NIFT 2018 Topper Interview: AIR 2, Sirigowri loves sketching & painting

A student of Sri Kumaran Children’s Home, Mallasandra, Sirigowri Kambalimath secured All India Rank 2 in NIFT Entrance Exam 2018. Sirigowri is the NIFT topper (Category Merit Rank) from general category for Bachelor of Design (BDes) course offered at the premier design institute in the country. When asked if she expected to be the topper of NIFT exam conducted for admissions 2018, Sirigowri very candidly replied, “No absolutely not”.

She further told us that her family includes her parents and her sister. “They’re such an amazing family. My father is a Senior Director in Herbalife Nutrition and my mother is a homemaker”, she was quoted as saying. Talking about her hobbies she revealed that, “I love sketching, painting, writing poems and stories. I also love reading books and watching movies”.

Shiksha spoke at lengths with Sirigowri Kambalimath to know her prep strategy and future plans. Read the detailed interview below to know how Rank 2 holder in NIFT Entrance Exam 2018 cracked the design entrance exam.

No absolutely not. I am really surprised. I knew I did well but didn’t expect this rank. Feeling overwhelmed and thankful.

My overall score is 89.6/100. My Common Merit Rank is 2 and my Category Merit Rank (General) is 1.

The written exam was very easy. I was able to finish it on time. GAT was fairly simple and CAT was honestly very interesting. I enjoyed answering that part.

I joined DQ Labs for NIFT preparation.

Most of my preparation was from DQ Labs. I attended classes regularly there so most of my preparation was done there. DQ labs has a website wherein previous years’ questions are given so this is the material I used at home. We would have material handling classes almost every weekend. It was extremely helpful.

I referred to a few books for aptitude and would solve them in school during my free time. I was actually more focused on NID exam so my NIFT preparation was a part of my NID preparation. I spent the entire winter break on this. Solving the past years’ paper with the timer also helps.

When you are preparing always make sure you are keeping a check on the time. Put yourself on a timer. Many people face a shortage of time during entrance exams and thus tend to panic during the end and rush their answers. During preparation we tend to solve questions at our own pace and this is what slows us down during the actual paper.

Another thing I would suggest is not giving too much importance to GK. It is important, but since it is so vast many people spend excess time on it. The thing with GK is you can never be 100% thorough with it. There will always be something you don’t know. I would suggest giving more importance to the other areas such as English, Math and Mental Ability as these are solid scoring areas.

The biggest mistake you can make is losing faith in yourself. Stay calm and motivated during the preparation period and take care of your health.

Yes I gave NID Entrance Exam, UCEED, MITID DAT, SEAT, PESSAT DAT, Woxsen and SEED. They were all good design exams.

I was keener on taking Visual Communication design course. As of now, I’m still considering fashion design as an option. I will decide after the counselling session. Design is a dynamic and wide field. It is difficult to decide right now.

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