The night before - Pre-CAT 2010 results jitters

With just a few hours to go before CAT 2010 results are announced, stress levels among CAT candidates are like never before. If technical glitches, normalisation and psychometric analysis were the terms, aspirants came to associate with CAT 2009, the latest CAT will be known for the 'leaked' results which were out a good ten days before the actual one. Whether CAT 10 lives up to the expectation of the 2 lakh aspirants is the question which will be answered real soon.

We at PaGaLGuY.com had a chat with three candidates who are expecting a good score being a part of the Dream Team, having performed consistently well throughout the mock season as to what they are doing to combat anxiety at this stage.

According to Roopak Bhartee, “On the day before the big day, there are indeed anxious thoughts in every aspirant"s mind, but looking back at the journey to this year"s CAT lessens the chunk of brain wasted thinking about the result. Looking back, this season started with a couple of awesome mocks, which instilled my faith after the last season. The journey along with many other like-minded people surely instilled enough confidence. I had an awesome time preparing with some really awesome minds, super awesome team mates and super super awesome friends! Always kept faith, did bakar, and enjoyed the process!! Hence looking back, results seem to be a very small part of the process! Results are always in 'Boolean" terms, and hence incomplete! I know I gave it my best shot and I"ve always believed in the maxim that whatever happens is for the good."

Arshdeep Kaur says, “A day before the CAT results, I feel somewhat excited and somewhat tense. I keep recalling the day I took the CAT and remember being satisfied afterwards. The fact that I"ve given it my best shot keeps me from feeling over-stressed. Obviously, the fact that one doesn"t know how normalisation is done, how the wrong questions are dealt with (if at all), etc. does give me sleepless nights, but then frankly there isn"t anything that one can do about it. Those are the rules and everyone has got to play by them. I truly hope and wish that all my friends come out with flying colours. I hope everyone gets what they truly deserve."

According to Tarun Tiwari, “Last year, it was like, CAT had gone computer-based for the first time. So, I was not aware of the complications involved in scaling of scores and all the normalisation procedures. As I had scored decently throughout the mock season and also because my CAT had gone well, I was real hopeful about my result. But as it turned out, I had performed badly in one of the sections. But this time, things are different. I know that I can get any score. May be just a slip of 1-2 percentage can cause enough damage. So I"m not really thinking about the result. I"m nervous but not really stressed out. Apart from that, this year I had my job to focus on. So I can divert my attention from the results. The real feeling of nervousness will start after 11-11:30 tonight. These days I"m reading the autobiography of Steve Waugh 'Out of my comfort zone" to stay relaxed."

The general feeling amongst all CAT takers is that of anxiety. However hard they try to refute it, there will still be a certain part of the mind focused on the catiim site and the forum. Those who 'know" their results will be hoping that they change if they fall short of their expectations and those who have scored well will be praying that they remain unchanged. If there are any changes, only tomorrow will tell. The thing is to not make it larger than life and take it as it comes. If there are other calls, focus on converting them even if one is sceptical about joining the institutes. One can always decide whether to join an institute or not after converting the call.

The results were out last year at around 12 noon. Only IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Shillong had come up with their shortlists along with the results last year. Others came out later.

Wishing all aspirants good luck.