Keep your cool!

I believe the most important virtue of the people who clear CAT is their ability to have a cool head. CAT is all about your ability to handle change and pressure.

I remember my high-pressure D-Day in 1996, when I was appearing for CAT. In the chilling December cold in Lucknow, when the temperatures go down to 5-8 deg C, it was an instant "hot" shock when we looked at the test paper. We were ready for a 4-section test with an open 2-hour period. Suddenly, we were told that we were supposed to do only English sections (Verbal and RC) in the first one hour, and then Quant+DI in the latter half. I, for one, was decided on spending only about 45 mins in English.

The change in CAT pattern inevitably results in lower cutoffs in the affected sections or the overall one. So I was pretty confident that I was not the only one who was in shock. The key was to get over the shock and come out a winner. So I did extremely well in the English with 15 mins extra. And since I expected the Math + DI cutoffs to be slightly lower, I did the right selection of questions, and maximized my scores there as well. I guess some people who were otherwise sharper than me, couldn't cope well with the pressure and got behind me. How else could I explain my IIM Seat when others, who were consistently better than me, couldn't!

I can relate to the situation better with a really motivating advertisement from Accenture. The inimitable Tiger Woods is shown trying to hit a ball stuck in deep pit with all his usual concentration. Many other players would have lost half of the game in this situation, but Tiger Woods' name is synonymous with Winning! The tag line puts it appropriately for the champion..."Conditions Change, Results Shouldn't".

So, while we start the countdown to CAT, don't forget that There Is But One Seat Reserved For You at the IIMs. You only have to make sure YOU get in it, NO MATTER WHAT!

Be A Winner!