Always have a ‘Plan B’ ready because CAT is full of surprises.. - Rahul Bhavale, PGP Class of 2012, IIM Ahmedabad

…says Rahul who did his graduation from PICT, Pune in Electronics and Telecomm. A football fan with an interest towards politics, he talks of his experience at IIM A as a fresher and his CAT preparation.
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Why did you choose to do an MBA?
For me the reason was I was at ‘point x’ in my life after engineering and wanted to reach ‘point y’. The best path for me to reach ‘point y’ was through an MBA from a good institute where I would get relevant skills, network and pick up strong brand value. ‘Point y’ for me was career in financial Industry.  I was always curious about the impact and nature of job in the financial sector.

What were your weakest areas when you started for CAT? How did you work on them?
Verbal Ability was my weakest area when I started preparation, so I devoted 2-3 hours daily for reading from 3rd year of engineering itself. I used to read diverse stuff such as editorials, business magazines, fiction, and non-fiction. I also gave a lot of emphasis on grammar and vocabulary (learning vocabulary from flash cards is not a bad idea). For verbal section reading skills are critical as you almost cover 60-65% of Verbal if you are good at reading.  One more important thing is not to neglect your strongest section while focusing on a weak section.

How was your experience with the GD and interview? What were the topics?
IIM-A didn’t have GD, instead we had essay writing. Topic for Essay writing was “Is pen always Mightier than sword” and we were given 10 minutes to complete. I felt I did quite well in essay as I was able to complete it well in time and touched on various aspects of topic.

I was the first to be called for the Interview in my batch. There were 2 panellists and the interview lasted for around 30-35 minutes. It started with my background and went on to technical questions, current political happenings, Football especially Manchester United, my opinion on women’s reservation bills, my hometown. They also questioned me on my essay and my opinion about the above mentioned topics, which I think I was able to justify quite well. It was like a formal interaction no stress at all.

Do you believe that there is any one strategy that is bound to work for all aspirants?
I don’t believe that there is any one strategy. This is very subjective thing and depends from person to person. Best part is to analyze your strengths and weakness by solving some mock CAT’s and makes your strategy accordingly. Flexibility is also important, so don’t be very rigid with your strategy. Always have a ‘Plan B’ ready because CAT is full of surprises. In my case Verbal section was weak and DI the strongest, so I had made a strategy to spend more time on Verbal and Less on DI. But in actual CAT, in my slot DI was very tough and Verbal comparatively easier so I ended doing Verbal in 30 mins and DI took 50-55 mins. So there is no particular strategy, you need to adapt according to situation.

Do you think that the IIM A panel tests candidates on a any particular traits/attributes during the selection process
In my opinion there is no single attribute on which IIM-A tests during selection. They judge you on whole as a person. Though there is huge emphasis on past academic records, it’s not that you cannot get in with average academics.  Having an opinion about a topic also matters, avoid sitting on fence. Communication skills does not play huge role in selection, one can get in with average communication skills, unlike other B-schools. The most important factor that could make or break your selection for IIM-A is honesty and ethics. No matter who you are, the moment panellists feel that you are dishonest that is the end of the road for you. ‘HONESTY’ is the by default criteria for IIM-A selection. Just Be Honest and Be confident.

What would you like to tell all MBA aspirants who probably want to get into IIMs
Just focus on the preparation and enjoy the process. Give your best without thinking of results. Keep in mind that doing MBA from premiere institute is not a dream; it’s just a path to achieve your dreams. If you work hard, you will get what you deserve. The most important thing is ‘Belief in yourself’ and ‘Hard-Work’. There are no shortcuts in CAT and there is no substitute for hard work, luck is just a by product of hard work. I would like to end with the following quote which is quite self explanatory. 

“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”– Jacob A. Riis