NIFT Topper Interview 2018: MFTech AIR 8, Ruchi Harish Gandhi shares GD/PI Tips

With a score of 63.90, Ruchi Harish Gandhi secured common merit rank 8 in NIFT Entrance Exam 2018 conducted for Master of Fashion Technology (MFTech) course admissions. A final year students of Computer Engineering from BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus, Ruchi is pursuing a sales internship at Xerox.

An extremely creative person, Ruchi’s hobbies showcase her passion for the field of design. Elaborating on the same, she said, “Being a fashion fanatic, I love catching up on new fashion trends and reading blogposts. I also love dancing, modelling and shopping. And I also like doing some web designing and coding”.

In a candid interview with Shiksha, NIFT 2018 MFTech topper, Ruchi shared her prep strategy, GD/PI experience, success mantras, future plans, and a lot more. Go through the detailed interview below:

I will not say I expected to be one of the toppers but I definitely wanted to do very well and I gave it my best shot.

My final score is 63.90/100. My common merit rank is 8 and category merit rank is 7.

I stay with my family in Dubai. My father has his own landscaping business and my brother works as a Computer Engineer in Bangalore. My mother is a very hardworking housewife. I actually don’t come from Design background but my parents supported me a lot. In spite of being engineers, my father and my brother encouraged me to pursue what I really wanted to do. And my mother too is very happy with my decision.

I gave it my best shot and it went in accordance with my preparation. I left the exam hall feeling satisfied and content with my answers.

Well, I had studied for my GRE exam a few months before the NIFT written exam and that helped me quite a lot. So I used the same notes for some basic conceptual learning in English and Maths. Along with that I also studied from a guide dedicated to the NIFT entrance exam. After learning everything once, I solved many old question papers to understand the questioning pattern and also my strengths and weaknesses. Then once I knew that, it was easy to understand what needs to be looked at more and what doesn’t.

No. I did not think it was necessary to join coaching classes for Masters because it shouldn’t require extra help. It should be about what I am capable of by this point. NIFT has many online resources and I wanted to give it a fair shot and find out what I am truly capable of achieving by myself.

One should always remember to study smart. Know what you should study and how much time to dedicate to each topic. You don’t want to spend days studying a topic that usually has only 1 question coming from it.

Don’t take time for granted. Many students make this mistake of getting too hung up on a question if they’re unable to solve it. It can really put you at a disadvantage. It is best to move to the next question. So, the best way to understand how much time is too much to solve a question is by calculating how much time you can dedicate to each question and also to each section.

Maths should always be given a little more time than the other sections. And once you figure this out, practice a lot of question papers, so you can actually see if you’re doing everything in the right time and fix anything if need be.

I am so glad that my college, BITS Pilani, Dubai has constantly trained me on how to approach a GD. Various courses had the GD element so I used these skills learnt during the NIFT GD. And also my internship has taught me how to give GD/PI. So I would say I’ve learnt a lot from experience but I also did some preparation for the GD/PI session. I researched online about the questions that have been previously asked. I also carried a resume with me for the PI. I practiced on the frequently asked questions in an interview.

Based on my experience and from what I saw on the GD/PI round day, I would say it is extremely important to have good communication skills to ace this part of the NIFT admission process. It’s important to be heard in the GD. And to convince your peers and the panel, you need to speak effectively. One pro tip for the GD would be to try and be the center of attention and be dominating, but instead you should put your point forward and help others put their points too, as it is a group discussion and not a debate.

And as for the interview round, just remember to be confident and honest. Find out what the panel asks usually and prepare answers for those questions.

We were all made to sit in a hall where our ID’s were verified, we were given serial numbers and we were divided into groups for the GD round. Then each group was called one by one for the GD. We were taken to a room where 3 members in the panel were seated. The process of the GD was explained. One member had to pick a random chit which had the topic. We were given 10 minutes to collect points and write them down. Then every candidate had to give a 1 minute introduction to the topic. Next the group discussion started which went on for 10 mins. Finally, everyone had to give a one minute conclusion. Everything for the GD was timed and you are not allowed to speak more than the designated time.

From there we came back to the main hall and were called serial number wise for the interview. For the interview again there was a panel of 3 members. I had to introduce myself and I gave them my resume as well. They asked me what I know about this course which I answered. Then they asked questions about my college and schooling, etc. it was pretty basic.

The generic question about the candidate wherein they give their introduction is the same, but after that the questions can differ. For the GD, 15 students were called at a time. And PI was one at a time in a separate room.

Yes, there are many people there supervising.

Every NIFT campus is equally good, but since I have the privilege to choose, I plan to join the NIFT Delhi Campus. In the future, I obviously want to work in the Fashion industry and I hope this Master’s drives me to my best niche. I hope it helps me find out which brands and work culture suits me the best.

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