The year 2009.....

I am writing the blog again after some time.Probably my last post for the year.And what an amazing year it has been.Certainly the most eventful of my life.It started in the best way possible and while it is going to end in 17 days from now it has given me something to look forward to in the very start of 2010.

I started the year still on tenterhooks because CAT results were supposed to come out on the 9th of Jan.Most institutes were giving me 45 marks in the VA section and that would not be enough at all to see me through where I wanted to be.Anyway around 6 pm on the 8th the official CAT answers were released by the IIMs.And what I had hoped for did happen.4 answers were different in VA from the institute answer keys and I got 55 which ended up giving me an overall percentile of 99.93 and a shot at the interviews of 5 IIMs.The interviews were to begin on the 9th of Feb starting with IIMK to IIMA to IIML to IIMC to IIMI.I did a lot of prep and learnt something new from every interview which made me better prepared for the next ones.In between the XAT and the FMS results also came out and I got through both of them as well.The interviews were mostly a good experience apart from IIML and FMS where I could not perform upto my expectations.But come April 10 and I had some expectations.My dream was fulfilled when I cleared the IIMC interview.I missed IIMA and IIML and cleared the other 2 as well.Obviously I was elated to be joining a premier institute of India after a lot of work that had gone into making this happen.

There was just one hurdle though.A notice on the IIMC site on the 11th stated that results were going to be rereleased probably with some changes.It had sunk in by then and this really was a nightmare.The revised results came out soon enough and I was still in.Finally we could celebrate.

The last thing to clear before the joining was my term 8 exams.I put in hard work and I thought I did well on most of them.With a happy heart I started my journey for Joka on the 11th of June.We reached Campus on the 12th and I was awarded a singlet.Term 1 started and I was quite comfortable being at this place.Exams came around and I thought I did well.But the results for the mid terms showed that I was wrong.And I did have a lot of catching up to do during the end terms.Apart from academics another big thing was summer placements and the CV making process was in full pace by then.Calling up schools where I had studied 8-10 years ago and asking for proofs was an experience in itself.The end terms started on the 7th of September and finished on the 11th.This time I was not thinking about how I had done at all.Also our final CVs got locked on the 17th of september for the placements which were to start on the 4th of November.

We finally got a break after 3 months and I visited Pune and Delhi for 10 days of a lot of fun.Catching up with friends and family made me pretty relaxed before what was gonna be the toughest month of my life.When I cam back I saw that I had done well in most papers which I have talked about in one post.Placements started and although I think I could have done better I am happy that I got through the first interview I went in for.That experience was something.

Another bout of exams came along and this time they were disastrous.I had again not done well during the mid terms and was left with a lot of catching up to do.The 2nd term was hardly eventful after the placements and exams finished just day before yesterday.I hope that I have done well in the end terms and I will post about the results later.

On the same day the exams finished another very important thing happened.I am not willing to talk about it at this point coz that story has just begun.But lets see where it goes.And I will post about it here for sure sometime in the future.

As I look back now,its been an year which has had more highs than lows.From the CAT success to IIMC,from the exam results to the placements to making new friends,losing some and retaining some,from ending some relationships and hurting people to starting some and finally to the start of 2010..Its been one hell of a ride.......

And so I will sell Chyawanprash.....

Yeah thats true.The summer placements for me ended on friday when I got placed with Dabur India Ltd for a domestic role.The title will be Area Sales Manager and the location could be one of Delhi,Mumbai or Calcutta.The summers process is really very very draining.You reach the auditorium at 7 in the morning and depending on when you get placed could come out anytime around 8.30 AM to 3 in the night.

For people who dont know, the process for IIMs C,A and B starts during the same week.And works in cycles.This time IIMA got to go first on the 2nd of Nov.We went 2nd starting the 4th of Nov and B went last starting the 6th.

1st day of the process involves all the big shot consults like Mckinsey,BCG and Bain which are really sought after.The shortlists for these companies comes out around 10-15 days in advance and is usually pretty small.The other major draw on day-0 as we call it are investment banks like Morgan Stanley,Goldman Sachs,UBS,RBS and the likes.As I said before I had no shortlists on day-0.Everyone in the batch was asked to be there the first day.These companies have this habit of coming out with extended shortlists when they dont meet the kind of people they would like to in the interviews.So anyone could get a shortlist that day if the Gods conspire.

The day started on time with the first interview at 8 in the morning.The news from IIMA was really good and it was known that companies were looking to hire in hoards this year.Immediately converts started coming in and by the end of the day we had around 87 people who had converted their interviews.I am not allowed to divulge which companies hired how many so I wont.I would just say that we beat IIMA by 2 more converts.

The 2nd day has legendary marketing firms along with other finance firms and some who offer a general management profile coming to campus.A few examples are HUL,Procter and Gamble,Diageo,Cadbury,Coca Cola and the likes.The sought after among the general management firms are Tata Administrative Services and the Aditya Birla Group.I had 2 shortlists on day 1 in Cadbury and the biggest indian I-bank in Anand Rathi.Now most of these marketing firms who come have GDs to prune their interview shortlists.I gave the GD for cadbury and could not make it through.My other interview for Anand Rathi looked like formality as it was 5-6 hours after the company had started taking interviews.It lasted 10 minutes and was over.As a campus we did amazingly that day as we had 71 people converting beating IIMAs 50 odd.

The 3rd day started on a bad note.I did not get a shortlist from Microsoft where I had real hopes.The day became better when I got shortlists from firms like Dabur,Johnson and Johnson,Reebok and BRICS securities.I gave the Reebok GD first and messed it up big time.Then came the BRICS GD.When I was waiting I came to know that I had a shortlist for Dabur and as I was more interested in Marketing as compared to Finance,I took its GD over BRICS.This was the first GD that I felt happy coming out from and I knew that I would convert it.I also converted Johnson and Johnson's GD.I gave my Dabur Interview and was told that I had been offered a domestic placement.It was great taking the tie off after 3 very tough days.Through this process I would like to point out some of the things that I have learnt-

1)I always heard that being a girl in a summers process is an advantage and found it to be completely true.

2)I realized that the easiest thing is getting some shortlists on Day-0 and converting them because after that it becomes a random shortlists game.

3)Being an IITian is an advantage only when you convert your day-0 shortlist.

4)Being an overseas candidate is a big advantage.

5)Not everyone in the shortlists is wanted as first choice by the company if you know what I mean.

Anyway as I end this post I have promised myself that I will no scope for day0 firms not to offer me calls during my final placements.For that I need to maintain my CGPA and do well during my internship.I also made a decision that I do want to take up consulting as a career and that is what I would be focussing on.

At the end of a draining week,I get to go home on the 12th.That is what I look forward to as I sign off from this post.

End term results and placements..

Well its been a long time since I posted.We had a break from the 25th of september to the 4th of october(too bad it cudnt start on the 24th then maybe I could have spent my birthday at home).The 1st term exams finished on the 11th and the 2nd term started on the 14th.Haha.That is how these hallowed centres of knowledge work.You never know how time passes.Anyway I had lots of fun at home.I was in Pune for 6 days and then left for Delhi from where I visited Amritsar too(Golden Temple).I met my little niece for the first time and it was a long time since I had seen such a small baby.And a baby so cute at that.That was a lot of fun.Sadly it look like the next time I will meet her will only be once she is like 8 months old(She is 3 now).

Anyway we came back on the 4th and results started coming in for the 1st term.Now I am experiencing the relative grading thing for the first time and I find this thing amazing.However badly you perform in an exam it doesnt matter if others have performed equally badly or worse.The grades that I got in different subjects were as under-

1)Statistics- A-

2)Financial Accounting- A

3)Behavioral Sciences- B+

4)Marketing- A+

5)Microeconomics- A

6)Indian political and economic history- A+

7)Environment and Development- A

The CGPA for me overall came to 7.75 on a scale of 9.The rank list hasnt come out yet but I hope for a rank of around 25 in a batch of 400.Not bad going haan?

