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I clearly remember that it was the month of March when the last few B-schools that were affiliated to CAT were coming out with the shortlist of the candidates selected for studying at their campuses. I had converted all the calls till that time and now it was
the time to see the results of the one and only IIM-A. To my disappointment, my first rejection came my way; I was wait-listed for an institute where all those who know me wanted me to be. As expected, the wait-list never moved so as to accommodate me. Then came the result of an A-category institute as we knew in TIME, and that was IMI-Delhi. I was very glad to have made it in the first list itself.

I did study with sincere efforts while slogging for Physics and Chemistry in my graduation final year. There was great deal of pressure on me as I had been consistently in top three ranked students at my university for the previous two years. The investment for CAT was also just too much for me to show any heedlessness on that front. Then came the D-day that was 20th November 2005. All my teachers and friends had advised me to get a real good sleep before CAT, but amusingly, that was one rare night in my life (before I came to IMI) that I couldn't sleep even with all the extended efforts.

I came out of the examination hall, with an anxious self, who didn't know what the result was going to be. After carefully browsing all the solution keys, I estimated an 85-90%ile, and that was the best I expected out of myself. I don't believe in dropping a year or two, as I never did that, and so I settled for any decent B-school in India. With INR 10,000 already invested in various application forms, there were a few more forms that I thought I should fill. IMI-Delhi and ASB-Coimbatore were a few of them. I gave some other exams like XAT, SNAP and IRMA, out of which, I finally converted IRMA, but never joined there.

The results came and my entire day was soaked in tears, not because I had a very low CAT percentile but because I didn't get any percentile... My score-card never opened until I changed my date of birth as suggested by my coaching teacher. With a decent CAT Score (read much more than what I expected), I was elated and on top of the world. Name a college that I filled the form for, and I had a call from that B-school. However, the height of happiness was when I got a call from the IIM-A, and this preceded a series of seminars, few special events, and yes, even my name being published in the newspapers. I was very excited as I became a counsellor for many of my friends who appeared for a management entrance test in 2005-06.

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* Contributed by -
Shivanku Misra (Campus Associate), is the final year student of PGP 2006-08 Programme at International Management Institute, New Delhi. He has been the Cultural Secretary & President of the Media Cell at IMI.