… says Anish Khadiya, an Electrical Engineer from IIT Kharagpur who also has to his credit a work experience of three years with ITC. He is currently in the 2009-2011 MBA batch at IIM Lucknow. In conversation with Reshma Majithia, he talks of his ambitions and his intention to gain a foothold in management consulting.

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… says Akshay Kataria, a computer engineer from Pune University, who has won various national level prizes for his final year project and has worked with IBM for two years. At IIM-A, he was elected to the Students Affairs Council and since then he has been managing the IT Infrastructure on the campus. His interests include cricket and instrumental music. In conversation with Reshma Majithia he talks of his determination to join IIM-A and how he went about doing so.

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Nitin Saxena did his B.Tech from VIT, Tamilnadu, worked as an Applications Engineer with Oracle India Pvt for 23 months and joined up for an MBA course at IIM Shillong to better his educational and career profile. His interests include poetry, writing, listening to music, playing real-time strategy games, cricket, badminton and table tennis.

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Admissions have wrapped up and students have settled down to a new routine; schedules packed with assignments, tests, extracurriculars and making new friends. Pranav Bajoria a new entrant to the batch of 2010-12 at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade Delhi, is a BBA graduate who had set sights on an MBA degree, post which he hopes to create a mark in the field of finance, corporate and equity finance in particular. Having majored in finance at his BBA from St. Xavier's College Kolkata, Pranav is also passionate about sports, extracurriculars and reading.

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Kirti Ghorpade had always set her eyes on a successful career in marketing and sales and had her management calling in the second year of graduation. Armed with a BA in economics from the Symbiosis International University, Pune, she went on to do her PGPCM in Marketing from the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad.

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Mukul Mehra an ardent stamp collector, an avid reader, a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) fan, did his Engineering in Electronics from VJTI, Matunga, worked for 14 months at Tata Teleservices as a Senior Engineer and then joined up for an MBA course at Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE) to better his educational and career profile. He shares the particulars of his journey with Reshma Majithia.

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Spending your formative years traveling across the country can be a learning experience in itself and for Amit Rai it was no different. His father's government job enabled him to enjoy and enrich a learning curve very different from the ordinary. 2001 saw life take a different turn for him when he got admission for his B Tech at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University (Dr. BATU), Lonere. He says "It was my graduation stint which provided me an exceptional platform to see a great career ahead." His graduation trail led him to Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) where he worked at the shop floor as a Maintenance Engineer. Amit talks of how and why his path changed towards a Masters in HR and Labour Relations at TISS.

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Armed with a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Karan Girdhar from Punjab found his way to the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal. Karan does not hope for a stellar salary, but a great career in organizations like the UNO and the World Bank. In an interview with Serena Kallian, this young student of the 2009-11 PGDFM batch at IIFM talks about his aspirations and life at the institute.

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Diwakar Kaushik is an Information and Communication Technology engineer from DA-IICT, Gandhinagar and is currently pursuing his PG in PM&IR from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Prior to doing his MBA, he worked in the IT sector for three years in Bangalore, Mumbai and Gurgaon. He shares his MBA journey with Reshma Majithia.

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Senthilnathan Srinivasan, a mechanical engineer from Salem, was always keen on management education right from his engineering days. However, a conscious decision to work for a few years before enrolling for an MBA, took him to Marico Ltd where he worked for two years.

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Prateek Rajvanshi, a graduate from the Delhi College of Engineering, had been working for five years in consulting and analytics before he joined the Indian School of Business at Hyderabad as a participant of the Class of 2010. Prateek's moment of glory came when he was chosen to represent India at the 19th International Youth Leadership Conference (IYLC), organised by the United Nations. Rajvanshi was selected as an exceptional young leader committed to academic and professional excellence, through a competitive application process. Advanc'edge MBA spoke to him on the personal choices that brought him to ISB as well as his once-in-a-lifetime experience at the IYLC.

