Roadway To TISS | How I Cracked TISSNET 2019

As my specialization in graduation was in Human Resource Management (HR), I looked at B-Schools with Masters’ in HR. It was extremely important for me to choose a course which was very affordable given I hail from a lower middle-class family. Moreover, as my quantitative aptitude is not all that strong, I found TISSNET to be of a manageable difficulty level for me.

Quitting my job for preparation for TISSNET was out of question given my family’s financial background. A salesman in Bata India Limited before his retirement in 2010, my father has had no major source of income in almost the last 10 years. It was hence important for me not only to save up for my fees but also for my parents to be able to meet their expenses during my education.

So, what was the way out? Fortunately, I worked in the UK shift in which I logged on in the afternoon and worked till midnight. I would be up by 6 in the cold Bangalore mornings, read up till 9, dress up and sit for classes between 10 am and 11 am. I’m eternally thankful to three of my teachers who volunteered to teach students with visual impairment via Skype. They were kind enough to conduct classes at times convenient to me like early mornings and weekends as I balanced between work and preparation. They helped me in topics like English, Mathematics, Reasoning and Data Interpretation where I needed help. I would then board my cab at 11:30 am to reach office. I would be back home by 11:30 at night, reminded of the next day’s cold morning. I spent most of my weekends and almost all my privilege leaves on preparation for TISSNET, PIT/PI (Essay, GD and interview of the selection process).

I watched a lot of videos online and used my screen reading software (JAWS) for my preparation. As a result of the support of my family, efforts of my teachers and my hard work, today, I’m fortunate enough to sit among the 71 talented brains of the country.

Did I achieve this without any failure? Well, the answer is “No”. I gave TISSNET 2018 where I lost an opportunity to be shortlisted for the PIT/PI process by a mere 3 marks. I also made it to IIM Ranchi for the PGDHRM program but the course fee was not affordable to me which made me attempt TISSNET 2019 to emerge successful.

I would like to specially thank my parents who never stopped encouraging me to pursue my Masters’ which involved quitting my job, despite the financial struggle they knew they would face.

An old saying goes “Where there is a will, there is a way” but I would slightly tweak it and say, “Where there is a will, there are a million ways”.

About the Author: