He Failed CAT Twice, But Scored 99.72% in XAT | Here Is How

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He Failed CAT Twice, But Scored 99.72% in XAT | Here Is How

You aren’t prepared to appear for CAT, do not know the paper pattern, have never given a mock test, and all this just to test the waters and get the exam's gist. But what if we tell you this is the exact MBA journey of Deepak Sharma who took CAT 2019 unprepared and went all in for CAT 2020?

I took the CAT 2019 with absolutely no preparation, not even aware of the format except that there were three sections. After coming out of the examination center, I was a bit flummoxed and had no idea how I had fared. But the way I did fare, gave me my signs and made me go all in for it. It was a pleasant surprise when I scored a 95+ %ile with a 99.52%ile in VARC. This was the signal I was looking for to go all in, for my target year of 2020. The plan was to get a job, start the preparation by June and nail a 99.5+ %ile that I’d needed as a GEM to get into one of the holy trinity.

Preparing in the pandemic

But alas, the pandemic hit! And I couldn’t get placed. To add salt to the injury, I was diagnosed with COVID-19 in August, so the preparation was put on hold for over a month. But, once I recovered, I started taking mocks, analyzing them, going through as many LRDI sets as I could, and reading a ton. I also started solving sudoku every day. The scores in mocks varied from 99+ %ile on good days to 70 %ile on bad days, but I just kept going on. I was very confident about nailing it on the day it really mattered. Around a month before the exam, I started attempting the mocks at the exact time my actual CAT slot was scheduled. In my last mock, I had 99.5%ile and that set the tempo for D-Day.

The second attempt - CAT 2020

29th November 2020 - It is hard to forget the day when I was scheduled to take the third and final slot. I tried to shield myself from hearing reviews of students who took the exam in earlier slots, but stuff went through. I knew the paper was a tad bit tough, LRDI being the particular oddball. I went into the centre, sat on my seat, and tried to calm my senses. I started the exam, did semi-decent in VARC, but over-attempted the section, as I always did in the mocks. LRDI was next and it really was a disaster. I couldn’t solve a single set completely. I knew I had done my attempt the moment this section was over. While somehow scraping my way through quant, I came out heartbroken and too numb to react. The next couple of days were spent in a daze and trying to make a sense of the next course of action. I ended up scoring barely a 90%ile.

Believe in yourself!

The good thing was I still had belief in my abilities. I never doubted myself and, thus, began preparing for XAT. I knew I had covered the syllabus well, so all that remained were mocks and the unique decision-making section. I gave around 10 mocks in the next 25 days and, again, scored 96 to 99+%iles. I was content with my preparation and just wanted some closure to this 6-month journey. The night before, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t sleep. So, after getting a brief 30-minute nap instead of sleep, and a throbbing head, I set out for the center. It was raining cats and dogs in my city and that didn’t help. The exam went okay, I was happy with myself and knew I had done well. But how well? I had no idea, which finally turned out that I had scored a 99.72%ile in XAT. I was overjoyed. Finally, I had gotten a score that could get me to the interview stage.

A note of XAT Interview

Now, it was time to prepare for the PI process but I had taken a job at the end of December and, so, tried to squeeze whatever time I could to prepare for the same. My interview was scheduled for 14th of March and it went amazingly well. I was almost certain of a concert and sure enough got a direct convert.

With the following profile, here is my transcript of the interview, which went on for 28 minutes:

Class X - 9.6
Class XII - 91%
Graduation - 67.5%
XAT - 99.72%ile
Work Ex - 2.5 Months

3 Members in their 50s, who were a very cordial panel, did no grilling whatsoever.

P1: Where are you joining us from?

Told, Gurgaon

P1: It's been a year since you graduated, do you have a job at hand?

Told, Huawei Technologies India, GET

P2: Tell us about the organization and your job.

Told, the conversation led to the security concerns around the Chinese manufacturer and what led to it.

P3: Major competitors of the company?

Told, the question led to a discussion on what sets Huawei apart, who owns the majority stake in the company, who’s the CEO, etc.

P2: I love business, what do you mean by this statement? (Had put this in the SOP deliberately)

Mentioned business as a value-creation mechanism and how they set the wheel of economic growth in motion. How this affects each one of us, gave the example of an apple.

P3: You mention so much about Apple and how they’ve revolutionized the way we communicate, but Foxconn has terrible working conditions and countless workers have committed suicide, what do you have to say about that?

Told, there should be a regulatory body ensuring a minimum standard of working conditions.

P3: Who should head that regulatory body?

Told

P2: What is your passion?

Told, the question led to a 5-7 minute discussion on strength training and why to lift weights.

P3: What's the name of your University?

The name had just changed, and told him that, when P2 chipped in and said the application form should reflect that, lest it cause any problem in the future and told me to send an email to the admissions office right away.

P3: Okay, the last question, does the name matter? Why change it?

Told about how a name turns into a brand over time and can really shape people’s sentiments.

It ended on a happy note, and all smiled.

A note to all aspirants...

In the end, I would like to say that from the start of my prep till today, when I’ve gotten into one of the best B-schools in the country, I’m not the same person that I used to be. I have grown a lot as an individual. And that is all that matters in the end. Looking forward to the next 2 years of the journey now. Cheers!

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