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......