Another major thing has happened.The placement process will be starting soon and the shortlists have started coming in.McKinsey & Co released their shortlist yesterday and sadly I did not get one.Although I had no real expectations from McKinsey it still was disappointing.

A major thing happened for me.I finally made a decision on the field I wanna go into after MBA.I wanna go into consulting.The challenge of the job as also its diversity is very fascinating for me.The problem during summers will be my average profile so far with which it will be difficult getting shortlists from big consulting firms.But one thing is for sure.Evn if it doesnt happen now it will happen during final placements.I have smelt blood after my first term performance and have promised myself that I will keep my CGPA in the top 20-25 of the batch which should give me a fair number of shortlists during finals.But I still hope that I get atleast one consult shortlist for summers.I just wanna experience the case interview for once.Please pray for me everyone that I do have a good summer placement week.

The JOKA spirit........

Last few days were very very busy for me.The CV submission time had arrived.And a CV submission at an IIM atleast at IIMC is not a joke.It is a marathon process where you have to create a master CV first highlighting every little thing that you have done throughout your life.You might feel that its unimportant but believe you me there are a lot of unimportant things that can be projected beautifully to appeal to someone who is to read your CV.

The master CV submission date was the 22nd of august.But that was just half the job done.Infact not even half.The CVs to be created here have to be one pagers where you try and cramp in as many points as you can in one page and still make it look great.Now the thing is that you might have awesome points but unless they come across as awesome, you wont attract a lot of shortlists.

The end term exams for the first term finished on the 11th this month and since then we have been after creating a final one page CV which would attract employers.And believe me its an experience.Sleeping at 4 in the night after you have met 10 seniors in a day to get their opinions.That is where the JOKA spirit comes in.And its an awesome thing.Seniors have helped me turn a nothing CV into a great looking one now(atleast I think so).These seniors were helped by their seniors.Now its upon us to uphold their faith in us and repay them with some amazing placements this year.

And believe me we will!!! 

Of teams and team work.....

I have been having some novel experiences since I have landed up at this place.For the first time in my life I am facing surprise quizzes,projects ,assignments and presentations.But the most enjoyable of all these experiences has been working in a team to create an analysis of the movie GUIDE for our Behavioural Sciences project.

Frankly when I was put into this team of 11 people almost 2 months ago now, I won't say that I was feeling very happy about what I would be doing with a bunch of guys I did not know.Also I thought that 11 is too large a number for a presentation.The group hardly met over the first 1 and a half month.We did meet once for deciding the movie where I am not sure how we reached a consensus on GUIDE which I had no idea about as I had not seen it.

Anyway this project was to contribute 20% to our overall grade so we finall decided to meet up like a week before the presentation.As we started to get to know each other better,I realized that these guys were a bunch of very talented people and I slowly started enjoying all the meetings that we used to have.We decided that we wanted to do a narrative intermingled with a role play.Slowly over the due course of meetings we started completing the content and finally today we did 2 dry runs minutes before the presentations were to begin.Our presentation took place today.And I would like to think that we did well.

You know this experience made me realize a few things about myself.None more important than the realization that I could be a part of groups and could contribute well.I had always thought of myself as a pretty individualistic guy and the one team experience I had had acdemically before this was not so great.But I must say that I enjoyed the last week spent working on the project a lot.I know this place will give me a lot of other opportunities to work in teams and now I really look forward to them.

A sorry to someone.......

A lot of stuff transpired since I entered that last blog entry of mine.I rushed into something when I was not sure and ended up hurting a close friend.When you read this you know that I am talking to you.I want you to know that I value you a lot as a friend and not for once did I regret doing what I did that day.Coz I know that someday you will make some guy very happy.But at this point I just know that I am not that guy.And instead of carrying on when I could not give you the time you deserved would have been very unfair to you.

You understanding what I felt was a true testiment to my thinking that you are a very mature person.And for what its worth I really hope that you meant what you said in your mail that day.And that you still consider me a friend.Although I hurt you so much.You took a huge burden off of me by that mail today.And I thank you for it.And once again I say that word which is taken too lightly in this day and age-SORRY.......

Those days.....

Now this may sound like a pathetic loser talk to some people but I dont care.Just want to  put this down now when the flow of emotions is till strong enough.In this day and age we dont get to look back and think about the various choices that we have made in our lives a lot of times.Well sometimes it really helps if one does it.I dont know about everyone else but I have these days where I get that 'alone' feeling.And then I look at people who are happy and it man do I get those jealous feelings.

You know I still think that I am a good guy to talk to and be around.Infact I have no doubts about that fact. And when I look at some of the guys I know and things they look for in a relationship I do think that a girl would be lucky to have a guy like me.Its been 23 years.Way too long a time.And however much I wanna play it cool and feel like nothing is missing,there is something that is missing.And yeah people are right when they tell me that I havent tried hard enough.Infact I dont think I have tried at all.And I know I am putting myself down by saying all this but this is something that I cant deny.

When I get these sort of days I try and talk to people who I know can comfort me.And they always have one statement to make.God must be writing a great script for you.Man if that is true it must be one amazing story.

Honestly Ill tell you what I look for in a relationship.I look for someone to talk to.I look for someone that I can call when I have had a bad day.I look for someone to call when I have had a great day.I look for someone to hold hands with.I look for someone to share my dreams with.I know I am blabbering but the things I just described are really the things I look for.

I dont know what brought that all out today.But as I said before today is one of those days.And when I look at the time now the day is done.But I know that these days are gonna go more and more common if nothing happens soon.But I hope that if God is writing a script he does call 'action' soon.......

Samhar:have to see it to believe it!!

As I write this Samhar,The IIMC-IIMB sports meet is just about to get over.And it has been awesome.Something totally new for me as we didnt use to have events like these back in our engineering days.And boy did we miss something?having experienced this over 2 days now I think the spirit of a campus shines through so beautifully its amazing to be a part of it.
We had girls and guys from IIMB coming down here for the meet this time around.Before I describe the whole event let me just say that this event is just 2 years old from what I have heard.So it doesnt have the history that lets say an IIMC-XLRI sports meet has attached to it.But boy I cant imagine what will the event be like when its 38 years old which the XL event is now(even after the XL guys chickened out from coming here last year:P).
Ok so this weekend we had about 100 IIMB guys/girls coming down here for the various events.The events total 17 in number to be exact.The problem with our campus is that we dont have a lot of sporting practice facilities.So our teams can only practice when some event comes around.Last year IIMB had hosted the event and it was kind of a disgraceful result for us.We had managed to win just 2 out of 17 events.Those events were namely girls badminton and snooker.This time we were hell bent on putting a tougher fight.We welcomed the IIMB contingent and the event started with the girls throwball event.Now their girls were mostl well built atleast as compared to our girls.We were humbled in the first set and though our girls put up a better fight in the 2nd set we could not hold off B.But soon enough news came in that we had thrashed IIMB in cricket by a whopping margin of 45 runs in a 25 over game.In response to our 189 the B guys were at one stage 29-7 but managed to get close in the end.The evening started with the tennis event where our captain came up with a wonderful performance in the first match to come back from a set down and win it for us.Slowly other results started coming in and we had won guys basketball,snooker,athletics,guys table tennis,swimming but managed to lose girls and boys badminton,girls table tennis,girls basketball, volleyball and carrom.At the end of the 2 days the scoreline read 9-7 in favour of IIMB.The tennis event could not be completed in the end.
As I said we did promise a fight and we did give one.Here the spirit I am talking about came to the fore.You just had to be here to see the sledging show put on by our guys.It was one thing we surely beat them in.Anyway it was a wonderful experience for me.Hopefully next time during the planned IIM CABL meet in january i would not only participate in cheering but also try and win some event for my college.bring on January.

