How I Found Out About IIMs and CAT

If you ask me when I first heard the term “IIM,” I’ll be honest —

it was way later than it should’ve been.The First Time I Heard About IIMs

It was during college, in the most random way possible.

We were sitting in the canteen, wasting time (as usual), and one senior was bragging — “Bro, my cousin got into IIM Ahmedabad.”

Everyone suddenly went silent. Even the chai stall guy paused for a second.

I didn’t know much, but I knew the reaction meant yeh jagah kuch toh khaas hai.

Later that day, I googled: “IIM kya hota hai?” And that’s literally how it all started.

Realising What CAT Actually Is

When people said “CAT,” I honestly thought it was some small college entrance test — you know, like one of those backup exams.

Then Google slapped me with the truth:

• 3 lakh+ aspirants
• Only a few thousand final admit
• Percentiles, not percentages
• DI-LR that looks like it’s from NASA
• Math that makes you question your childhood

For 5 minutes, I genuinely wondered why people do this to themselves.

But the more I read, the more it pulled me in.

The Moment It Hit Me

One evening, my roommate said: “IIM mil gaya na bro… life set.”

He didn’t mean set as in rich or fancy. He meant:

• better opportunities
• bigger networks
• smarter peers
• a career you actually choose

Something clicked in my head.

For the first time, I felt like: “Maybe I should try for this too.”

Not because everyone else was doing it — but because it felt like a chance to push myself beyond the usual “graduate → job → whatever comes next” loop.

Why This Discovery Felt So Real

I’m not from a family where people casually talk about IIMs at the dinner table. Nothing elite, nothing fancy.

Maybe that’s why discovering it hit harder.

It wasn’t a dream passed down to me. It was something I found on my own.

And that made it feel personal.

From Confusion to Curiosity

Once I got a basic idea of CAT and IIMs, I went through all the classic phases:

• “Hallucination-level confidence” — I thought I’d crack it in three months.
• Reality check phase — attempted a mock, got traumatised.
• The research rabbit hole — toppers’ strategies, cut-offs, sleep schedules, everything

But somewhere in this chaos, I realised I was actually enjoying the process.

It wasn’t just about IIMs anymore. It was about proving something to myself.

So, How Did I Discover IIMs and CAT?

Not through guidance. Not through planning. Not through family pressure.

Just a random moment… a senior’s bragging… a Google search… and a hint of curiosity that turned into a serious goal.

Sometimes that’s how journeys begin — quietly, casually, without any big movie-like moment.

And sometimes, those are the ones that change you the most.