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A second year student from NMIMS, Mayank’s hobbies include reading and traveling. He loves reading all kinds of books, especially psychology and romance. Music is his passion and feels it works as a great stress-buster. He loves to experiment with any genre/style of music depending on his mood. A pre-placement campus offer from Saint Gobain, did not deter his intention to go for an MBA at NMIMS. Mayank talks to Reshma Majithia.

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So, you have got a much coveted call from the S P Jain institute of Management and Research and are anxiously awaiting the D-Day. You are perhaps even more nervous because SPJ is known to have a Group Interview session that does not quite match the common rounds in most other schools. Want to know more about it and how you could prepare? Well, meet Indrayan Ganguly. Indrayan is currently studying at the Institute (2009-11). Having finished his engineering studies in Jadavpur University, Kolkata in 2009, he decided to apply for CAT and acquired a CAT percentile of around 98. In conversation with Serena Kallian, he speaks of his selection experience at SPJIMR as a fresher.

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Pritika Padhi joined IIM-A in 2009 as a fresher from the College of Engineering and Technology in Bhubaneswar. A year later, she comes forward to answer some of the likely questions on top of the mind for those who have got calls from the Institute and are aspiring to convert it.

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Hailing from a quiet and scenic place in Himachal Pradesh called Shimla, Suban Walia confidently claims that he always had the calling to do an MBA. An electrical engineer from NIT Hamirpur he never had the opportunity of attending a coaching institute in his home town because there were none. After his engineering, Suban took up a job with Wipro Technologies, Bangalore and gained three years of work experience. If that was not enough for this young achiever, he and his team won several case study competitions like the Nokia Colosseum and the recently concluded challenge from PepsiCo titled "Taste the success-Become Indra Nooyi's advisors". This Marketing and Strategy enthusiast is also passionate about photography, motorcycling and music. Suban Walia, IIM Lucknow batch of 2010 talks to Serena Kallian.

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Bhavya Agarwal, an engineer with a degree in electronics and electrical communications from PEC Chandigarh was a good student - always - winning 100 percent scholarship in the form of fee concession in the first year in college. But was it the academic edge that saw her getting through to IIM-Shillong? She does not think it's that simple. Hear her talking candidly about her experiences during the selection and the insights that she gained on the way.

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As the Maharashtra CET draws nearer, meet Nikhil Jain who cracked it successfully in 2009 and made it to the most coveted institute of all CET aspirants - the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. In conversation with Satarupa Bhattacharya.

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A son of a school teacher and hailing from a humble town called Phulbani in Orissa Srimanta Kumar Sahu nursed the MBA dream during his engineering days. In spite of a few false starts at the CAT post his B Tech, Srimanta was persistent about his dream. With his eyes focused on his coveted programme, he attempted the CAT in 2008 and today he is a second year student at T A Pai Manangement Institute (TAPMI). Srimanta in conversation with Serena Kallian:

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Here is Yatharth Bhuwalka, Consultant, PwC, discussing how he took this most important decision of his career.

Could you tell our readers a bit about yourself? I was born and brought up in Kolkata. I graduated in B Com from St. Xavier's college Kolkata. During my college days I worked with Kotak Mahindra wealth management division as a sales executive and then went on to the retail front and helped open a stationary retail chain. I also started my own travel solution desk. This is the stage where I decided to persue management education. I joined Praxis Business School for 2007-2009 batch. During campus placement process I was selected by Pricewaterhouse Coopers as a consultant in their advisory line of service. I enjoy doing new and challenging things. I dream of setting up something of my own in future.

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Firstly tell us a bit about yourself, Anurag. What is your educational background? When (and why) did the MBA decision come about? I am pursuing a PGDM from IIM Indore. I have completed my graduation with a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from VNIT, Nagpur. I am very passionate about sports. I have represented India in Bridge at the 1st World Mind Sports Games (WMSG), Beijing, October 2008. I have been selected for the World Junior Bridge Championship, Philadelphia, USA, 2010 (Juniors in Bridge is Under-26).

