The Journey

And so the wheel of time comes a full circle. May 2009 is when I started this journey. I took my final year exams, and gave some thought to which direction to take after graduation. I wanted to go to B-school; after having studied three years of theory, I thought B-school would be where I'd learn to place it a practical context, the first step to entering the corporate world.

I'd taken for CAT in '08 as well, just to see if I was even reasonably equipped to enter a top B-school. I never studied seriously for it; it would have been gruelling to do that in my final year. And I achieved a 90th percentile. "Not bad," I thought to myself. "I can spend a few months preparing for CAT and other exams, then take on the exam season."

My parents were completely supportive when I decided to not work and devote one hundred percent to entrance exam prep. I enrolled in coaching classes, took the mock tests, pored over the newspaper like my life depended on it. But to be honest, it was hard to stick to a study schedule when I was completely vella :D And so I enjoyed the wonderful city of Delhi with the most wonderful bunch of friends a girl could ask for.

Exam season rolled around. Nerves have never been a problem with me. IIFT went badly; that was to be expected. CAT was a complete fiasco, with all the glitches and whatnot. I had an early slot, so I had no way of knowing what would be a good attempt. I did 42 questions and felt ecstatic. Later I got to know that all the brainy ppl attempted well over 50 questions. Crap.

That only made me work harder for the other exams. TISS, SNAP, XAT, FMS, NMAT.. I studied like a robot and took all the exams on one after the other, mechanically, Sunday-to-Sunday. January end, I was finally done with all of these papers. And I took a well-deserved few weeks off, to rest, relax (still read the paper like my life depended on it, though!)

XAT results came first, and I nearly fell over in disbelief. I'd gotten a 98.6! XLRI apparently had pretty high sectional cut-offs, but I got a call from GIM :) The interview was weird. The interviewers didnt ask me one single question about Eco, why MBA, etc. They grilled me about rock music for a while. Then told me that as a fresher, I didnt have much hope of competing against the work ex ppl. I left that interview room completely demoralized.

Then CAT results came out.

I had had literally zero expectations from CAT. To see a 96+ score was.. Mindblowing. Literally. I dont remember much about that day. Mostly I just bounced around the room, walking on air, talking on the phone to a zillion people. I had done it! The late nights with mock-tests, the stressing over unconquerable geometry questions, the uncertainty of sitting at home and wondering if I took the right step - All worth it.

So what if I had no IIM calls? (Low Math score) I had interview calls from LBS and IMI and TAPMI and IMT and KJS! Surely I would get through somewhere!

The next month went by in a blur. I sat through umpteen GDs and interviews (and 1 case analysis :D ), till the point came when I no longer stressed when interviewers fired questions at me such as "Where is the Nifty at today? Sensex? What is the current price of gold? India's GDP? How many kms of Metro track in the NCR?" I learnt that its ok to not be able to answer these questions. The IMT interview, though, went well. Best of the lot. I could steer the interview along my lines.

Somewhere along the way, I got calls from TISS, NM and FMS (the latter with a fantastic 99.3 %ile). I went to Bombay twice. I found time to visit my grandmother in Jaipur. To see Avatar three times in the hall. I cried when I didnt convert FMS. I jumped for joy when I got through GIM- the idea of studying in Goa was fantastic! Then I got a little immune to the whole process, and took the NM conversion and TISS non-conversion in my stride.

But I was still not rid of the uncertainty. GIM or NM? I ruled out NM cuz I didnt get the course I wanted. My folks wanted me to stay in Delhi so badly, that I even considered LBS. The night the IMI results came out, April 30th, I was stuck. IMI was good. Was it better than GIM? Should I send the 2nd instalment to GIM? Did I want to stay at home or experience the hostel life? Should I leave it to my parents to decide?

That was a long night. I prayed for the IMT results to be positive. I refreshed the damned site every ten minutes. By next morning, May 1st, I'd spoken to alumni from both IMI and GIM. There wasn't much to choose between them. I steeled myself to give Goa up, for my parents. We were drafting the cancellation of admission letter to GIM, when, out of habit, I checked the IMT website. "Congratulations," it said, and I didnt even finish reading the rest of that sentence. End of confusion. I. Was. Going. To. IMT!

So there was the end of the journey. A full year after it started. May 2010, and I had been accepted at one of the most prestigious B-schools in the country, in the course I wanted! Life seems colourful again!

And now, after having communicated with other IMT entrants and seniors, I just know it: Its going to be a great two years!

And so the drop-year is officially over. That journey has ended. And another one begins.