam passed smoothly and Anshul was the first person I called after the exam. My words were – “I have attempted 26 questions in English and Reasoning section and I am quite confident of scoring well there (96 percentile). I have attempted only 18 in Maths but that is the most I have attempted ever in a test”. So it was an improvement but there was nothing extraordinary about it. A decent score was expected but nothing flamboyant, not after I had managed an average 88 percentile in my last ‘Time’ test and a lowly 72 percentile in my last ‘Career Launcher’ test.
A surprise awaited me when the results came on 9th January, 2013. I had got 99.56 percentile (96.42 in Maths and 99.74 in English). This is the most I had scored in any test and it was a coup of sorts for me. The result was hard to sink in and congratulatory messages flowed from everywhere. The news got leaked in my office as well. This was the best part because the loser from yesterday had suddenly achieved a cult status among peers. There was no one happier than my teacher on hearing this news. What was my reaction to all this? – I just let the moment flow. After a period of mediocrity, this was a welcome change in my life. I did not want to go to sleep that night because I did not want 9th January, 2013 to end. It was that kind of a day, one of the best of my life.
The whole process of CAT and its results can be a very draining experience for a candidate. If all goes well, it takes some time to soak in that feeling of success. Time can slip by quickly, and you suddenly find yourself staring at an interview. I had to make sure I did not fall in that trap. I started my preparation for the interviews the very next day of the result. The ease with which I had prepared till CAT did not replicate itself in this phase. The fact that this was my first experience with CAT and thereafter meant I actually encountered many surprises at this stage. The personality assessment phase is anyways considered tougher than the actual CAT and it lived up to its reputation. I realised scoring a near ton in CAT was not good enough. With a score of 75.2% in CBSE 12th Board, I missed out calls from IIM-A, B, C, K and I. Anshul (94.08 percentile) and Prateek (96.14 percentile) found the going tougher. But withstanding all that, it was time to move forward to the GD-PIs.
Link to Part 3 and Final Part