Snapshots

Name: Abhilash Narayan
Graduation College : Indian Institute of Technology (IITR) -Roorkee
Course: B.Tech. in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
Graduation Aggregate: 8.6 GPA
Pursuing/Pursued MBA from: Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A)
Corresponding entrance test & score :
Common Admission Test (CAT) - 99.56 percentile

GD/PI calls from:

• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, Indore, Kozhikode
• Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi

GD/PI calls converted:

• Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
• Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
• Indian Institute of Management, Indore
• Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
• Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi

Entrance Exams appeared: CAT & FMS

Preparation:

Well I thought of starting serious preparation in January, but my enthusiasm fizzled out after some point of time. My real preparation started 18-20 days before CAT. I put in 4-5 hours a day , along with my classes at IIT-Roorkee.I never really went to coaching classes for CAT , because I felt that they did not add value to me, but you need to assess it for your particular case. If you feel that they are beneficial, then go for them. The Mock Test series is a must have. I had joined two different test series and they really helped me.
My example is not the one you should follow , and should ideally start preparing atleast 2-3 months in advance. The reason why I could afford to start preparing so late was that I knew my strengths and hence was assured that I could prepare in short span of time. Its important to know yourself so that you can peak at the right time.
 

Advice to juniors:

If you really want to go to a top B-School, then you will find the requisite motivation to find the time for preparation.

Do a SWOT analysis of yourself and then plan how you should go about preparing for CAT. Random preparation does not help. Little but focused effort is all you need. Talk to people who have been through the process and take their advice with a pinch of salt , since each one of us is unique and what worked for them may not necessarily work for you.Trust me if you analyse and plan properly, you could sail through the competitive exams with as little as 20% of the effort you would put in unplanned study routine.
Take a lot of Mock-tests as they really help you in self-assessment and do go through their analysis in detail. Do not get disheartened if your result isn't up to your expectation, rather think how you could improve.

Well again know your strengths and weaknesses and assess their level. If you are pretty weak in 1 aspect then you need to work on it. Otherwise , its better to work on your strengths since they will give you much higher gains for effort put in. but make sure that you are in a position that you are reasonably sure that you can clear cut-offs of all sections.

My motto is " For success you do not have to work hard, you have to work smart".

Experience in MBA Institute:

Faculty: Most profs are Godly! They really leave you awestruck and inspired. The respect they evoke from students and industry is unbelievable. You have to be here to understand and experience it. One exceptional quality among all professors is that everyone is very humble inspite of being renowned in their fields and they teach you to think BIG.
Hostel: Pretty good. All the facilities you would need.
Campus: Its buzzing with positive energy and enthusiasm.