Need Career Advice

Asked by Suvendu Kumar Meher on 2026-07-28 in CAT Prep

I'm currently in my final year of a non-engineering bachelor's degree and belong to the OBC-NCL category. My academic profile is 8/8/8 (10th/12th/Graduation), and I'll be attempting CAT this year.

I have two questions:

Is it generally better to join an MBA as a fresher or after gaining 1-2 years of work experience? I know many top B-schools award points for work experience, but I'm unsure whether it's worth delaying an MBA or trying as a fresher.
Based on my profile and current mock performance, what colleges should I realistically target? My mock percentiles usually range between 85-92 percentile. what B-schools would be realistic options for someone with my profile?

3 Answers

Abhimaneu · 2026-07-28 · 2 helpful

Your are good for Top Tier if you can score 99+ score , So in My opinion is go for the maximum score and target the top B school , I know work EX can give points but finally it comes to Cat Score and Interview+GD so you can get to Top Tier

Shreya Garg · 2026-07-28 · 2 helpful

It actually depends on career aspirations. I would say go for CAT this year, give it your best shot. if it works out, great , if it doesn't , you can get 2-3 years of experience and then do MBA. I would say MBA after work-ex has its own merits and MBA as a fresher also has a few merits, totally dependent on your CAT score + career goals

naina · 2026-07-29 · 1 helpful

Hi,
First of all, trying to postpone CAT is never a good option. I would say you should keep practising for the exam along with gaining your experience, because working always pays off. Your profile is decent enough not to fall short without the work experience.
Another thing you mentioned- your mock percentile. Look, I've been giving mocks as well, and my highest percentile till now has been 78 something. So if yours is 85-92 right now, before 3 whole months of the exam, I'm very sure you're easily gonna crack it unless you're focused the same way.
Fingers crossed anyway!
All the best.

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