You 'C'-Its all good........:)

So its already been a month infact more than that for me at IIMC.And its been an awesome month.The first thought when I reached here was 'Wow this place has a legacy of almost 50 years associated with it'.So many modern corporate leaders/entrepreneurs have studied at this very place.And here I am.

I was in a way lucky to get a good room considering how 'late' I reached this place.We were free mostly through our first week at this place as the management games were postponed to August.There were a lot of things that happened but going there would be spoiling the experience for the guys who come in next year so I will not;).So I am put up in the Ramanujan hostel which has a big plus point among the hostels here.It is the only hostel which has both girls and guys:).

Classes started on the 22nd of june so its exactly a month today.We have had access to some of the best teachers you could hope to see.The subjects have been challenging and at the same time a lot of fun.Class assignments plus quizzes have kept us busy.Plus the mid terms start this monday.Also the various club selection processes are underway.I am a part of a couple but more about that later.And FYI there are a lot of clubs here.

Monsoon has finally visited Calcutta and it is raining as I write this.The 7 lakes are brimming with water.There is an old prophecy there which says that placements are awesome the year the lakes overflow.So we all are really hoping for that now that the summer interviews are coming.

All in all it has been one hell of an experience so far.I have been doing relatively well in quizzes and that has kept me going as well.Wow I just realised that I have a quiz tomorrow as well.So I think I better go study.Take care all you guys and please keep checking the blog for updates on the life at IIMC.I assure you if you guys do manage to make it here it will be the best time of your life. 

The Final one from Pune........

Wow how time flies by.Its already the end of May and i have got exactly 10 days more left in my Pune stay.Just posting my last one from this place before i head off to Calcutta and start posting from there.want you guys to check out this video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hOVCHCkj0c

This is the band at IIMC and it is called JBS-BAROc(yeah the c is meant to be small).I have just come to love this song and well i have every reason to:).Anyway just wanted to tell everyone that I have bought a Sony W210 12 MP digi cam.Always thought of buying a camera when i headed off to a good place and well now the time has come.Also changed my mobile from the w550i to the w910(yeah I am a sony loyalist).

4 years of engineering has almost come to an end now.Out of the 4 exams scheduled for this sem,3 are already done and the last will be done on Tuesday.Then we have the project presentation on the weekend before I leave.

Just want to thank anyone who has read this blog anytime over the past 4 months.I had a lot of fun posting it and I hope you guys had fun readin it.Until we meet next time from Kolkata I guess this is farewell.Take care everyone and spread the joy.

Management?Really?

Well i have over the last few days received lots of queries from people who will appear for CAT this year about whether their grad and board marks are good enough to get them calls from the IIMs....so this post is completely dedicated to that.....lets take it from the top then......

1)IIM Calcutta-Starting with the fairest of them all......this will give one the best chance of making it to a top notch IIM even if u dont have those 90% + scores in your boards.....but you will have to perform in the CAT to get a call....the cutoffs this time were 38 in maths and DI respectively........and 51 out of 160 in VA and RC.....approx 96 in each section......

for the final convert the weightages for different parameters are as under-

CAT score-40,GD-10,PI-44,work ex-6......so a good CAT score and a good interview can take you through......

2)IIM Ahmedabad-the process here has changed a lot this year......they will punish you for mistakes that you might have committed like 7,8 years ago........they gave so much importance to ones 10th and 12th board scores its not funny........lemme take an example.....lets say someone had 79 in 10th class and 89% in 12th class.........by the marks allotted to the respective percentages he would get a 4 as his score from 10th class and 6 in 12th......now even if this poor soul gets a 100 %ile in CAT the total CAT score he will get is 3(100-98)=6......98 being the min u need for a call......i.e. the total cumulative score is 16..........and the cutoff for IIMA this year was 17.61........so all you people who have a percentage below 80 in any of the boards please hope that for your sake IIMA changes its criteria this year....

3)IIM Bangalore-lets not even begin........

4)IIM Lucknow-they have this whole criteria thing written down well in their site..........lemme copy paste it here......for calls-

a)agg CAT score-30

b)class 10 makrs-5

c)class 12 marks-5

d)work ex-5

e)grad marks-5

for converting calls-

a)essay-10

b)PI-20

c)GD-10

d)quality of acad qualification-5

e)quality of work ex-5

it straight off means that u are at a huge disadvantage if you are a fresher.......infact the IIML batch for 2010 has 88% wrk ex guys in it........and with them setting that rider of quality of acads the IIT guys will have a huge advantage over normal people........

5)IIM Indore-for calls Indore had a straight criteria......aggregate CAT score was given 90% weightage with min requirement of 80 in each section.........and work ex was given 10% importance.....for converting if you are a fresher and get a 99.9+ percentile you are surely in no matter what your profile looks like..........for around 140 seats IIMI gives like 400 calls so........

6)IIM Kozhikode-IIMK was the second fairest while giving calls.........it had strict CAT scores for each section that it wanted which eventually came to around 93 %ile in each......for conversion the weightages were 55% CAT score and 45% GD/PI........

The thing i have realized is that at some places like IIM I,C and K anyone and i mean anyone can make it given that you get a good CAT score and do a good interview......for the others you would need to have a 'good' profile as well......and at the end of the day you can't prepare for interviews..........yes try and acquaire as much knowledge as possible coz you never know what you might need...... as far as graduation percentage goes i have 62 till now and i converted 3......so people with percentages around or greater than this dont need to worry at all......

I tried to keep it as impartial as possible but i just couldnt control myself when it came to what the IIMA director said........anyway for me IIMC was the dream from the beginning and it has come true........i hope that this article is helpful for future aspirants.........more later.....ciao!! 

After the relief comes the shock!!

All the fun and games came to an abrupt end at around 11 Am the next day when i suddenly read a shocking message on PG......the message said that the results link on the IIMC site had been removed and replaced by a notice which said that the results will have to be revised due to some 'unavoidable circumstances' and a revised list would be put up shortly.....

Wow i guess all of you can imgagine what i would have felt at that moment........think again..........no one an imagine apart from the people who were actually affected by it......it was like the ground beneath my feet opened up and swallowed me......it was a truly horrible feeling......imagine having your dearest dream come true and then told the next day that it was still a dream......

Anyway the official response never came........but when people did call up the admissions office the message we got was that the final offer list was being pruned......now no merit numbers were given to final converters and no one knew who would be cut........finally at around 2 PM the same day the result link showed again..........with trembling fingers i entered my details again and it was a bigger relief than yesterday........once again the screen flashed-SELECTED..........

Boy this incident surely left a sour taste in the mouth........the status as of now is that 100 people have been put on hold and will be offered admission when the people with confirmed calls dont accept.......i can surely imagine what my prospective batchmates must be going thru..........i just want you all to know if you guys do click upon this that all of us are with you during this time and would love to see you at JOKA......

JOKA Calls..........

So I finally update after the IIM final results have come out......the results were supposed to come out on the 10th but like it always happens one or two IIMs actually released them on the 9th itself......among the two were IIMB where i didnt have a call and IIML where i had a call........I must frankly say that i never expected to convert IIML but when it finally did happen(me not converting that is) it was very disappointing........all those feelings from the IIT days came back to me......it was my 4th straight reject after all.........barely slept during the night and woke up early next morning to confirm that i hadnt converted L........

The wait for the next hour was excruciating.........you know i like most CAT aspirants am a PG member........and when the final results came out for XLRI,FMS and IIML there were threads opened for people who converted.........i always wanted to post in a thread like that........also orkut communities were immediately created..........i wanted to be a part of them........

My prayers were answered at around 8 AM........calcutta results came out..........and i was very hopeful........with trembling fingers i entered my details.........and it was a great feeling looking at the screen........I had made it..........I had made it to my dream college.........the ivy league in india was gonna welcome Prateek Singh to its fold.........there were tears of joy quite literally.....this achievement had been a long time coming......and i think that it still hasnt sunk in......

