Thought Overflow

November 16, 2008, 3:02 PM. Just about a couple of hours after having written the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2008. Where am I? A bit in a daze, perhaps. What are my thoughts on the paper and how well do I think I’ve written? I don’t think I would like to say anything at this moment. I’d rather not say anything at all. I can shed some light on one or two things for now, though. I was thankfully way more tense after the exam than I was before it. Did I say “thankfully”? Why yes, I did. Let me explain.

Had I been tense or nervous before the exam started, I would have ended up being a twitchy wreck while writing the exam. My concentration would have fallen, and the various pressures (of time, expectation, difficulty and the obvious “OMIGOD, THIS IS IT, THIS IS CAT!!!!!“) would have weighed heavily on my mind, preventing me from fully employing my thinking faculties. So, it’s a good thing I was not nervous nor nauseous before entering the hall, or even while sitting in the not uncomfortable chair, waiting for the question papers to be handed out.

As for being tense after the exam, let me guide you through my thoughts and feelings right after the test. Shortly after the test, the first few thoughts that developed were along the lines of “Dear God, please help me clear the cut-offs.” All I could think about was the answers I wrote, how many questions I attempted, and how desperately I need my accuracy to be high. I was also thinking about the chaos soon to follow. Career Launcher, among the many other CAT training institutes, is going to put the Answer Key, post estimates of likely cut-off marks, and let you enter your answers and calculate your likely percentile. THAT is not good. The CAT’s been sitting on our heads for the last few months, and it’s finally done and over with, and to have even more stress dealing with the “How did you do?!?!!”s and to figure out whether you’re qualifying for an IIM call or not is just not what should come after the big test is over. To top it off, I have a semester exam tomorrow as well.

So, what am I going to do about it? I’ve decided that as far as today is concerned, I’m not going to deliberate any more on the CAT. I’m going to chill out for a while and then prepare for tomorrow’s test. I know it’s inevitable that I will end up checking my marks and projected percentile, but I would rather not do it any time soon. You can also rest assured that until the result is formally declared in January, I’m not going to post my projected marks or percentile on my blog.

And to close this post, I’d like to just say thank you to everyone who’s wished me luck, and thanks if you’re still wishing me luck. I really hope I’ve done well, and perhaps with the right amount of goodwill, luck and perseverence, I just might.