3. Although this point is a given, mock assessment is the road to improvement. Create an Excel sheet, updating every mock test scores and analyse the areas that require improvement and work on the same.
But alas, 94 percentile stared me in the face as I viewed my XAT result.
Devastated, I was at the verge of losing all hope when I received my only interview call letter that year, from XLRI! It was my only chance to pursue management from a stellar MBA institute and I wasn't going to let it go! Bouncing back to my energetic form, I spent every day preparing for interviews and group discussions, attending mock interviews, working on the feedback and updating myself on business jargons. All those state and college level PORs and co curriculars came handy for a decent resume. I regularly watched motivational and GK videos on various platforms. I talked to a number of seniors and graduates, connected with them on Linkedin. This helped me to cultivate a professional outlook. For confident boosts, I didn't need any external source, as my family, especially my sister, graciously played that role. I took every screening level seriously, be it the self profile assessment or asynchronous video interview, carefully framing answers and getting them reviewed by seniors.
THE D-DAY
I distinctly remember sitting outside my interview room, as I was surrounded by candidates with 98+ percentiles, ample work experience or having completed graduation in commerce/management-related fields, feeling that my chances of conversion were subservient to theirs. GD went well but my interview was grilling, covering everything from my internships and extracurriculars to global affairs. I was asked about the meaning of my name and it escalated to Indian mythology.My interview took the shape of a discussion. One of the panelists was glued to my file containing my resume and certificates. I had mixed feelings about the whole experience. The words ‘low percentile’ and ‘rare chances’ were ringing in my ears sometime before I decided to consider my second attempt at CAT, crystal clear that no deterrent will stop me this time.
Covid-19 stole the thunder, locking us all in our homes and I eventually forgot about my XLRI interview. The results were declared a couple of months later and to my surprise, I got a direct convert, without even being waitlisted! A fresher from an engineering background with a mere 94.04 percentile was called to be a part of a 180-students batch, at Asia’s best institute for HRM and Indias oldest B school with excellent pedagogy, XLRI Jamshedpur! Joy knew no bounds as I kept refreshing the portal to make sure I wasn't dreaming. My advice to you would be that if you’re a call getter with a low percentile it's really not the end of the world, as your academic and extracurricular profile along with strong self-determination will speak for itself. So utilise your time effectively, building up a good profile and working on your GDPI skill sets along with targeting a good percentile. It's never too late to begin.
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Comments
Vasumathy Vinod
That's a truly inspiring writeup.Amazed at your diligence in pursuing your dreams ! Keep soaring high Vandana!!
8 Jun 2020, 11.52 AM
Vrinda Kallayil
Brilliantly narated the journey of an mba aspirant whose resilience and determination paved the way to success. The story truly resonates with the phrase, "There is a light at the end of the tunnel". Very realistic and intriguing post by the young mind.
8 Jun 2020, 12.00 PMEdited
Swadesh Shrivastava
You forget to mentioned the gender preference you got due to the the institutions giving...extra weight-age/marks to female candidates as well as non engineer too. (I am nowhere disallowing your ability, atleast you got 94, which is also a very good score. However, so many GEM (general engineer Male) students with 96-97 percentile in XAT and very good academics, not able to get admission Any way congrats for your selection.
8 Jun 2020, 01.30 PM
+Read Replies (2)
Vandana K
Vandana is a final year electronics and communication engineering student who's also an MBA aspirant. An avid reader and an eloquent speaker, she often finds herself immersed in new ideas and opinions. She's an active IEEE member, exploring various techno-managerial aspects. A professionally trained dancer, she's her happiest self while dancing to the fullest. Be it a ' lets get some tea' chat or an 'under the starry night' conversation, she's all ears. She's known among her peers as an enthusiastic go getter, who strives to achieve the best without giving up,adding a pinch of self confidence to scoops of determination.
You're definitely right. The only added advantage here was my gender. I'm an engineer too. However, through this article I was only trying to point out the significance of profile building and the performance in GDPI, WAT etc. Thankyou for your feedback :)
8 Jun 2020, 01.45 PM |
Swadesh Shrivastava
I am sorry, if I have hurt your sentiment in any way, But what I have written is a true picture, It is very very difficult for a GEM (fresher without experience) to get into any Top institute even after scoring 97-98 in CAT and XAT. Specially when IIMs has reduced the CAT weight age drastically and started giving weight age to X/XII/Grad etc. I am not against that academics should be good thoroughly, But If some one has average academics but later realized his dream and did Very good in CAT, whether we should not give him a chance. It is a very debatable subject but need discussion as we are not giving average student a chance to revive his career.
8 Jun 2020, 01.54 PM |
John Wesley
Inspiring article, it can become very challenging to stay optimistic and focused when you score a slightly lower percentile, but you've nailed it. I failed to prepare for my PI like you did here and didn't make it despite a 99.5+ and loads of PoRs.. Will definitely be bookmarking this article for reference before my next GDPI . Congratulations on the well deserved convert and all the best for the 2 years ahead.
16 Jun 2020, 02.33 AM