Subsequently the IIMK results came out........and i was shocked when they offered me a direct admit........obviously i am not going to take it but still feels good.....i was actually starting to feel confident about IIMA as well........although i was sure of going to Cal had i converted Ahd as well......well the fairytale ended with the IIMA results coming out at 10........I wasnt even in the waitlist.....i was surprised at how well i took it........and the icing on the cake was the IIMI result in the evening........i made it there too......

So finally my IIM results read-Converted-3......Rejected at 2......not bad considering that my profile is average........I would like to thank everyone who supported me throughout this journey......My parents would take the first mention......all of my siblings........some close friends......the amazing faculty at IMS......thanks a lot to all of you......and to all of you who liked my journey and somehow prayed that I make it thanks a lot to you as well........

This will be one of my last posts from Pune........I would never forget updating the blog with what i face at Joka.............I know those posts will be as or even more interesting than what the last few have been..........waiting for the fun to begin.........bring on JOKA!!!!!!!!

How uncertain art thou life?

Ok i dont think i have lived long enough to understand the myriad uncertainities of life.....but it can be so beautiful,all satisfying at one time and then in 10 days it can be so frustrating.....just 8 days ago everything looked so rosy......i had given my final interview at FMS.....was confident about the 8 interviews i had given(well some of them anyway)......

Cut to 21 march........now the FMS results come out really early.........this was th final day of interviews there and lo and behold!here were the results........i didnt have many hopes for FMS as i didnt have great GDs or great interviews......still i wanted to check if by any miracle i had made it....but no.....checked at 11 in the night and my name wasnt there in either the MBA or the MS list......checked the waitlists but nothing there too.....bad start to the final convert season........

The list for XLRI was expected soon too.....an average percentile there didnt give me huge expectations for a convert......the results did come out on the 25th.........no luck here as well......not even a waitlist again.......anyway i talked to a couple of my friends and two of them had amazing percentiles of 99.97.........but unfortunately none of them converted as well......one of them got a WL of 74.....the other got a WL in the PMIR course.....finally reached a conclusion that this wud not be a great year for freshers to convert a lot of calls.....

Anyhow the most important date is 10 April now........thats when the IIM results come out and relieve us of our misery........hope to have a great day then......please pray for me everyone......:) 

GD/PI!Part 7-FMS Delhi.....

The end of the interview process came two days back with the FMS interview on the 19th.......I had applied for 2 programs and was lucky to get called for both the MS and the FT interviews.....the time for the MS interview was 9.30 AM and for the FT was 1.30 PM...........i was in delhi 2 days prior to the interview(still am btw) and am staying with my relatives.......

On interview day i reached the spot at 8.45 in the morning........the venue was ofcourse the north campus itself of the Delhi univ............the first part of the process was document verification after which we were called in for the MS GD........there were 10 of us and the GD was scheduled to last 10 minutes.........one of us was asked to come and pick a GD topic and the topic we got was-WTO is not the best thing to have happened for the developing economies.........now i have been a part of a few GDs but this was something different..........people were just too desperate to make their points and were constantly cutting off others........fortunately here none of us had a great idea about the topic and so it was a little more restrained.........I think i made about 3 entries and i wud rate my performance a 3 on 5.......

Then the panel started with the interviews and i was appalled at the length of the ones before me.......they were just lasting close to 5 minutes each......my turn came after 4 people..........for the uninformed FMS has a extempore process in the interview too..........my topic was-'Morning is the best time of the day'.........i dont think i spoke as well as i could have coz i basically did not practice much for this round.....anyway the interview panel had 5 members........i am mentioning just the questions........
1)What do you think your percentage would rise to after the 8th sem?
2)Whats your dads post in the army and which corps does he belong to?
3)Where all have you lived and what have you gained by living at so many different places?
4)Name some of the recent progresses in the field of comp science?
5)How have the RAMs grown from the time they were first used to now?
6)If i were an indian entrepreneur and wanted to attract foreign investments what points of india as a country would i portray?
7)CAT score and other calls.......
Thats it.........the interview lasted for all of 5 minutes.....all in all i dont think i did well and with there being only 31 seats am not very hopeful..........

The second part was the MBA process.........we started with the GD again and we were the same panel again.......and boy if i mentioned that the first GD was bad this was the worst i have ever taken part in.........finally i got to know what a 'Fish market' is............special mention for the girl who spoilt it for most of us........anyway the interview process started again and still the interviews lasted just 5 minutes on average.......when i went in the extempore topic given to me was-'Face is the index of the mind'...........i think i spoke decently for a minute.......again for the interview just mentioning the questions..........
1)What is your percentage now?
2)What electives would you opt for?
3)Difference between multiprogramming and multiprocessing.
4)Where are you placed?
5)Which subjects based on management did you have in engineering?
6)CAT scores and calls.......

That was it again.........it lasted for around 5 minutes again...........dont know what to make of any of them..........i dont get on what base theyll be judging.............

Anyway so the one and a half month interview porcess finally comes to a halt............I got the message that the IIM results will come out on the 10th of april.........FMS and XLRI will come out before.........please guys once again i request you to pray for me........i hope these posts will help guys who will be taking part in interviews in 2010......hopefully i make it to a good place and meet some of you there in 2010.......:)...

GD/PI!Part 6-IIM Indore.....

The last of the IIM interviews was scheduled for the 14th of march at 8.30 in the morning......this would be the end of the IIM interview process for me and boy was it a enjoyable journey......although there was a tinge of relief at the process finishing for me finally after a month there was a bit of sadness too.........and now there is a lot of nervousness as i await the results......

Ok so we were waiting at the same centre at Mumbai........the interviewers came in at 9.15 which was surprisingly unprofessional for a IIM GD.....we were broken off into panels on 9......in my panel I had two people who had been with me in two previous GDs as well.......

Now Indore has changed its process for the GD a bit this year wherein they have a case study......you have half an hour to analyse the case and put in your recommendations........and then 20 minutes to discuss........so we got a 1 page long case and it was pretty interesting......this was the first GD I started and I think that I did pretty well throughout the GD......I would rate my performance a 4 on 5 in the GD........

Now we were made to wait and people were called in randomly for the interview......the first few interviews were really long but then as the crowd moved on they started pruning the length......I was the 7th person to be called in........there were two senior profs one male(M) and a female(L).....here is how it went-

L-So where do you originally belong to?
Me-mam being an army officers son i dont really belong to just one place........but my ancestors belong to punjab in pakistan.....and i call jaipur my hometown as i have stayed there the most....
L-so what is the issue about basmati rice between india and pakistan recently?
Me-(ye kyon nahi pata)no idea mam....
L-but your ancestors are from pak and u dont know this about the country?
Me-mam my ancestors were there like a 100 years back when it wasnt even pakistan........
L-so u are totally cutoff from pakistan now?no relatives there?
Me-no mam.....
L-what is famous about jaipur?
Me-a lot of things....mentioned all the stuff i had mugged up here.....
L-some famous monuments....
Me-hawa mahal,jantar mantar,amer,birla temple......
L-local cuisine...
Me-gatta ki sabzi is really famous...
L-so if u were to select a prospective company to join what are the factorsthat u will consider?
Me-in order-1)brand value....
L-ctc?
Me-mam that comes late in the order......
L-carry on
Me-2)the profile
3)the history and management
4)the current market reputation
5)standing
L-ok so if u were an employee of satyam now what wud u have done?
Me-mam waited for 3 months to see if the bidding process could revive the company back somewhat and if i saw no growth maybe move to some other company...
L-if u were the CFO of satyam,wud u have handled the issue the same way?
Me-mam i dont think i have the guts to do something illegal........
laughs all around......
L-What is this flexibility in thought process u have mentioned in your form?
Me-accomodating of various views....not rigid in thinking.....
she signals for M to start....
M-so u are in final year right now......i will ask u questions on your final year subjects.........
Me-right...
M-what is the difference between a good algo and a bad algo.....layman terms please......
Me-told...
M-your final year project?how far has it progressed?
Me-sir nascent stage so far.......still have 3 months to go.......
M-you happy with your project mates?
Me-yes sir....very......
M-did you have ALP?
Me- no sir.....
M-what is a compiler?
Me-told...
M-so what is a C compiler?
Me-told.....
L-so were any of the questions we asked today asked in any of your other IIM interviews?
Me-no mam......they were new.....
laughs all around again.....
L-so that will be it.....you can leave......
Me-thanks for your time....

