Snapshots

Name: Vaibhav Vaidya
Graduation College : DJ Sanghvi College of Engineering (Mumbai University)
Course: B.E. in Computer Science
Graduation Aggregate: 74%
Pursuing/Pursued MBA from: SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai
Corresponding entrance test & score :
Common Admission Test (CAT) - 99.15 percentile

GD/PI calls from:

• Management Development Institute (MDI)
• SPJain Institute Management & Research
• Faculty of Management Studies (FMS)
• Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM)
• Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS)

GD/PI calls converted:

• Management Development Institute (MDI)
• SPJain Institute Management & Research
• Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM)
• Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS)

Entrance Exams appeared: CAT, FMS, XAT, CET, IIFT, SNAP

Preparation:

My coaching classes started a year prior to CAT, but initially it was sufficient to just attend and complete the homework. Full fledged preparation started 4 months from CAT. I studies around 2-3 hrs a day and increased it to around 4-5 hours a day in the last one month. I think you can still get sufficient time for all other activities. You need to prioritize over your undergrad studies and give more focus to your MBA preparation for about 2-3 months.

Advice to juniors:

I think just concentrate on your own work and don’t worry what others do. To overcome weaknesses try working on those sections for a while but if you feel it is taking too much time just leave those parts.

I thinking taking coach classes helps a bit especially if you know you wont study on your own. However, if you are one of those who don’t require any motivation to study the classes can be avoided. I think CAT is a bit too hyped; you can really manage without putting in 7-8 hrs everyday on CAT studies. Just relax and stay cool.

Experience at MBA Institute:

SP Jain Institute of Management & Research offers much more in terms of others whether it is extra curriculars, the course structure or placements. Also it had a location advantage for me as it is in Mumbai and yet falls in comparison with most top MBA institutes across the country.

The faculty, I think, is excellent; most have a very high industry experience and know the concepts well. Belive me, this is not like engineering where we used to bunk at will. So the faculty matters a lot.

Campus is very good if you take into account the fact its in the space-crunched city of Mumbai. It has a much bigger campus compared to JBIMS & NMIMS though nowhere near any of the IIMs (they have Govt. funding after all !!). Infrastructure in the college itself is very good. The hostels however require a makeover. The crowd is diverse and extremely talented; lots of musicians, dancers, sportsmen, a good boys to girls ratio. Average age is around 24 yrs.