There are motivational posts online. And then there are stories that make people stop scrolling for a minute.
A Reddit post shared by a CAT aspirant has done exactly that.
The student, who said he comes from a humble background, shared how he spent years juggling work, studies, financial pressure, repeated disappointments, and self-doubt before finally converting Delhi’s prestigious Faculty of Management Studies (FMS).
And the internet cannot stop talking about it.
How did the student support his family while studying?
According to the now-viral Reddit post, the student enrolled in IGNOU’s distance B.Com programme after Class 12 so he could work alongside studying.
But “work” for him meant far more than part-time internships.
He wrote that he had been earning since the age of 13 — giving tuition classes, doing Zomato deliveries, and even reselling books at Delhi’s Daryaganj market to support both his education and his family.
Somewhere between deliveries, studies, and survival, he discovered the idea of cracking CAT and getting into a top B-school.
He called it his “way out.”
“Not just for me, but for my family,” he wrote.
How many CAt attempts did he give?
His journey to FMS Delhi was anything but straightforward.
The student revealed that his first CAT attempt ended with an 80 percentile score.
He tried again the next year and scored 79 percentile — lower than before.
“That stung,” he admitted.
Still, he refused to quit.
For CAT 2023, he said he went “all in” with mocks, practice, and analysis throughout the year. The result was a massive jump to 98.94 percentile, including 99+ scores in LRDI and Quants.
That performance earned him calls from several top institutes, including IIMs, MDI, IIFT, and FMS.
He eventually converted IIFT Delhi.
But then came the decision that would haunt him later.
Why did he reject IIFT Delhi?
The student said he chose not to join IIFT Delhi because he believed he could crack the BLACKI IIMs with another attempt.
“Looking back, I'm still not sure if that was confidence or stupidity. Probably both,” he wrote.
He took up a job and prepared again for CAT 2024.
But this time, things fell apart.
He scored below 95 percentile and failed to receive the calls he wanted.
“That was the lowest point of my life,” he wrote, adding that the regret of leaving IIFT hit him the hardest during that phase.
What happened during his CAT 2025 exam?
After encouragement from friends and mentors, he decided to give CAT one final attempt in 2025.
This time, he focused heavily on improving VARC, which he described as his weakest section. He built a habit of reading and summarising articles daily and credited a mentor, Sayali Ma’am, for helping change his approach toward the section.
Then came exam day.
Things were going well until, mid-way through the Quants section, his computer suddenly switched off.
For nearly five to seven minutes, he sat panicking while the system refused to restart.
“I walked out deflated from the exam hall,” he wrote.
Despite the disruption, he scored 97.99 percentile and once again received calls from several institutes, including FMS Delhi.
He finally converted to FMS Delhi
Yes.
After being waitlisted at several institutes — including FMS — the student said he was left heartbroken once again.
But then came the email on May 19.
“Waitlist converted.”
That was it.
After years of setbacks, sacrifices, odd jobs, disappointments, and repeated CAT attempts, he had finally made it.
“And now while writing this, honestly, I don't have the right words,” he wrote.
“New campus. New hardships coming. And I'm ready.”
