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Ajinkya Deshmukh is one of only nine people in India who scored a 100 percentile in the CAT exam. How did he do it? extraordinary is that he cracked CAT without taking a break from work. "I prepared for CAT while I was working," he says. At 7 am each morning, Ajinkya -- who lives in the satellite town of Ambarnath, located a little over 50 kilometres from Mumbai -- woke up to study for CAT uncomplainingly, though he had only arrived home at 11 pm the previous night. "Focus," he emphasises, is what helped him clinch his goals each time -- be it pursuing a computer science degree at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras or scoring a 100 percentile at CAT 2011, only one of nine toppers in the country. Over 200,000 aspirants took the CAT last year. Over 1,700 scored in the 99th percentile. Only 9 scored a perfect 100.
A software developer at a leading investment firm in Mumbai, Ajinkya, 24, shares the milestones in his lifejourney so far with Rediff.com's Divya Nair. Read on....
'I gave the CAT twice to get acquainted with the paper pattern'
Last updated on: January 12, 2012 20:13 IST
during weekdays, but I used whatever little time I got to solve new problems. On weekends, I would travel to Vikhroli, which takes me an hour by train, to take a practice test. But there was no point in complaining. I was used to the drill. It was the excitement to achieve my goal that kept me going all the way. Travelling has always been a hassle throughout my preparation, but my parents have been very supportive. They never let me feel the pressure, which helped me concentrate better on my career goals. I think when you achieve your goal, these little hardships don't matter much.