My GD/PI Experience: MICA decides -Prashant Tibrewal

Think of a specialization in Marketing, and MICA is the most obvious name that flashes in your mind. Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad or MICA as it is popularly known, offers specializations in Market Research, Brand Management, Account Planning and Advertising.

I was excited more for the MICA call than any other, primarily because it is the one B-school that teaches marketing and only marketing. At the same time, PAT (as Prof. Atul Tandon is fondly referred to by students), the director of MICA, is one of the most popular names in the field of marketing education. Getting an interview call from MICA is not as easy as getting one from other B-schools, simply because it involves an added stage. After the first list based on CAT/GMAT is out, all MICA aspirants have to take MICAT. It aims at testing the applicants’ writing skills as well as creativity through a written test. Based on the information provided by PAT, 947 applicants were shortlisted for MICAT this year, of which 447 were called for the Group Exercise (GE) and Personal Interview (PI).

The entire GE and PI process was spread over a period of nine days with about 50 applicants called on each day. I was given a PI slot on the fourth day and hence, by then, I had a fair idea of how it was supposed to be. We were asked to reach the IIM Ahmedabad gate and from there, the MICA bus would pick us up.

After a number of tension-filled days and sleepless nights, finally, I stood in front of the IIM gate. “Hi, what is your name?” asked one of the boys standing near the MICA bus. With an attendance sheet in his hand and the MICA identity card peeping from his pocket, he was evidently a volunteer from MICA. After the attendance call, we started our 45 minute journey to MICA. In the bus, the two seniors who had come to pick us up, briefed us on the entire GE and PI process and answered all of our some stupid, some obvious questions. We got to know that Spot Offers were given to about 5-7 people on each day, whom they really liked well. And I hoped that I would get it too.

The calm and serene MICA campus welcomed us all. We were ushered in to the seminar hall where we were divided into groups of ten for the GE. If you have been wondering all this while what the GE is all about, it is just the MICA version of a Group Discussion (GD). In a regular GD, the topic is torn apart with participants discussing all relevant (and sometimes, even irrelevant) issues pertaining to it. A particular participant might not be able to chip in at all. But in a GE, an issue or situation is given and each one in the group is to write five possible reasons or solutions for the same. It later takes the form of a discussion which must conclude, with consensus, on the three most likely solutions or reasons.

Not that a GE cannot turn into a fish market, but with about twenty minutes for discussion and about 8-10 people in the group, chances are high that the group comes to a consensus in just fifteen minutes. And the same happened in our case. A topic such as “Negative impact of violence and sexually explicit TV programmes on children, and what will you do to improve this,” did not offer too much scope to fight or argue over and it took us no time to come up with our three best solutions. More than the panel, the group looked impressed with itself!

After some tea and biscuits, we were sent back to the seminar hall and now we would be called for the personal interview. I had heard rumours that you are asked to create a new logo for Pepsi just using circles and triangles, et al. and I was trying to figure out in my mind how to tackle such questions. But, I had more interesting questions from the three-member panel awaiting me:

“So Prashant, you are from Bangalore. Tell me why should I come to Bangalore”, asked one of the ladies in the interview panel.

I have always enjoyed staying in Bangalore. But I was actually wondering then why someone who stays 4 hours away from Mumbai should come all the way down south. I was myself not very convinced, and hence not convincing enough. Now it was the turn of the next lady to test my convincing skills.

“What does a woman communicate when she wears a saree”?

Of all the people, why me!! What better could it get than three ladies, none wearing a saree, asking this question? One may start to think, of all the things under the sun, why a question on sarees? I would choose not to think about that, and anyway, I had no choice but to answer the question. The answer, most likely, was nowhere near what they wanted because I did not get a spot offer.

They asked other general questions too, mostly related to what I had filled in the application form, but the first two questions had shaken my confidence to such a level that even a ‘What is your name?’ would make me think twice.

Some people are so used to impractical optimism that even after such a disastrous interview, they have the audacity to hope for a spot admission offer. I could not avoid being one of them. The results were to be announced in the evening. MICA had arranged for a buffet and there were quite a few delicacies to savour. The only thing to discuss over lunch was our interview. The smartest of people were disappointed by their interview. Some had been asked about the MICA website and its contents, while others about their future plans. ‘Why MICA?’ was a question that almost everyone had to answer. None appeared to be happy with their answers and this only worked towards increasing my confidence and hope for a spot offer. A campus tour was arranged after lunch. If someone had not already been impressed by the campus, the luxurious hostels, the green tennis court, and the Open-air theater were enough to make MICA a dream B-school for him.

After all the good and not-so-good things for the day, and nothing much left to be done, while others waited their turn for the interview, I gazed into the skies dreaming of things I would do when I actually got to be a student at MICA. PAT delivering a boring lecture and me dozing off to sleep on the last bench – no, I would not let that happen. I would keep myself interested in studies and only studies once I join MICA,” I promised myself.

“So students, you are all here with an aspiration to get into MICA”, started the director at the presentation that followed. “Some of you will be recommended for admission while some will not be. And those who are not recommended should not think that they are not good. Rather, they have every right to blame the education system of the country which does not have enough quality B-schools to cater to the increasing need for MBA education”. People who know PAT just love him. And I was completely impressed even before the presentation was over. “What about the average placement at MICA, sir?” asked one of my fellow aspirants. “If you are looking for high salaries, you are at the wrong place,” came the quick reply. A number of other things, such as what makes MICA different, how life at MICA is, etc. were discussed and it was very clear by the end why every MICAn was so proud to be there.

After a long wait, it was time for results. One could see the nervous faces around with brows shrunk and fists clenched. Once the results were declared, some were overjoyed, some heart-broken, and there was a set of people that did not know whether to be happy or sad – they were waitlisted. And this marked the end of an eventful day for some, and a new beginning for the rest. But one thing was common for all who spent the day at MICA – the newfound belief that nothing other than MICA would do!!

Prashant Tibrewal holds a Bachelors degree in Economics and is presently Assistant Operations Manager at IMS Learning Resources.

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