IIM Admissions: From 69 Percentile in VARC to Converting IIM-C, Nishanth Pandey Shares His Joka Journey

Nishanth Pandey, 99.81 percentiler in CAT 2021, shares his journey from scoring 69 percentile in VARC to converting IIM Calcutta. Read the article below to know his Joka journey and more.

Nishanth Pandeya, a BTech in Chemical Engineering graduate from MNNIT Allahabad, was among the CAT 2021 exam toppers who secured the 99.81 percentile. He hails from Varanasi and has worked with some of the top companies such as Axxela Research and Analytics Private Limited and Wells Fargo. He loves listening to music and is a huge sports fan. He received calls from top colleges such as IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Shillong, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, MDI Gurgaon, DMS Delhi, Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi, NITIE Bombay, CAP IIMs and SJMSOM. Nishanth attempted CAT 2020 but did not make it to his dream college, IIM Calcutta. He decided to take a second attempt and landed his dream. Here is what Nishanth has to say about his Joka journey. 

Also Read: CAT 2021 toppers list

My Journey from scoring 69 percentile in VARC to converting my dream B-School - IIM Calcutta as a General Engineering Male!

When I look back now to the entire journey, I can just remember the lyrics of one of my favourite DJ snake songs which goes " It's been a hell of a ride, riding on edge of a knife" .

Chapter 1: First Attempt at CAT

It all began in my final year of engineering when I realised that I didn't want to go for core engineering, my inclination aligned more with management. But with placements going on it became really difficult for me to prepare. Getting placed was my first priority because I knew I just can't sit out of placement given the fickle nature of CAT. So in the month of September, I got placed in Axxela. I had only two months left to prepare. With a little bit of complacency after getting a job combined with lack of enough effort was clearly visible in CAT 2020. I managed to secure 96.96 percentile with just 69.4 percentile in the VARC section. I could only get a call from IIM Rohtak  and decided to give CAT another try while working.  It was definitely disappointing as I knew I could have done better with more effort and seriousness, but yes this journey of CAT 2020 definitely taught me that without enough effort, you can not just think of achieving what you dream of. And I also knew that as GEM fresher with average academic record, I needed more than 99.8 percentike to have a decent chance to convert my  dream college. After all, we learn from our mistakes.

Chapter 2: CAT 2021

The second chapter of my journey began with CAT preparations in the month of May. The second wave of Covid-19 made it a little difficult to focus on the preparations as the second wave had an impact on our family with our close relative passing away. For a few weeks it was very difficult and I guess everyone who saw the coronavirus's second wave would agree with me on this. It was from June when I actually started working hard. I had enrolled myself in test series of TIME and IMS and was also a very active member of two Facebook groups IQuanta and Elitesgrid. Those platforms helped me connect with people who had similar goals. Also, with my joining being postponed to September due to Covid-19, I had ample time till then to build up momentum for finals mocks. Now the real intensity picked up. I could totally focus on CAT and was also very relaxed while doing so as in CAT 2021, I did not need 15 hours of preparation a day. I used to roughly study for about six hours per day and at the same time pursue my hobbies like cooking, music, binge watching shows and movies, etc.

Indulging with my hobbies during preparations helped me stay calm. I used to hog two CAT mock tests per week and my mock scores were very consistent. I used to score around 96-98 percentile in most of the SimCAT and AIMCAT mock tests.

So everything is going good right? I am going to nail the CAT exam? Probably only till August end. A short happy dream you can say!

Well, there is always a little twist in the story. Anyone who has seriously prepared for CAT and eventually has done well would agree that there was always a time during their preparation when they fell down and mock scores are going nowhere. As my job began in September, the first shocker comes in with the work timings. I had odd working hours from 3 AM to 2 PM where I traded in the futures market of Australia. Although the work culture was really good at my firm and I had very friendly mentors, but the working hours were not favourable. 

It is a difficult task when suddenly you get almost 12 hours wiped off your day and you are aiming to secure 99.8+ percentile in CAT. It took me a few weeks to adjust to the new sleep cycle and during that time my mock scores were just going down. I was losing my confidence and felt like it wouldn't be possible now. And that's where your friends who are in the same boat come into the picture. They are the ones who motivate you. I am thankful I had such friends.

There was again a hope, and you all know right? Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and good things never die.

I took a week's break from studies and got back at it again with a weird sleep cycle. But I was focused. Mock test scores were still inconsistent but my focus was all on learning from my mistakes and not worrying too much as that would only waste time.  October and November were difficult months as my workload increased in the office and my sleep cycle too wasn't the best (I would recommend future aspirants to have a steady sleep cycle).

But I survived. I had a few great mock scores and a few disastrous mock scores, I survived them too. CAT is also a journey of survival. Many students end quitting before the actual exam and entering the CAT exam centre. Fighting till the end matters. As the saying goes, never ever ever give up.

Chapter 3: D-Day

I took a leave from the office on Friday to adjust my sleep cycle and I gave mock tests on Friday and Saturday according to the CAT exam timings, i.e. 12 PM to 2 PM in order to get accustomed to that time .

I was very calm on the exam day and the test centre was also very good. The thing which I kept in my mind before attempting the CAT question paper was that this isn't the end of the world so there is no point in taking too much pressure. During the exam I didn't do anything new, I stayed calm and never panicked at any point of time during the exam. I was not very confident about the VARC section once again, but when I started marking the answers, especially the Reading Comprehension passages, the confidence started to build again.

DILR and QA sections were my relatively stronger areas as compared to VARC. I could get 28 out of 29 correct in these sections, which is over 95 per cent accuracy. Not flexing but for Quants and DILR, the rule is, either you know or do not. Overall after the exam, I felt much better than what I felt in the first CAT attempt.

Chapter 4: CAT 2021 Results

I knew that I would score 99.5+ percentile for sure because my raw score was 121 in slot 2. And when the screen flashed out on the laptop on the CAT result day it read like this:

Varc : 97.24

DILR : 99.72

Quants : 99.54

Overall : 99.81

Yessss! I felt like I finally achieved something. 99.8+ was my dream, I felt happy, and I got tons of texts and congratulations. So there it is, a GEM score of 99.81+ percentile and that should have been the happy ending, right? You couldn't be more wrong, the nightmare was about to begin. Being an average student in academics can prove to be tougher for a GEM.

Chapter 5: B-School Calls and Personal Interviews

Three weeks into the CAT results and most IIM PI calls were out.

IIM Ahmedabad-  No call (Cutoff : 0.671,  My composite score: 0.667)

IIM Bangalore- No call (Average academic score with 0 work experience)

IIM Calcutta- Got the call (Sigh of relief)

IIM Lucknow- Only ABM call (Cutoff for PGP was 52.xx, My composite score was around 51)

IIM Kozhikode- No call (Cutoff- 65.67, My composite score was 65.10)

IIM Indore- No call ( Andhra Board 12th normalisation issue)

So I scored 99.81 and I didn't even get a call from IIM A, B, L, K, I for their flagship programmes. I got calls from all the rest IIMs. Apart from that, I got calls from all new and baby IIMs, IIM Shillong, FMS, SPJIMR, MDI Gurgaon, NITIE, SJMSOM and DMS Delhi.

It was the next five months of anxiety for me. I left my job at the end of January owing to some personal reasons. So I didn't have a job, and I had to prepare really well for interviews after I was basically a GEM fresher with average academic scores and who didn't receive any calls. With IIM C being my best call, I worked really hard for my interview despite the fact that most of the interviews were random. One plus point is that I became very well aware of various topics of finance, geopolitics, international relations, economics, etc. It was in a way a new and good learning experience.

Final PI result in order of release date

SPJIMR- Direct reject

FMS Delhi- Direct reject

SJMSOM- Direct reject

IIM Shillong- Currently waitlisted

DMS Delhi- Converted

IIM L Abm- Converted

IIM C- Converted

NITIE- Converted

MDI, Gurgaon- Converted

CAP IIMs- Convert

Ironically, the first four results which were out, I didn't convert any, and being rejected from all was really disheartening. Rejections from SJMSOM and FMS were especially heartbreaking as I felt that I had a very decent interview.  That's how roller coaster this journey was. In the end, I needed  just one seat, and I am glad that I was able to convert my best call. I think the entire journey of joining a B-school, from CAT preparation to the Personal Interviews is full of ups and downs.

The entire process tests your nerves and anxiety levels. You need some luck and at the same time, you have to be determined and hopeful that something good is on its way. This is the end of my CAT story and the beginning of a new story. So many lessons to learn, and so many things to look forward to. Joining IIM C is a dream come true and I am hoping to make every single moment count. After all not everyday one gets to say that he or she is Jokar !

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