NIFT MDes Topper Interview 2018: AIR 10, Kanupriya Jaiswal likes travelling & sketching

A Fashion Design graduate from Chandigarh, Kanupriya Jaiswal secured Rank 10 in NIFT Entrance Exam with an overall score of 73.55. “Though I've not secured the First position, even being a part of the top 10 was beyond my expectations but definitely within my aspirations”, she was quoted as saying.

Kanupriya shares that her family has been her rock solid support. “Mine is a family of professionals. My mother is a Teacher, functioning in a Government school and Father is an Ayurvedic Doctor, who is practising. They have always been a steady support system for me. Highly motivated and therefore constantly motivating individuals, these two are”, she elaborated.

Shiksha spoke to Kanupriya about her prep strategy for NIFT entrance exam 2018 for Master of Design (MDes) course. Read the complete interview to know her experience of appearing for NIFT written exam as well as GD/PI round.

Thanks a ton! My score overall is 73.55, a breakdown of this score was not provided.  The score was displayed only post the second and final round which was GD & PI.

I am a Fashion Design graduate from Chandigarh and have been working for past 2.5 years now. I've worked in Chandigarh, Delhi and Bengaluru but from past few months, I've been Freelancing. I am currently involved in a Project with a Kerala based Fashion house. 

I have precisely three hobbies, travelling, sketching (especially fashion Illustrations) and daydreaming about doing these two (particularly travel). 

The first part of the exam i.e. written part which had two components GAT (General Ability Test) & CAT (Creative Ability Test), went pretty well but fell little short of a satisfactory performance according to my own parameters though I was all happy post-performance.

Well for the first part, the written exam, I prepared for it all by myself. I took help from books like Arihant's Guide for NIFT/NID (that’s the basic) and a few other General Aptitude books. As my drawing and design basics were clear, I didn't have to input much time there. What helped me the most were previous years’ question papers (Also available in Arihant's book, mentioned above). Apart from that, I had also ordered a set of 10 mock papers each of CAT & GAT from www.silica.co.in. Attempting mock papers helped me considerably. 

I did not join any professional coaching as such. But for someone who needs to work on their drawing and design basics, coaching can be a boon.

Books I referred to during the course of my preparation were Arihant's NIFT/NID Ultimate Guide & English and Aptitude books from Bullseye.

There are no mistakes as such. One can go about it according to the weak points they think they have and work on them in the best possible way. Both CAT and GAT hold equal importance so should be prepared for, equally well.

Here, as stated above, mock and previous years’ question papers helped me a big deal. Right management of time during the paper is one of the biggest factors that'll help you get across. 

I started preparing myself for GD/PI soon after the written exam got over because I was pretty confident of getting through the first round. For GD/ PI round in NIFT exam, one must be well aware of Who’s and where’s of the Fashion world, industry etc. The general knowledge and current debatable topics should also be at the tip of your fingers. NIFT organises a very systemised GD round, so that is a pro as everyone gets a fair opportunity to put their point forward. I completed my preparation for GD/PI with Pahal Design Institute in Delhi. They organise enough mock GDs and PIs to equip you pretty well.

This depends on how they rate themselves on the grounds of Public Speaking and facing an interview. Interviews can be grilling, GDs are comparatively easy. Taking help from an institute will always help, as the Mock GDs and PIs build the confidence level in an individual.

There were 15 people in a group. Each group was placed in a separate room and at a time three groups were performing. It started with an introduction round where every candidate was required to state the gist of the topic as they've understood. Post this round, the GD began which continued for 10 -12 minutes. The last round was the conclusion round where each candidate was required to state the same, according to their viewpoint, in a minute or two.

Questions given to each group were different. There were 7-8 topics in all which were being rotated amongst the groups of a particular (design) discipline.

There were three supervisors in a room.

No, feedback was not provided.

I am looking forward to joining the NIFT Delhi Campus. Future plans are subject to change though I see myself working, learning and growing in the field of Fashion.

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