Brief profile
I am a fresher and I completed my bachelor’s in economics from St Teresa’s College, Kochi in 2023.
Why I wanted to join BITSoM
Back in college, I worked majorly in the social impact and sustainability sector. I always knew I wanted to do my masters in a field that would let me delve into these fields further. One day I had come across an email in my inbox from BITSoM. I knew it came under the BITS Pilani umbrella and decided to check it out. Upon reaching their website the first word that flashed across my eyes was ‘Social live projects’. Upon further research, I got to know that they conduct Social live projects as part of the curriculum that focused on working in the social impact sector and they also had a great sustainability club. I was already liking what I was seeing. I then came across a term called ‘Block-Teaching’. This further piqued my interest. I got to know how the college concentrated on one subject for two weeks and focused on application-based and peer-group learning instead of rot learning. Coming from a conventional education system, to see a college trying to re-wire education in India was both fascinating and refreshing. I did my research by looking up the past two cohorts and the diversity of their profiles was amazing to see. Each one of them had a very holistic and varied profile, but what touched me was how easy it was to communicate with each one of them. They were ready to communicate about anything regarding the college and also listed the pros and cons of the institution. I really loved this transparency. The cherry on top for me was when I got to know that there were no qualifying score ‘cut-offs’. They focused on looking at an individual holistically and did not judge a person’s ability by just their scores. It seemed like a breath of fresh air, and I knew just then that BITSoM was where I wanted to be.
My Interview transcript
My interview was with Mandar Desai, Head of the Career Services team at BITSoM and a BITS alum. They introduced themselves to me and even though they were leaders in their fields they made me feel at ease immediately. They reiterated how this was not going to be a formal interview but a friendly chat. This itself calmed my nerves. They went over my profile and picked out a sustainability project I was doing in college. They asked me about it and were really interested to see the kind of results we were achieving through this project. They then went on to ask me about certain concepts arising in the sustainability sector and were interested to know my views on them. As I was really keen to work in this space, I was able to explain my point of view, which they both seemed to listen to with a lot of focus and patience. They then when on to ask me why I wanted to do an MBA, especially since I was only going to graduate within a few months. I gave them my side of the story, for why I felt this was the right time for me to head this path and they seemed convinced with my answer. They then threw several situations in the workspace and asked me what I would do in these situations. At times these situations would become challenging, but they were patient enough to wait for my response during this. They asked me what my aspirations and expectations were out of an MBA, and I gave them an honest answer stating that I still didn’t know what I want to do. They assured me that it was perfectly normal to feel so. They wanted to know what I could do for BITSoM for which I already had answers I had planned to give. They ended the interview by letting me ask them a question. I asked them a bit more regarding the sustainability club and initiatives of the college for which they gave me their answers. The nearly 45 minutes interview ended with them wishing me luck. Overall, it was a different kind of interview experience as they wanted to know me as an individual and not by my subject or grades. For this, I had to dive deep into all the experiences that shaped me. The way I approached these questions was by looking back and contributing examples from my personal life that suited the question.
Tips for the interview
Remember that the college is trying to analyze you holistically. Questions will mainly come from what you have put in your application. So be sure of everything you put in that application. Most importantly stay calm, this is not a formal interview, it is more of a friendly chat between two sides getting to know each other. Always prepare a set of answers for generic interview questions and ensure that you have a smile and you’re composed throughout the ups and downs of the interview. If you can, try and give anecdotes or examples from your personal life suited to the question as this will help the college get more insight into you as well as your capabilities.