CAT topper with 98.34 percentile and SPJIMR Mumbai student of PGDM 2019-21 batch, Ram Kumar preferred to join SPJIMR Mumbai instead of IIFT, SJMSoM-IIT Bombay and many IIMs that made admission offers to him as SPJIMR is a renowned brand and an aspirational college for him. Ram had no time to join any regular coaching as he was a working professional and preferred self preparation. He made it a point to join the CAT Mock test series offered by the coaching institute.
Ram Kumar is a B.E. in Electrical & Electronics from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra and had earned a work experience of 22 months at TATA STEEL Jamshedpur before joining SPJIMR Mumbai.
Sharing with MBAUniverse.com, Ram highlights his experience in preparation journey to CAT and shares the reasons why he preferred SPJIMR Mumbai to any other top MBA college. He modestly attempts to give the ‘success mantra’ to the CAT 2019 aspirants
MBAUniverse: Which year did you take CAT? What was your overall and sectional score?
Ram: I took CAT in the year 2018. My overall percentile was 98.34 and sectional percentile for VA was 88.2, for DILR was 98.05 and for QA was 99.5%
MBAUniverse: Tell us briefly about your preparation strategy that helped you crack CAT
Ram: Since I was a working professional with one of the leading manufacturing firms I tried to devote 2-3 hours every day for my CAT preparation. My preparation strategy was
- I devoted the months of May and June for covering the basics of Quant from Arun Sharma, DILR and Verbal from TIME coaching material and read newspapers regularly.
- From July onwards, I started giving sectional and topic tests during weekdays and took a full-length mock on a weekend. I tried to analyse every mock that I took. This helped me gauge my strength and weaknesses and devise a mock taking strategy
- I focussed on accuracy in the verbal and DILR sections and tried to attempt all the easy questions. I maximised my attempts in Quants as I was good at it.
- From August to October I attempted mocks twice a week on the weekends and analysed it on the weekdays.
- During the final week before CAT I went through all the mocks where I scored low so as to not repeat the mistakes that I had been doing in those mocks.
MBAUniverse: Apart from SPJIMR, which were the B-schools you were shortlisted at?
Ram: I was shortlisted for IIFT, IIM Shillong , SJMSOM-IITB, All the new IIM’s under Common Admissions Process (CAP).
MBAUniverse: How did you prepare for GD-PI round after getting shortlisted?
Ram: I read the newspapers regularly so as to get acquainted with the recent happenings. I tried to improve my understanding of an MBA programme by getting in touch with my colleagues studying in different MBA colleges. I had also enrolled in Career Launcher for GDPI preparation on weekends, the mock GD and interviews conducted at CL were helpful.
MBAUniverse: Which B-schools did you finally convert for final admissions?
Ram: I converted IIFT Kolkata, IIM Shillong, SJMSOM, IIM Udaipur, IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur.
MBAUniverse: Why did you choose SPJIMR over other top B-schools? What were top 3-4 reasons?
Ram: There have been various reasons for choosing SPJIMR over other colleges. Some of them are
- SPJIMR is a renowned brand in the industry as well as in the public space, it was an aspirational college for me since it always features in the top B school rankings.
- The locational advantage at SPJIMR gives it an edge over other B schools in terms of placements and industry exposure.
- SPJIMR has a unique curriculum that focusses on providing value-based education and international exposure through programmes like DOCC and GFT
MBAUniverse: Tell us about your SPJIMR Experience: What have been the high points?
Ram: The classroom experience at SPJIMR has been quite enriching, I am an electrical engineer from BIT Mesra, so coming from an engineering background I feel there has been a lot of learning for me.
All the professors at SPJIMR are pioneers in their field and are quite approachable. There are many student committees working in different domains of the college functionality. This has given me a chance to improve my teambuilding skills and contribute in the domain of my interest
The campus is quite green and lively. It has a lake, a biodiversity park and is situated at the heart of Mumbai.
MBAUniverse: What are your key achievements at SPJIMR?
Ram: I have developed time management and people management skills. Classroom learning has widened my knowledge base.
MBAUniverse: How is SPJIMR unique? What are its key strengths from a Student’s point of view?
Ram: SPJIMR has a unique curriculum that focusses on providing value-based education and international exposure through programmes like DOCC and GFT
At SPJIMR the students go for Autumns Internships in their second year of the MBA programme. This helps students get a clear perspective about their area of specialisation and hence make a smarter choice on which firm to work with.
The locational advantage at SPJIMR in the business capital gives it an edge over other B schools in terms of placements and industry exposure.
MBAUniverse: What are your Career Ambitions & how is SPJIMR helping you prepare for it?
Ram: In the long run, I aim to assume a leadership position at an FMCG, as I am interested in operations and supply chain. As an individual, I also want to contribute towards the society.
The faculty at SPJIMR is one of the best in the country and hence I am quite confident of developing a strong knowledge base in my domain.
There are various courses at SPJIMR specially designed to develop one as a leader. The learnings through these courses will be helpful for me in the long run.
The initiatives like Abhyudaya wherein each student mentors an underprivileged child and programmes like DOCC will make me a socially sensitive individual
MBAUniverse: Your message to MBA Aspirants who are currently preparing for CAT/XAT?
Ram: Few pointers for CAT/XAT aspirants are:
- Regularity is of utmost importance when preparing for a competitive exam like CAT/XAT
- Mock scores are just a measure of your performance during the 3hr mock and should be used effectively to analyse your strengths and weaknesses rather than drawing parallels to the actual CAT performance.
- Try to devise a strategy according to your competencies.
MBAUniverse: How should the right B-school be selected, if there are good choices?
Ram: To select a right B school, one should reach out to the existing students at those B schools to know about the campus culture, academic rigour, roles offered during placements etc. Besides, evaluate your interests and expectations from an MBA against what the B school has to offer to you.
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