The scenery was rushing from my sight and so were my thoughts. A gush of thoughts ran through my brain whenever I used to travel. These journeys through trains embody a connection between unseen places and space within me where I meet a more philosophical version of mine. - This was my life pretty much two years back when I started my preparation, while I was in my third year of graduation.
It was last week of December 2016 when my result came out. It was IIFT. One of my close friends called me that results are out and he asked me for my roll number. I told him after checking it on my laptop. That moment was a very intense one with a lot of things going on in my mind. As IIFT gives out a list in PDF, everyone can know who got through. My friend told me “Congrats! You got through”. Suddenly, mind went to a relaxed state from a tensed one and I myself wanted to check my results and opened the website and found my name there. This was a really happy moment. Then, from the next day, I started preparation for GD-WAT-PI and things were going on as usual. Then CAT results got declared on 9th January. I got a percentile, from which I was sure of getting at least a few IIM calls. Days moved on and calls started coming, first was IIM Kozhikode then IIT Bombay (SJMSOM) then all the new IIMs and finally TISS (HRM & LR). I prepared for all the interviews. It made me travel a lot as I was living in Ranchi and had to go to Kolkata multiple times and to Mumbai 2 times for interviews.
Growing up, my twin and I did everything together - what started as shared birthdays, moved on to shared toys, friends, experiences, and 21 years later - we shared dreams too. Both of us were increasingly fascinated by the world of Marketing - for reasons different and similar. In 2015, we heard about MICA, a b-school that specialises in Marketing. The turning point for me came when I learned that the entrance exam has an entire section devoted to out of the box thinking - I never thought being excited about an exam was something that could actually happen to me. The blog posts on the curriculum at MICA, the videos that talked about the faculty, successful MICAn alums, and finally - getting to know more about the MICAn way of life further strengthened the belief that this is the college. I remember both of us walking out of our interview and Group Exercise process elated and hopeful.
A couple of days back, I got a call from a classmate from my undergrad college. He had an exciting news - he had a shortlist from IIM Calcutta! Having gone throughthe same process exactly a year ago, I was more than happy to help. Discussing my experience with him got me reminiscing. And then, thinking. Like most of my batchmates, I am an engineer. Unlike most of my batch-mates however, I am not from an IIT or an NIT, and so, I do not have seniors and peers who could help me when I was preparing. At IIM Calcutta, we live by the motto, “We Leave No One Behind”. I hope, this article helps everyone who decides to go down the CAT route.
“SPJIMR gives preference to students with work experience”
“You know that chip that you have in your mobile, that you use to upgrade the ‘RAM’, as you call it, to increase its speed when you play games? Well, I used to design its circuit!” I explained to my best friend at IIM Lucknow, who keeps forgetting what exactly I did as an R&D Engineer, and confuses me with “some IT/software/computer stuff” in her words.
By now, you must have read the journeys, of several esteemed authors, to an IIM. They have written well about their experiences, hurdles and the overall journey so far, with some bittersweet moments therein.
It finally came down to doing a well-settled bank job against an MBA from the prestigious DoMS, IIT Roorkee. And that too during these turbulent times for the Indian market after GST and Demonetisation. However, MBA was a dream in the backburner and I felt it was the time I go for it after having worked for three and a half years in IT and Finance industries. I belong to a middle-class family. My father who worked as a Marketing Manager was the only breadwinner. He was my role-model and had inspired me for so long. The way he established himself in the corporate world while having a rural background had created an everlasting image in my mind and planted seeds for pursuing the MBA.
The scenery was rushing from my sight and so were my thoughts. A gush of thoughts ran through my brain whenever I used to travel. These journeys through trains embody a connection between unseen places and space within me where I meet a more philosophical version of mine. - This was my life pretty much two years back when I started my preparation, while I was in my third year of graduation.
It was last week of December 2016 when my result came out. It was IIFT. One of my close friends called me that results are out and he asked me for my roll number. I told him after checking it on my laptop. That moment was a very intense one with a lot of things going on in my mind. As IIFT gives out a list in PDF, everyone can know who got through. My friend told me “Congrats! You got through”. Suddenly, mind went to a relaxed state from a tensed one and I myself wanted to check my results and opened the website and found my name there. This was a really happy moment. Then, from the next day, I started preparation for GD-WAT-PI and things were going on as usual. Then CAT results got declared on 9th January. I got a percentile, from which I was sure of getting at least a few IIM calls. Days moved on and calls started coming, first was IIM Kozhikode then IIT Bombay (SJMSOM) then all the new IIMs and finally TISS (HRM & LR). I prepared for all the interviews. It made me travel a lot as I was living in Ranchi and had to go to Kolkata multiple times and to Mumbai 2 times for interviews.
Growing up, my twin and I did everything together - what started as shared birthdays, moved on to shared toys, friends, experiences, and 21 years later - we shared dreams too. Both of us were increasingly fascinated by the world of Marketing - for reasons different and similar. In 2015, we heard about MICA, a b-school that specialises in Marketing. The turning point for me came when I learned that the entrance exam has an entire section devoted to out of the box thinking - I never thought being excited about an exam was something that could actually happen to me. The blog posts on the curriculum at MICA, the videos that talked about the faculty, successful MICAn alums, and finally - getting to know more about the MICAn way of life further strengthened the belief that this is the college. I remember both of us walking out of our interview and Group Exercise process elated and hopeful.
A couple of days back, I got a call from a classmate from my undergrad college. He had an exciting news - he had a shortlist from IIM Calcutta! Having gone throughthe same process exactly a year ago, I was more than happy to help. Discussing my experience with him got me reminiscing. And then, thinking. Like most of my batchmates, I am an engineer. Unlike most of my batch-mates however, I am not from an IIT or an NIT, and so, I do not have seniors and peers who could help me when I was preparing. At IIM Calcutta, we live by the motto, “We Leave No One Behind”. I hope, this article helps everyone who decides to go down the CAT route.
“SPJIMR gives preference to students with work experience”
“You know that chip that you have in your mobile, that you use to upgrade the ‘RAM’, as you call it, to increase its speed when you play games? Well, I used to design its circuit!” I explained to my best friend at IIM Lucknow, who keeps forgetting what exactly I did as an R&D Engineer, and confuses me with “some IT/software/computer stuff” in her words.
By now, you must have read the journeys, of several esteemed authors, to an IIM. They have written well about their experiences, hurdles and the overall journey so far, with some bittersweet moments therein.
It finally came down to doing a well-settled bank job against an MBA from the prestigious DoMS, IIT Roorkee. And that too during these turbulent times for the Indian market after GST and Demonetisation. However, MBA was a dream in the backburner and I felt it was the time I go for it after having worked for three and a half years in IT and Finance industries. I belong to a middle-class family. My father who worked as a Marketing Manager was the only breadwinner. He was my role-model and had inspired me for so long. The way he established himself in the corporate world while having a rural background had created an everlasting image in my mind and planted seeds for pursuing the MBA.
