Himanshu Purushottam
Deshpande
Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.
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General
Questions
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Questions related to Pre-MBA Preparation
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Questions related to Group Discussion / Group Exercise
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Interview-related Questions
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After
Joining MBA
2.
Questions related to Pre-MBA Preparation
Q. How many months and
how many hours daily did you devote for preparation to entrance procedures?
A. I had no fixed schedule of preparation due to my hectic
extra-curricular participation, but I started about 14 months in advance and
targeted myself to crack the CAT, and subsequently prepare for XAT, FMS Entrance
Test and the CET. About six months before the CAT, I devoted as much time as I
could for it. Initially, I made sure I had all the basics in place, and then I
solved almost 40 mock tests to get accustomed to the (rather unpredictable)
pattern of the exams.
Q. Did you take up some
coaching institute or you believed in self-study?
A. I did take up coaching in a private institute, but the primary motive
there was to come into contact with like-minded and competitive peers, which
eventually helped me progress a lot. It also helped me during my GD/PI
preparation to get diverse perspectives.
Q. Can you tell us
which were your favorite books, books that you used for preparing for entrance,
books for self-development and books for pure relaxation?
A. I am a voracious reader and devour all kinds of books that I come
across, but I have a special liking for books on personal experiences which
include autobiographies, and travel experiences in particular.
To prepare for the entrance exams, I used to read editorials of leading dailies
and articles by eminent people in leading magazines. I love Robin Sharma and
Stephen Covey, particularly for self development.
Q. When did you start
your preparation?
A. As stated before, I started about 14 months in advance and stepped up
the pace of my studies as the exams approached.
Q. What was your
experience with coaching? Some feedback about faculty, coaching material and
your overall experience with particular center.
A. The coaching I availed to was quite useful in the sense of the
material provided which I found quite exhaustive. Most of the faculty was quite
helpful, but it was essentially up to me to excel, due to which I learnt to be
independent.
Q. What are the others
books and tests which you used for your MBA preparation?
A. I used the Manorama Yearbook to keep myself updated on the General
Knowledge front. I am an avid reader of the Business Standard and The Times of
India since quite sometime now. Apart from that, I used to read cryptic material
from fields as diverse as psychology, history, anthropology, architecture,
cosmology and metaphysics for the (seemingly) tough passages in the CAT and
other exams.
Q. What was your
strongest and weakest area while preparing for MBA coaching?
A. Mathematics was my strongest area and I had quite a few problems
initially with the verbal section, which I overcame through continuous quality
reading and practice.
Q. Some tips which you
used for mastering Quant, RC, etc.
A. Practice is the only way to master Quant. For DI, having the proper
outlook towards the questions and selecting the particular group of questions is
essential. In verbal, reading diverse material, while keeping a thesaurus and a
dictionary alongside, has no substitute.
Q. How much time did
you put for MBA preparation everyday?
A. As stated earlier, I had no fixed schedule, but towards the final days
before exams, I had upped my study time to almost 12-15 hours daily with proper
breaks in between. Being a fresher, I had to cope up with the pressure of exams
and assignments, but meticulous planning and some personal sacrifices have seen
me through.
Q. Which all Exams and
B-schools you applied to?
A. I gave the CAT (IIMs), XAT, FMS Entrance Test and the CET for JBIMS-Mumbai.
Q. Your present
B-school and course.
A. Currently, I am a full-time student of the Master of Management
Studies course at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS),
Mumbai.
Q. What procedures your
school has for admission to its MBA program?
A. The CET comprises of a Written Examination of two and a half hours
conducted on the third Sunday of February every year. This is followed by a
round of Group Discussion and Personal Interview for all the applicants
regardless of their score in the written examination. Candidates are given the
numerical score and a percentile score of the written examination, which is out
of 200 marks, and has been without negative marking till the last year.
The GD and PI carry 17 marks each. 4 marks are dedicated for Previous Academic
Record (PAR) based on the SSC and HSC score or equivalent. 3 marks are reserved
for work experience. Based on the total score and individual preferences of the
candidates, they are allocated admission into a particular institute.
Q. What is the range of
score for students who are admitted to your institute?
A. The top 120-odd students by ranking in the CET make it through to
JBIMS. JBIMS also admits students through CAT / JMET / MAT / ATMA / XAT, taking
into consideration only the percentile scores in the written examinations.
Q. What was your score?
A. I scored a total of 181 marks out of 240 {Written (146) + GD (15) + PI
(16) + PAR (4) + WorkEx (0) = 181}. I scored a percentile of 99.82 in the
written examination. I had a percentile score of 97.12 in the CAT and was also
selected for the interview round in FMS and XLRI.