All in all it was a pretty chillax interview......no stress as such and it lasted for a time of just 10 minutes.....I would say that i had a lot of fun during all my 5 IIM interviews and similarly for XL as well......now the wait for the results begins and man is it nerve wracking?

Anyway I have another major interview in FMS to come on the 19th........I will be posting my experience as always even if no one wants to read it......it was fun doing this and now I am off to Delhi for FMS......

If anyone of you has gained anything out of reading my interview experiences please do put in a small prayer for me.....:)

GD/PI!Part 5-IIM Calcutta.....

Ok so now for me the most critical one......the best IIM with a decent chance for freshers making it through as well....now after 3 IIM interviews already I met a few people who I had already met in a couple of other interviews as well.....so bascially that gives one a good comfort level before starting the GD.....

The reporting time for Cal was 9.30 am me and one of my friends reached together at just around 8.......the frist thing Cal did was marksheets verification which was a chilled out process as well....our panels were mentioned in the sheet outside and i found my name in panel 10.....we were called in for the GD at around 9.40 and the topic given was-'Slumdogs can never be millionaires'........2 minutes to think and upto 15 minutes to discuss......overall it was a decent discussion with me pitching in with some good points throughout.....we were asked to summarise for a minute at the end individually and they called my name out at the end which i think was a good sign-I got the last word in........:).....

I was the 6th one to be called in for the interview and the processes had been like 15-20 minutes long for everyone.....there were 2 senior male profs along with one female alumnus who i believe was very sweet.....atleast to me throughout my interview......ill call the male profs P1 and P2.....and the female prof L......so heres how it went.....

P1-Have you heard of Rahul dev?
Me-yes sir from i have seen a ciuple of his movies.....
P1-dont you know him from somewhere else?
Me-sir i think i am getting what you are implying(my face structure probably reminded him of this guy)....
smiles all around.....
L-so tell us about where you did your 10th and 12th from?
Me-jaipur........army school and vidyashram respectively......
L-your interests,hobbies etc...
Me-mam tennis and cricket majorly......big fan of pete sampras......
L-so what do you think about his challenger in federer?do you not want him to support petes records?
Me-yes mam i dont.....that is why i like to see him lose....
laughs all around.....
L-oh you do......so what do you feel about sehwag?
Me-he has always been my fav player......
L-what do you like in him?
Me-mam the fact that makes him so attractive and endearing to watch also brings about his downfall sometimes......and he is a genuine matchwinner.....
L-so dont you like consistency?
Me-it is but in my books i would rate match winning abilities higher.....
L-so tell us about some of your weaknesses?
Me-mam i can be a little judgemental sometimes and a little impatient....
L,P1 and P2 smile......
L-so u already know that?
Me-yes mam i have been askd this questions a lot of time before......but i have changed for the better quite a bit.....
L-(smiling)have you ever been involved in streetfights?
Me-no mam i am a peaceloving person......basically very afraid of getting beaten......
L-so whats your institute like?
Me-told....
L-how does one get in?
Me-AIEEE performance.....
L-why do you not want to join the army?
Me-mam i cant and i dont want to either.........i have a flat foot problem and also i am a family person........i want to spend time with my family and see my kids grow up.....
L-only 62%?
Me-explained about how the PU is different.....supported by stats....
P1-do you know about regression?
Me(hadnt studied it)-no sir.....
P1-you have mentioned marketing research in your career goals..........
Me-talked about how my coaching exp gave me new insights.....
P1-so u have a product to launch..........what are the things u consider?
Me-mentioned various factors......a good convincing answer....
P2-so i give u a chocolate.........what sort of package would you design for it?
Me-again a decent answer i believe......
P1-so how did you prepare for this interview?
Me-sir i was told that the IIMC profs usually like maths a bit more than other things.....
P1 asked me various questions on distributions then.......answered them to the best of my ability.....also asked me to draw the exponential curve which i kind of messed up......he asked me to think about it over lunch......
L-so which other calls did u manage?
Me-mam A,I,K,L....
L-are all the others done?
Me-only I left....
L-so how was A?
Me-mam i believe it was decent...........but you can never tell from the facial expressions of the interviewers whethere they liked you or not......
laughs all around again.....
And thats how it ended.........in the middle he offered me juice which i obviously didnt drink during the interview....as i was leaving he asked me to take it.....

All in all a very enjoyable interview........it lasted cloe to 15 minutes and most of it was just general banter.....hopefully they liked me enough to give me a seat in IIMC.....one more important thing.........they did check the scorecard in the beginning and seemed quite impressed with my quant and DI score.....

So overall i would rate my GD performance a 3.5 on 5 and the interview performance the same.....At the end I am happy that I am still hopeful......

Please pray for me guys.........I need this one badly.......

GD/PI!Part 4-XLRI Jamshedpur.....

Again the one week just sped past and quickly came the date for XLRI......
Now for the 2nd time i needed to go to an alterante venue because XL is
a completely different institute from the IIMs....The venue for this was supposed to be the
Xaviers Institute for Management and Research neat CST......I believe it
was a UG college looking at the people who studied there....
One word for the girls there though......What can i say?We reached there a
couple of hours before the interview was to begin....the interview was
supposed to start at 2 and i was there by about 12....Now this was a whole
consortium of Xaviers institutes.....and we waited in their canteen....
and through the whole 2 hours the noise level did not go down even once...
some of the girls were amazingly beautiful though......;)......almost took
my mind off the real thing....anyway just needed to mention that once.....

At about 1.15 i went to the waiting room......now for the people who are not aware
XLRI has 2 courses unlike the IIMs......the normal MBA program is called
BM and their most famous HR course is called the PMIR course.....they have
the normal GD/PI process for the PMIR thing but only an interview for the
BM course........while i was waiting there were around 7 to 8 PMIR candidates
with me and only about 1 other BM candidate.....my slot was the first after lunch....
i was called in at exactly 2 by a genial prof who goes by the name of Prof.
Gangopadhyay......

So i go in and the panel is larger than the IIM panels...........here we have 3
members namely Prof Gangopadhyay,Prof Supriya Kumar De and Prof Rajeev Sharma
who is the Chairman,Admissions at XLRI......we will designate the profs
G,S and R......

