Given the high stakes of the Common Admission Test (CAT), the complexity of the paper increases each year. After all, the entrance examination is a direct ticket for admission into the country's premier B-schools. In 2019, around 2,44,169 candidates registered for the exams, the highest since 2008. Yet, one entry stands out particularly.

Patrick Dsouza has cracked the crucial test 16 times, and scored a perfect 100 in four attempts. A resident of Thane, 43-year-old Dsouza studied at St John The Baptist High School, completing junior college from KJ Somaiya. Soon, joined the mechanical engineering course at Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad. Despite making it to a reputable institute, he says he was never really a "bright student". "I was never close to being a topper even. But as the years passed, I evolved and got better in studies. So in 1996, during my second-last year of engineering, I decided to appear for CAT exam," he recalls. Dsouza remembers not having a mentor to offer guidance. "I had subscribed to the IMS correspondence material, and referred to it about five hours a day for seven months. Back then, there was no awareness on preparation for an intense CAT exam. I wish I had prepared for the test differently, though."