Every CAT topper has a story, but not every story begins from a place of comfort or free time. Some begin in the middle of a busy job, late evenings after long work hours, and a quiet decision to just keep going. This is the story of one such iQuanta student, an IIT Kharagpur graduate who cracked CAT while working full time at an Indian MNC and found his way to the top percentile without waiting for the perfect moment to begin.
What makes his journey worth reading is not just the percentile he scored. It is the mindset he carried through the entire process, and the way he handled fatigue, self-doubt and the pressure of balancing two demanding things at the same time tells you more about what it actually takes to crack CAT than any preparation strategy ever could. How iQuanta became a turning point to his hectic life and made his CAT preparation journey flexible throughout.
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About the CAT Topper
Ayan has completed his graduation as a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, and right after college, he started working at an Indian MNC in a strategy and business development role. His Class 12 score was 83.6% and his CGPA from IIT Kharagpur was 7.39. His total work experience at the time of preparation was 21 months.
When asked why he chose an MBA, his answer was honest and simple. During his work experience he realized that technical knowledge alone is not enough to influence large business decisions. He started getting more interested in strategy, market expansion, M&A discussions and leadership-orientated roles. For him an MBA was the bridge between doing the work and actually being in the room where decisions get made. He was clear that his goal was not just career growth but becoming someone who could solve business problems at a much larger scale.
Major Challenges Faced During CAT Preparation
The biggest challenge for him was something most working aspirants will immediately relate to. Balancing a full time 9 to 6 job with competitive exam preparation is genuinely hard. After a full day at work, sitting down to study requires a kind of mental energy that simply does not come naturally every evening. There were phases where fatigue, poor time management and self doubt started affecting his preparation momentum.
What helped him get through it was a shift in how he thought about consistency. He fixed study hours daily, reduced distractions and focused on showing up regularly rather than studying intensely once in a while.
There was another challenge that does not get talked about as much. Coming from a purely engineering background and transitioning into aptitude-based problem-solving and business concepts took real effort. He worked on it gradually through mock analysis, reading business and economic content and structured preparation over time.
How Did iQuanta Become A Part Of His CAT Prep Journey?
He came across iQuanta through people in the MBA prep community and conversations happening on social media around CAT strategies and mock analysis. Once he started using it regularly he found it easier to stay consistent even during weeks when work was draining most of his energy.
The practice questions and regular exposure to CAT level problems made sure he did not fall completely off track on the days he felt like skipping. But the part he found most valuable was the community itself. Watching other aspirants put in work day after day made him feel like he could not afford to stop either. That peer pressure in the best sense of the word kept his preparation going through the stretches where his own drive was not enough.
Conclusion
His story is not about cracking CAT because everything fell into place. It is about doing it while managing a real job, real fatigue and real self doubt along the way. His advice to CAT 2026 aspirants is grounded in that experience. He says CAT preparation is less about intelligence and more about consistency. A lot of aspirants keep waiting for the perfect phase to start serious preparation and that phase simply never comes. If you are working or coming from a non ideal background your biggest advantage can actually be discipline. Study daily, analyze your mocks honestly and stop comparing your starting point with someone else’s peak performance. Small improvements compounded over months create big results.
He also adds something that stays with you. Do not prepare only to clear CAT. Prepare to become someone who can handle pressure, competition and decision making because that mindset matters long after the exam is over.