As i enter i am asked to sign the attendence sheet in front of me....then the
process starts-
G-so prateek you did your 10th from army school,jaipur and your 12th from
bhavans in jaipur.....and now you are AIT pune...
me-yes sir...
G-you placed somewhere?
me-accenture sir.....
G-so its a good company......why do you want to come to XLRI for an MBA?
me-sir it has always been a dream of mine to do an MBA(wrong turn)....
G-so there is also something known as hallucination......tell me the difference
between dream and hallucination
me-talked something about hallucinations being unrealistic...
G-a hallucination is something like you looking at a rope and calling it a
snake......
me-yes sir...
G-what is insanity then?
me-sir a dream turning into an obsession.....
G-gave me the example of a person who files for presidentship of india every year
and asks me if that is insanity......
me-blurt out something....
G-so how do you know that you have a dream?
me-coz i believe in it sir and i believe that i can make it come true as well....
G-so what field do you want to go into as far as MBA goes?
me-sir i am interested in some electives which mostly concern with FMCG and
retail......
G-so tell me about some FMCG companies.....
me-mention P and G.....
G asks me where it is located......i mention Ohio but he says no.....it actually is
located in Ohio after all......maybe he was trying to bluff....the talk veers
to some more india based FMCG companies....mention some but cant tell him
where they might be located at.....
G-Do you know about the agricultural growth rate of india?
me-yes sir.....2.6%.....
G-where did you read about it?
me-sir the interim budget........
G-so is the interim budget about deciding the paln expenditure or the non plan?
me-sir must be plan.....
G says it is to decide about non plan.....
G-how did you come to mumbai?
me-sir train.....pragati.....
G-why not a bus?
me-wanted to say train cant be caught in traffic jams but blurt out the cost factor....
G-so how will you go back?
me-sir volvo.....
G-asiad?
me-no sir.....neeta.....
G-so neeta is better?
me-sir i have always travelled by that in my stay of 4 years in pune....
and now S starts.....
S-so you have mentioned that you have teaching experience for SNAP...tell me
how are all these aptitude tests namely SNAP,XAT,CAT,FMS different from each other?
me-talk about it for a good 1-1.5 minutes.....
S-symbiosis as a brand?
me-sir the brand name has taken a beating with the recent farcical results....
S-what?tell me more......i have not heard of it.....
me-give him the details about what happened recently with the SNAP results.....
All of them share a good laugh........
S-so you have to build a robot and train him to appear in aptitude tests.....
what changes would you incorporate?
me-talk about inserting some basic emotions and pressure handling mechanisms.....
also mention that all robots can be trained to solve questions.....
S-seems convinced......
then R starts......
R-So you are from computers.........tell me the difference between comp sc.
and comp engg.....
me-comp sc to study stuff which is already there.....comp engg to create new stuff.....
R-ok......so do you remember your subjects in comp engg?
me-yes sir.....my fav would be databases.....
R asks me some questions on databases......answer all except 1......
R-something more you would like to tell us?
me-sir i am a member of the international high IQ society......give him the
background and details......
R-good....
G-so now take a good neeta volvo and go back....
me-i will sir.....thanks a lot for your time.....

overall i thing the interview didnt start on a good note but i did better
in the middle and during the end.....overall a 3 on 5 performance.....
but the experience was totally worth it coz of the profs being very knowledgeable
and the other factor(if you know what i mean.......:)).....On to IIMC and
IIMI on 13th and 14th respectively......

She.......Read....

She may be the face I can't forget 
The trace of pleasure or regret 
May be my treasure or the price I have to pay

She may be the song the summer sings 
May be the chill the autumn brings 
May be a hundred different things 
Within the measure of the day. 

She may be the beauty or the beast 
May be the famine or the feast 
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell 

She may be the mirror of my dream 
The smile reflected in a stream 
She may not be what she may seem 
Inside her shell 

She, who always seems so happy in a crowd 
Whose eyes can be so private and so proud 
No one's allowed to see them when they cry 

She may be the love that cannot hope to last 
May come to me from shadows of the past 
That I'll remember till the day I die 

She may be the reason I survive 
The why and wherefore I'm alive 
The one I'll care for through the rough and ready years 
Me, I'll take her laughter and her tears 
And make them all my souvenirs 
For where she goes, I've got to be 
The meaning of my life is...she

Whoa, ohhhh...She

Amazing lyrics arent they?...........:)

GD/PI!Part 3-IIM Lucknow.....

Days move by so quickly..........yet another GD PI process taking me back to HMATC in dadar as IIML came calling.....now this is a college famous for its notoriously close batch profile when compared to an IIMB....i was talking to a senior here yesterday who told me that out of the current batch of 320,they have just 38 freshers!!

Anyway this was the first GD/PI that i had in the afternoon slot......i reached the venue around 1.10 for the GD which was supposed to start at 2....i had 9 members(2 were absent) in my interview panel which was supposed to take place under the supervision of panel-4......out of the 11,i was the only one who was a fresher.....i hoped that wud be a differentiating factor.....anyway another amazing thing here...........no offence meant but i always thought that girls found it kinda easy getting calls coz there are really so few of them with great percentiles.........well here i met one of those 'few'.....someone with a 99.97 and i was like girl you go and sit in the interview and they will take you......

Anyway we started with our essay round where our topic was-'Helping hands are better than praying lips'......i dont know how they wanted us to interpret the topic but i had a very personal interpretation for it which neither my co members nor the panel seemed to get........a 20 minute 300 word limit essay and i thought i was very true with what i started with......the GD topic was supposed to be the same one......the GD having a 20 minute time limit and the topic being what it was there was no fish market anywhere throughout the interview.....i made a 5 or 6 entries and i would rate my performance a 3 on 5......

The interview process started and i was the 4th one to be called in.........the previous 3 had had interviews lasting up to 7 to 10 minutes at the max......i went in from the wrong door first of all(???) and then the interview started-

P1-you were supposed to come in from the other door....

me-sorry sir.....

P2-anyway now you have made the effort of coming all the way for this door so dont worry.....so tell us about yourself.........your schooling,college,hobbies etc.....

me-sir i being an army officers son have been to a lot of places......i did my 10th from army school jaipur and my 12th from b.v.b.vidyashram jaipur......my interests would be following sports like tennis and cricket,solving I.Q. tests,talking to people as in mentoring and a dabbling interest in numerology(wrong turn).....

P1 pounces on it-numerology........so where did you learn about it?

me-sir the internet

P2-but internet is all rubbish....

me-???

P1 from out of nowhere-you had low marks in your 12th maths(81 sadly)........and you have 99.5 in CAT?

me-sir they are very different types of maths......CAT is quantitative,12th qualitative.....

P2-talks some more about numerology........my answers were satisfactory upto him saying where did numerology originate?

me-sir no idea but my guess would be india(???)

P2-you had a subject on civil engg in your engg.....do you remember anything?

me-sir some of the experiments that we had......

P2-do you remember what is concrete?

me-???

P2-formula for cement?

me-???(formula)

P2-what are these I.Q. tests all about?

me-sir i am a member of the international high I.Q. society.....top 2% people of the world......blah blah.......

P2-but the I.Q. is just a number.....what do you do with it?

me-chup......

P1-so what else do you do in your spare time?

me-sir basically surf the net.....like reading about stuff....

P1-so what are your views on the current political system in india?

me-talk against regional parties...blah blah.....

P2-any other interests......

me-sir i talked about tennis and cricket i have been following them for 15 years now....Pete Sampras is my role model....

P2-do you still play tennis?

me-yes sir(please have a look at my file)....

P2-where are your work ex docs?

P1-he is a fresher....

me(wondering what he has been reading in my file).....

P1 and P2-ok that will be all.....

me-thanks for your time sir......

Overall my interview was longer than others but i dont think i did well........overall i would give myself a 2 on 5 in the essay,3 in the GD and 2.5 at max on the PI......looking at the fresher/work ex ratio i dont have high hopes.....anyway whates gone is gone........next interview-XLRI on the 5th of March......

Ahmedabad!!

In my previous post i talked about my PI experience at IIM Ahmedabad......i forgot to talk about Ahmedabad as a city......

I had my interview call on the 16th of feb........so i planned to start for the place on the 14th........as there is no direct train from pune to ahmedabad(not one that i am aware of anyway) my dad and i decided to catch the gujarat mail from mumbai on the 14th night......we reached mumbai around 7 in the evening..........took a taxi from dadar to mumbai central..........the train was to start at 9.50 in the night......after we had our dinner we went and occupied are seats(1 actually the other being  'RAC')......that day i learnt how our dear railway minister Mr. Lalu Prasad has read a railway 'revolution'.........allotting the same seat to 4 people under the name of RAC is a good way to make a start..........:).....anyway thankfully one guy didnt show up and both of us got seats........it wud have been a long night otherwise......