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Just as Sulagna Dasgupta was about to leave the room after her PGDCM interview at IIM Calcutta, one of the interviewers rose, shook her hands and said, “We wish you all the best...you have a bright future ahead of you...we never say this to any candidate.” Not so surprising when you meet this young lady, brilliant but humble; focussed and confident. Sulagna has always been an exceptional student –she secured 92% in the West Bengal Higher Secondary Examinations and even more notably, stood 4th in the entire state in the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations held for admission to engineering courses. She maintained a 9 plus GPA throughout every semester in college. Of course, this did not stop her from doing a lot of other things too. It is perhaps not surprising that Sulagna aced the MBA entrance process too with converted calls to all 7 IIMs. Now, a first year student of the PGP Class of 2011 at IIM Ahmedabad, she shares her admissions experiences with readers of Advanc’edge MBA:

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If the expression ‘MBA student’ conjures images only of freshers who have just crossed their teens or twenty-something engineers with a couple of years’ experience, then Peter Sayal is definitely going to be a surprise profile. He is 30+, a doting dad and has had three plus years of experience in several firms in the US as well as a short stint with an Indian NGO. Peter holds a double Bachelor’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, in aerospace engineering and business management (2009-11). In an interview with the magazine, Peter shares his career goals and why he chose to go for an MBA in India.

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A teacher, trainer and manager, Sailaja Kattubadi did not restrict herself to work or academics alone, even during the early stages of her career. A volunteer with Sivananda Leprosy & AIDS Rehabilitation Center, Hyderabad, Samyukta and Aasara Foundations, she co-founded a rehabilitation school with one of her friends and helped 30 slum kids regain interest in education. This was the experience that she credits with for having played a significant role in impressing upon her the importance of an MBA for planning and implementing bigger and better things. And so this engineer with 7 years of work experience in various roles (lecturer at a couple of engineering colleges, Instructor for GRE®, GMAT® and CAT exams and finally Regional Operations Manager at IMS Learning Resources) decided to cross the seas to get that coveted business degree.

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A student at one of India’s premiere B-schools, Faculty of Management Studies and probably India’s youngest brand manager, Ved Agarwal is all of twenty-two years old and typifies the ‘new’ MBA dream. Definitely not your conventional classroom nerd, he pursued Bachelors in Commerce at St Xavier’s College, Kolkata. While doing his graduation he successfully completed marketing-strategy oriented projects for Reliance Telecommunications and Greenply Industries. Interestingly, not only did he work behind the camera (creating advertising campaigns) but also in front of it. Ved was the face of outdoor campaigns for NIIT and Reliance Communications. Taking his passion for marketing a step further, Ved initiated the Advertising and Marketing Unit at St Xavier’s College.

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Varun Sunke had what he calls “a sheltered upbringing” in Mysore – a city known for its old world charm. Having completed graduation in Engineering and Communication, Varun got an opportunity to work at Goldman Sachs. The rigorous process of elimination for selection into one of the best Wall Street firms comprised the mother of all interviews, he says, as tough or even tougher than the IIM interviews that he subsequently faced. As part of the Goldman Sachs team, Varun was sent to New York where he was trained to apply the principles of technology to solve real world business problems. It was this stint that opened the doors to the fascinating world of finance and also sensitized him to the need and value of formal management education for someone interested in pursuing a career in finance. Hard work, pragmatism and quick thinking skills – these traits have assured Varun today of a seat in three premier management institutes in the country – IIMA, IIML and IIMK.

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Sandip Nimje did not have an English-medium background, or exposure to metro education. What he had was really sound work experience, clarity about his career objectives, and the determination to make it to one of the top management institutes in the country. Listen to him sharing his experience and advice with aspirants:

Tell us a little bit about yourself – where you hail from, your educational and professional background.

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