If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be writing this piece from the lens of an XLRI Jamshedpur student, I probably would’ve smiled politely and gotten back to solving an RC passage.
Getting into an IIM is a moment most of us work towards for months, if not years. I was no different. Coming from an engineering background at NIT Hamirpur, I had always believed in setting clear goals and working consistently toward them. So, when I received my offer from IIM Nagpur, I was excited and ready. Or so I thought.
I still remember the weight in my chest as I stepped onto the campus of that Tier-3 B-school. It was supposed to be a new beginning. But something felt off… and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be joining XLRI Jamshedpur’s HRM batch of 2025-27 straight out of undergrad and at just 20 years old, I probably would’ve smiled politely and moved on. Not because I didn’t want it — but because back then, it felt far removed from where I was. I was in the final year of my Economics degree at VIPS, involved in multiple college societies, buried in coursework, and still figuring out whether I even stood a chance in these highly competitive management entrances.
Picture this: You're handed a project to boost sales for a sexual wellness brand in West Bengal, a market where cultural taboos run deep and retailers hesitate even to display the products openly. For most MBA interns, this might seem like a nightmare assignment. For Arpit Sahai from IIM Kozhikode, it was exactly the kind of real-world challenge he'd been hoping for.
This wasn’t a one-and-done story. It took me four attempts to finally receive the “Congratulations” email I had been chasing for years.
"A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for." – John A. Shedd
Just a year ago, I had barely heard of CAT, let alone understood what it took to crack it and get into the top B-schools of the country. As a final-year student pursuing a 5-year BA-LLB from NUJS, Kolkata, my career path seemed predictable: joining a corporate law firm or starting practice as an advocate in litigation.