Morning came and brought along with it the city of Ahmedabad........i got down at the station and there was something in the air........that something gave a feeling.........a feeling that made me feel that this is where i wanna be for the next 2 years of my life.........a feeling that sucked urself into it and that made u crave for uself to be a part of it......

An army vehicle had come to escort us to the place where we were gonna put up for the next 2 days-The EME mess........the specific area of this place was Hanuman Camp at Shahibaug......it was a wonderful place to say and we were taken care of very well there for the whole of the 2 days.........

The 16th came and the time arrived to go to Vastrapur where the IIM is located.......seeing the place finally sort of overwhelms u..........it feels like this is where i wanted to be when i started out with my prep........and now i know why........though the campus is smaller than most of the other IIMs it still strikes u........and that is mostly coz of the culture of the place.........the values that it exudes......

I am sad about two things really.....one that i did not carry a camera......and didnt even remember to take some snaps with my mobile......second i did not catch a glimpse of the whole campus..........i left as soon as my interview got over........now i think that i should have tried to explore the back part of the campus which has been newly built......hopefully i will get an opportunity to do all that in 4 months..........wishful thinking i know but a dream does not hurt does it now?:)......

After the interview finished we decided to visit the Akshardham temple located in Gandhinagar which is another wonderful city.........it is beautifully structured and planned..........laid out in sectors it reminded me of another wonderful city i have had the pleasure of visiting-Chandigarh........we did reach the temple finally after asking for directions from a lot of people(none of whom spoke hindi btw) only to find that it was closed on mondays.........whatever we got to see from the outside was amazing......they have become very vigilant of the place after the terrorist attack..........it had huge walls all around it and it was a huge compound anyway........

Anyway it was a wonderful experience to go to Ahmedabad and i must say that i have fallen in love with the city.....hopefully the city gives me a chance to experience it for 2 more years coz frankly this is where i wanna be.........:)

GD/PI!Part 2-IIM Ahmedabad......

The big one came next........my IIMA interview was scheduled for the 16th of Feb at the IIM Ahmedabad campus itself........first off this was the first time i was visiting ahmedabad and i must say i loved it as a city.........it so gave me the feeling that i wanted to spend the next 2 years of my life here......the time for the interview was 8.45 AM........i again reached around an hour early......this time there was someone already present and we struck up a nice conversation......the people came in gradully and finally we had 24 people in 3 panels.....my name this time was the first to be called out which clearly meant that i was to have my interview the earliest......

The IIMA PI process has an essay instead of a GD........we went into the room where we were to write the essays and the topic given was-'professional management is a mere rhetoric in family run businesses'.........we were given 10 minutes to complete the essay........i think i wrote a good essay overall although i was left with the summary when the time ended........

I was called in for the interview.....it just happened like 2 days back so i pretty much remember whatever i was asked......there were again 2 people in the panel and this time both were guys......we will call them P1 and P2.........here is the interview as i recall it-

P2-So tell us something about yourself......
me-Stressed on being an army officers son hoping theyll ask some questions on it but they didnt.....

P1-So u have mentioned that u had a an years gap in ur studies so were u preparing for something......oh u have mentioned IIT...right so unfortunately you did not make it
me-Yes sir.....

P1-So are you placed somewhere?
me-Yes sir........Accenture.....

P1-But obviously you are interested in MBA........What are your MBA plans?
me-Sir i basically look to work in the retail sector and for that i want to join an FMCG or a research firm in my summers.....i saw that AC Nielsen is one of the recruiters for IIMA.....so i am pretty interested to join them......

P1-Ok.....but why AC Nielsen?
me-Sir i have always been good at analytics and research.....

P1-How do u say that?u have any experience?
me-Well on a micro level sir........i have one of my certificates saying that i created aptitude tests for a firm which they are using in their selection process......

P2-seems impressed.....ok.....So why retail?
me-Sir basically coz of two reasons.....i think it will be beneficial to me and....cut short

P1-Beneficial as in......
me-Try to explain about profit margins and stuff........

P2-But why do u look at profit margins?ok so u want to start a chain of ur own?
me-Yes sir 7-8 years down the line......

P1-So what differentiators do u look for in ur chain.....
me-Sir there are basically 2 categories of people who buy something........lets take the example of a mobile phone.....theres a category which just looks at price and then one which looks at features......cut short again......

P1 to P2-ask him some questions on comp......

P2 asks me about my project......i fumble a bit and he finally lets it go......

P2-so what is your fav subject in comp?
me-sir databases......

P2-So do you know about normalisation?why do we do it.....
me-Explained him well.....gave him an example too.....

P2-Seemed satisfied.....do u know about cascaded delete?
me-???......no sir but i do know what delete is.......

P2 and P1 laugh....
P2-Ofcourse u know what delete is......

P2-So have u done something other than relational databases?
me-Sir i read about tuple databases....

P2-What is a tuple......
me- Realized that a tuple db is a relational db only......so sir i have mostly done relational dbs only......although i did have distributed and parallel dbs in my last sem......

P2-so what is the difference between parallel and distributed?
me-explained........he seemed satisfied.....

P2-So what sort of ops can be parallelized?
me-Sir functions like join,sort,select etc.......

P2-ok....

P1-So u have tennis as a hobby.......do u have a certificate for it?
me-yes sir........it was a intercollege event......

P1-Ok......u have certificates for quiz and gds too......what is this gd?
me(dint u used to have it in ur selection process like 2 years back)-sir discussing topics basically.....like the essay topic today.....

P1-ok one of the hobbies u have mentioned is numerology....
me-yes sir....

P1-why do u believe in it being an science guy?
me-sir it works perfectly with me......

P1-is that how scientific laws are verified?
me-no sir........u probably look at a larger sample space.........mine is pretty small....talked some more about numerology
and the 5 nos there........

P1-i still didnt get why u believe in something so unscientific......
me-sir i love working with numbers basically.....

P2-u give 2 nos from every person and ill tell u that he has two eyes,two ears and one nose......so i can predict too...
me-well sir i talk about personality traits......

P1-i guess that will be enough......thank u u can leave......
me-thanks for ur time sir......

Overall i believe it was a pretty chilled out interview but IIMA is the last among all the places one can be sure about admission........So lets watch and hope for the best..........:)

Next stop-IIM Lucknow.........26 Feb........See you then.....

GD/PI!Part 1-IIM Kozhikode....

I started the GD/PI season with IIMK on the 9th of feb........the time for the start of the process was 9 am.........the venue-Hospitality Management Applied Training Centre at Dadar........I reached at around 8 in the morning and was the first one to reach......we were asked to wait in the room designated 'the senate'........this place was beautiful........the room inside was full of newspapers of the day......being the first one there i was quick to pick up one paper and started reading........people started trickling in slowly......in all there were around 30 of us when they finally began........

My name was announced in the 2nd GD panel......we were to head off straight for the GD room.........we were seated and a small piece of paper was handed over to us.....the topic was-a case study based on some one by the name of jayanti........she works in the bpo industry......she is called by the name Jane now by all her colleagues........also she celebrates 4th july as her independence day(???)........we were to discuss if the IT industry has eroded a whole generation of indian youth of 'indianness'......the discussion was to last 15 minutes although i dont think it did.......the guy next to me began and it was a bad start i think.........he didnt even define the topic and went ahead......i let him speak for about 10 seconds when i took it up........i gave the GD(or atleast tried to) give the GD a structure.........overall it was a good discussion where most people spoke........

when it finished we were asked to wait for our chance at the interviews........i was no4 in my panel......when we were waiting the whole of my group congratulated me on my GD performance......this gave me a lot of confidence as being appreciated by fellow participants should mean that i would be appreciated by the panel as well......

