Every year, when CAT results are announced, I notice a familiar transformation among MBA aspirants. Phones become calculators, admission portals become pilgrimage sites, and conversations suddenly begin with a number: “What percentile did you get?”
A 99 becomes a celebration, a 95 becomes a question mark, and anything below the expected cut-off can feel like the end of the road. As a professor who has watched students enter business school with impressive scores and gradually discover their strengths, weaknesses, and ambitions, I often wonder whether we have allowed one number to tell too much of a student’s story.
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There is no doubt that CAT matters. It tests preparation, analytical ability, discipline, and performance under pressure. But a percentile is ultimately a snapshot, while an MBA is a journey of learning, unlearning, and reinventing. Today’s students are entering business schools at a very fascinating moment. They have grown up with information at their fingertips and AI increasingly becoming a co-pilot for learning and work. Their greatest advantage is not that they know everything; but that they are comfortable discovering something new every day. The purpose for business education, therefore, is not simply to transfer knowledge, but to build the capacity to constantly reinvent it.
There is an old idea that education is what remains when we have forgotten what we were taught. An MBA gives that idea a very practical meaning: when the case has no perfect answer, the data is incomplete and the textbook falls silent, what remains is judgment. The ability to question assumptions, make decisions, adapt to uncertainty, and lead others forward. Perhaps that is what education leaves behind is not a memory of answers, but the confidence to find your own!
{{/usCountry}}There is an old idea that education is what remains when we have forgotten what we were taught. An MBA gives that idea a very practical meaning: when the case has no perfect answer, the data is incomplete and the textbook falls silent, what remains is judgment. The ability to question assumptions, make decisions, adapt to uncertainty, and lead others forward. Perhaps that is what education leaves behind is not a memory of answers, but the confidence to find your own!
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That is why, business schools increasingly look at the person behind the score. Academic consistency matters, but so does the journey behind those marks. Work experience matters, but the number of years alone tells us very little. What did the candidate actually do? Did they solve a problem, take responsibility, manage a team or learn from a difficult experience? Even extracurricular activities become meaningful when they reveal initiative, resilience or leadership. A resume may tell us that someone led a college club; an interview can reveal what they actually learned when the team disagreed.
Perhaps the most valuable quality, however, is the disposition to keep asking why. In a management classroom, I find that the most engaging students are rarely those who simply know the most; they are the ones who question, explore and look beyond the obvious. Why did a successful company lose market share? Why does a consumer choose one brand over another? What does a geopolitical conflict mean for a company’s supply chain? And that curiosity eventually translates into something even more important: discernment and ownership taking responsibility when something goes wrong, helping a team move forward when things get difficult, and having the maturity to say, “I was wrong.” These are qualities no percentile can measure, but they are often what distinguish a good manager from a great one.
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We should look for, not perfect candidates, but candidates with potential. CAT may assess who gets noticed, but inquisitiveness, character, communication, adaptability, and the ability to create impact determine who stands out.
So, to every CAT aspirant chasing that percentile, chase it. But remember, that your percentile is only the opening chapter. The real story begins when the question paper disappears, the answer key is no longer available, and you are asked to make decisions in a world where there is rarely one correct answer. That is where an MBA truly begins!
(This article is written by Dr. Sakshi Arora, Assistant Professor, School of Business, Woxsen University, Hyderabad)