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!!!!!!!!