Anyway my no for the interview came and i was called in........now i dont remember the exact questions at the interview coz its been over a week now but i will try and recall the gist of it.........i think they also applauded my GD performance coz as soon as i entered they tried to stress me by saying that i looked older than my age..........anyway i didnt say anything but smiled........there was a guy and a lady in the 2 member panel........the guy basically asked me acads based questions where my performance was mediocre........the lady was more interested in economics and HR questions like why MBA?........i think my performance was satisfactory there..........there were no questions on the filled form that i had submitted,none on my hobbies and interests........

anyway at the end of it if i were to rate my performance i would give myself a 4/5 on the GD........the interview though was average and i will only give myself a 2.5 on 5 here........so overall i think the interview could have been much better if i had done a little better in the questions based on acads........

my interview lasted around 20 minutes......and i was done with the whole process by 11......overall it was a very enjoyable experience especially the GD part.........there is no point in guessing one's chances at these interviews so i wont even try........i will just hope for the best.........:)

The IIMs Call!!!Part-4

So finally the test date came......the 16th of november........i always thought that it will be the day of redemption......i reached the test centre at around 9 for the test was to start at 10.30.....but we were asked to be present atleast 1 hour in advance..........my IMS centre was very near to this place so i went there and collected wishes from all my teachers and friends......always remember the carry as many good wishes as you can......always gives one confidence........apart from that i was wearing what i refer to as my lucky dress........i am no great believer in superstitions but this is one that i just cant avoid........i felt very confident and that was the purpose......

Anyway the bell rang and we were distributed the sheets........one look at the instructions and i was shocked........40 questions in some section in a 90 question paper?i was sure this would be the english section and i was proved right.........anyway i had confidence from some good va performances in the past few tests and i was not perturbed.........

i always followed this strategy in mocks of starting with the DI section coz i believe that it can give you the maximum momentum........if you can get 3 or 4 questions correct in quick time at the beginning you will see your confidence level shooting up.....this time i searched the whole paper and i saw that english had 20 questions on verbal ability.......i had plans to solve all of them as they dont consume a lot of time and my comprehension performance in mocks was not strong......

So i started with the english section and attempted 4 or 5 questions here..........then i moved on to the maths section and solved some here........i had had kind of a slow start to the test and decided to move on to DI quickly to get back on track.......contrary to the views of some people i actually liked this section a lot in this years paper......

In the end i dont know how those two and a half hours vanished so quickly........out of the 90 questions i had attempted 71....the break up was 20 in maths,21 in DI and 30 in english......i came back to my coaching centre after the test for discussions.....some other students were called in too and we discussed various questions.......i saw that i had done reasonably well in DI and maths.........the english answers like always were a little ambiguous so i thought that i would check the keys later.......

I was shocked to see the keys in the evening......out of the 30 questions that i had attempted in english i was only getting 15 right......but i had very strong belief in 2 of the answers which i had ticked and for which every coaching insti had a different answer than mine........I thought i had messed up my chances.....barely looking at calls from 2 IIMs at the max.........not the result i was hoping for......

Anyway 8th Jan came quickly........the result was coming out the next day i.e. the 9th......the IIMs came out with their keys in the evening and i was elated to fing that 4 questions in the english section had different answers than what the instis had published in their keys........i got 3 of them right and 1 wrong to give me an overall benefit of 2 questions and 10 marks........

When i finally saw the result later that night i had got 55 in maths(15 correct,5 wrong),64 in DI(17 correct,4 wrong),55 in english(17 correct,13 wrong).........an overall score of 174 out of 356......out of the 71 questions i got 49 correct and 22 wrong...an overall percentile of 99.93.........along with the scores the results said that i had calls from IIM ahmedabad,calcutta,lucknow,indore and kozhikode.....and that was sweet......i celebrated a lot with family and friends for the next few days.........

In between i had also appeared for 2 other major MBA exams in XAT and FMS........the results for these two exams came out on the 19th of jan and the 4th of feb respectively......I got a mediocre 99.44 in XAT but the good thing was that XLRI did give me a call in the course that i had applied for..........FMS called me for the GD/PI stage of both the courses i had applied to.........

So all in all it was a great exam season and i had success in every exam that i gave.........coming after the tragedy that i had with the previous national level exam i had taken in the form of IIT this was a big relief......and it was vindication for me......:)

I will come out with my GD/Pi experiences in the posts after this.........so watch out......

The IIMs Call!!!Part-3

The Test series came about with the first test on May 18........As i was associated with IMS i chose their test series and i do not complain.........:).........my test series started on a bittersweet note when i got a 99.95 %ile overall but missed the cutoff for the english section getting just 21 out a possible 100 there........Atleast i got to know what i had to do in the next 6 months.........

There was a long break between the first and the second tests.......i totally messed up the 2nd one and got a mediocre percentile there missing the english cutoff again......finally i redeemed myself with a good performance in the 3rd one as i obtained my first national rank of 18......the 4th one was a disaster.........i mean that literally as i managed a score of 3.5(yes) out of 100 in english........

The tests kept coming and going and i could see no visible improvement in my performance....i started getting ranks regularly but was lacking the spark that i wanted........no rank in the top 10.......also i had never got a 99+ percentile in english......something changed with the 10th test on........i guess the official gmat guide was a big help........my english scores drastically changed......i would recommend that book to everyone who can lay his hand on it......

Anyway the last 2 tests were very good......i ended up with a 99.92 and a 11th rank in the 15th one........and an even better 99.99 with a 3rd rank in the last one......that was the impetus i was looking for......

i remember when i was preparing for IIT one of my favourite teachers ever used to talk about the importance of momentum before a major exam.....he used to give us the example of the 2003 cricket world cup final.....talked about  that famous(or infamous) first over that zaheer khan bowled where he was extra generous with wides and no balls.....and gave australia the perfect start to the match.........

That momentum believe me is very important and it can come from anywhere.........go watch a movie that you really enjoy.....solve some problems that make you happy........talk to people who make you happy......or simply do your last exams well.........:)

The IIMs call!!!Part-2

Ok so here i go with my 'journey' again........I started in july 2007........pretty early i know but i had nothing better to do......Joined IMS and took their preliminary test.....Got a score of 164 out of 300 in that test and i knew i was actually good at this..........I joined regular classes from next week on and we started with 'refresher classes' in the beginning........looking at the whole process now i think the first 2 or 3 months were the most important one........I had the support of an amazing faculty and it was a lot of fun going to classes......

The other thing which i think was very important was my love for solving problems which was kinda inborn..........i built up this concept of scrounging up questions from various places and create a little something i called 'questions for the day'.........i looked at mocks from the previous year,posts on internet sites(pagalguy for one was very helpful) and depending on what i wanted to do that day selected few for everyday........simaltaneously i was attending module classes which were strictly average......

Then another huge confidence booster was a test based on CAT-07 which was called 'CATRAILER'......I got very close to 100 %ile there and that was an ego boost.....:)......anyway at this point i think I'll stop.........I'll come to the test series in my next post........

To be continued........

The IIMs call!!!Part-1.....

I am visiting my own blog after a long time.........Frankly i didnt wanna come back until i would have something really tangible to talk about.....At this point i think i do and so here i am........This is gonna be a series of blogs about my CAT experience and i am gonna hopefully regularly update it with my GD/Pi experiences........

I did not know 1 and a half years ago where exactly was i going with my life........I have always been a 'planner' but for the last 2 years i was just drifting along........The pain of not being at an institute which i thought was worth me(:)) was killing me......And i just let myself be........Then finally i got a hold of myself.........Actually it was mostly my family who guided me.........This feeling of being nowhere and doing nothing just overwhelmed me.........

I finally decided what i had to do........A lot of introspection taught me that i wanted to do something for myself..........I wanted to be something and create something for myself.........And finally i came to the notion that i wanted to carve a niche in the field of retail......And what better place than the IIMs to guide me?

And so i started with with my CAT prep.........I suddenly found out that i was pretty good at this process and was underestimating myself......I finally grew serious and joined IMS for further guarantee of success......I knew if i put my heart and soul into it that i would do pretty well......And that was big enough motivation.........

To be continued......:)