This is the shocking but true story of Prakhar Kumar (name changed to protect the identity of the candidate) who despite scoring a high percentile of 99.2 in CAT 2013 has not been able to convert a single IIM call. The candidate was happy on scoring such a high percentile but is quite upset with the final admission results published by IIMs and other top rated B schools and is in the vain hope of getting some solace if he could get a place in his desired B school after waiting lists are cleared. The only hope for him is now on FMS Delhi where he has to appear in GDPI on June 20, 2014.
MBAUniverse.com presents the first person account right from horse’s mouth to let CAT 2014 aspirants know well what went wrong with Prakhar and they should avoid such mistakes while preparing for CAT 2014 and getting ready for their MBA admission in 2015.
I am Prakhar Kumar, said to possess a very pleasant sporting tall and smart personality. I belong to a middle class family and hail from Meerut, a prominent city in western Uttar Pradesh. My father is well educated and runs a small business. I have pursued my High school and +2 education from U P Board (One of the biggest education board in India) and have a consistently good academic record to my credit. I am an Engineering graduate from not so well known AICTE approved Institute but always secured fairly good score in the examination. I have a work experience of 2 years initially with an IT company and later as a faculty with an Institute.
It has been my cherished dream to pursue MBA from IIM A,B,C,L,K,I,S or from SPJIMR, MDI, NITIE, FMS, DMS-IIT Delhi. The gateway to get admission in any of them is to get through CAT with high percentile. So the first priority was to prepare well for CAT 2013.
My Preparation journey to CAT 2013
To nurture my dream, I gave up the job and joined an institute as a faculty on Quant to give my focused attention to CAT 2013 preparation. I devised number of tricks and short cuts while sharing quant sessions with the CAT aspirants while for Verbal I used to share the material and preparation tips from other faculty members at the Institute. The hard work that I put in brought me spectacular 99.2 percentile in CAT 2013 and I was sure of getting one of the 4 older IIMs.
I was very happy and shared my happiness with my peers, friends and family members. My order of preference went like IIM B, A, C, L, I, K, S. I didn’t give much weightage to new IIMs in view of their current infrastructure, learning experience and not so good placement. Other top rated institutes in my favoured list included MDI, NITIE, IMT, FMS, DMS-IIT Delhi and new IIMs.
Dream Shattered
It’s shocking but true that IIM A,B,C,L,I didn’t send call to me not to say of converting it. I received call from IIM K, S, new IIMs, IMT, MDI, NITIE, DMS-IITD but still my name has not figured in final admission merit list of any of these institutes. It’s so shocking to note that despite such a high percentile I have not been able to convert a single call in any of the top B schools.
Let me briefly narrate how I felt when I was called for PI round in the B schools and what transpired thereafter.
IMT
After a month from the date of declaration of CAT 2013 results on January 14, 2014, I faced my first GDPI at IMT Ghaziabad in February 2014. The process included Case study followed by GD and PI. I was one of the few candidates who were called for the process in the morning session.
There were 8 groups with 12 to 14 aspirants. I did fairly well in my group. There were candidates with lesser percentile and I thought I presented myself very well. My PI also went very well and by reading the gestures of panel members I could read that I did well.
When final admission result was announced, my name figured in the waitlisted candidates but the said waitlist is not yet to be cleared.
IIM Kozhikode and IIM Shillong
In the month of March 2014 I went through the PI process of both the IIMs. I had high hopes to convert IIM K as well as IIM S. But again my dream remained a dream and I couldn’t click the final admission list of either of the two.
MDI Gurgaon
The PI round at MDI Gurgaon in March 2014 proved to be a different learning experience for me. Candidates presented their views on FDI in retail. The group was sitting in a half circle and some were real bullies. It was really tough as they always created a fish market still I could get time to present my views well and in coherent manner. The PI was good and it appeared that the panellists were well impressed.
The results however, again shattered my dream as I found a place beyond 700 among the waitlisted candidates. The drop outs in top tier B schools are much less in comparison to average B school. So the chances are remote
NITIE Mumbai
Entire PI process in NITIE in the month of March 2014 was although a mere repetition, it was more technical than I expected. With almost a year since I left studying engineering subjects, the entire focus of panellists was only on my Engineering subjects and they refused to deviate from that part in the entire PI process. I admit I was taken off guard on number of topics which I had no idea about except to guess the answers which didn’t make desired impact on panellists. When the results were announced in third week of April 2014, I was again a waitlisted candidate in NITIE
New IIMs
Despite all my efforts to overcome, the depression began to caste its shadow upon me. In the first week of April 2014 I was given the opportunity to go through the Common Admission Process (CAP) for admission to new IIMs which constituted Written Ability and PI. I again did very well but new IIMs also put me on the wait list.
The only hope now!
Now the only hope is FMS Delhi that has just short listed me and now I am supposed to appear in GDPI round at FMS Delhi on June 20, 2014. I am working hard for the same and hope to convert the call for this coveted B school.
What went wrong?
-My CAT 2013 percentile is not balanced. Overall it is high at 99.2; in quant 99+ but low in Verbal with 90+. High sectional percentile is also very important to get a call from top level B schools and to caste your impression in PI round.
-Work Experience during the last 2 years has remained varying and to the domain that I do not belong to. Probably that is also the reason as my PI round focused more on my engineering back ground than my experience as faculty which didn’t interest the panellists. On the contrary it made an impact on them that it was easier for me to prepare and I deserved more tough questions.
-Academic record in 10th and 12th standard stands at around 74 to 78 percent. The marks in U P Board at that time were difficult to score higher than that. Even the U P Board topper didn’t score more than 85-87 percent. If we compare it to CBSE or ICSE results where students comfortably score 96 to 98 percent, U P Board candidates stand nowhere. But the weightage in final admission round in CAT is not awarded on the basis of Board but on the basis of marks scored.
The options available now
There are only two options available for me now if I wish to pursue MBA from a top rated B school
I should prepare hard for GDPI round at FMS Delhi and pray to God that I convert the call
Prepare hard for CAT 2014 target 100 percentile with balanced sectional percentile and hope for the best.
I need the blessings of all to fulfil my dream.
MBAUniverse.com wishes all the best to Prakhar and other shortlisted candidates in FMS for GDPI and hope their dreams may come true. The only piece of advice from us is not to lose heart, not to get depressed and continue on the path of struggle to emerge a winner among all the odds.
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