I hope your preparation for the final stage of the selection process to B-Schools is on track at MBAGuru. Whether you have some B-School calls or not, I again encourage you to make the best use of the resources and mentorship available to you during this stage of your CAT Prep journey.
I will be sharing a few pieces over the next few weeks just to share some things from my own experience. And my experience of having mentored 100s, if not 1000s, of CAT aspirants through this phase. I will try and pick areas that I believe are most likely to help you in this phase. And areas that complement most other person-specific inputs that you would be receiving from your mentors through the process.
- First and foremost, relax! It’s easy to feel uneasy about something that doesn’t have a fixed syllabus and set of topics. While we have been appearing for exams since our childhood (an average Indian student would have easily taken 1000+ tests of various kinds till college), we haven’t had much exposure to interviews (an average Indian student would not have appeared for even 2-3 serious interviews till college!). Therefore, it is natural to feel a little under-prepared and/or overwhelmed. Do keep in mind that this lack of exposure, and hence lack of composure, is the same for almost everyone.
- Be serious about your preparation; put in all the effort that is needed and you can. Beyond that, don’t fret. Relax. Find time everyday to do something that relaxes you and allows you to see life beyond this selection process – because that is where most of it is 🙂 Don’t make the CAT Prep journey an end in itself. Enjoy the ride and the view.
- You should also be confident about the fact that multiple mentors from the best B-Schools are working with you. And a large proportion of that work is happening one-on-one. So, you are getting the best possible platform to be really well prepared for this challenging stage. And that should make you less jittery and more relaxed than most.Â
Believe me, being relaxed will be an even bigger competitive edge even in this stage than it was in the first stage of your CAT prep.
For any issues that you find unresolved through normal channels, or need help with, please feel free to reach out to me on either mail/telegram. We will be there with you every step of the way – till March/April or whenever your final interview is!
