CA topper shares IIM Bangalore WAT - PI experience

In 2014, Aatresh Somayajula took CAT exam and scored 98.62 percentile. He got calls from various top business schools. He decided to pursue PGDM from IIM Bangalore.

In 2013, Aatresh Somayajula made headlines in the country after securing AIR rank 3 in Chartered Accountancy exam. Back then, he was pursuing his three-year articleship at KPMG.

Despite a successful career trajectory in front of him, Somayajula was clear that being a CA is not the final destination. During his 2013 topper interview with Shiksha.com – Success mantras of CA toppers, he admitted a pull towards MBA studies. “After three years of corporate experience at KPMG, I am swaying a bit towards an MBA too. I need to know what I want before devoting 30 years of my life to any profession,” said Somayajula back in 2013.
 
Fast forward to 2015, two years after that interview, Somayajula has made it to the PGP course at IIM Bangalore.
 
“What cemented my desire (of pursuing MBA) into yearning was an interview call from BCG after I cleared my CA. Being AIR 3, I was called for an interview along with 50 other CAs. The whole process of solving cases and realising how consultants advice CEOs and CFOs of Fortune 500 companies made me fall in love with management consultancy. I reached the top 5 candidates, but still couldn’t make it to BCG. They just took four people. I was the only candidate who reached the final level and missed out. And from here, started my determination to make a career in strategy consulting by doing an MBA,” recalls Somayajula.

Meanwhile, he quit KPMG and started working with Nestle as a Management Trainee. Somayajula's desire to pursue an MBA further strengthened in Nestle. So in 2014, he took CAT exam and scored 98.62 percentile. This is what his academic profile read now:
 

Somayajula got calls from various top business schools. He has decided to pursue his PGDM from IIM Bangalore.

Here’s Aatresh Somayajula discussing his journey from being a CA topper to cracking CAT and making it to IIM-B in first person narrative.

CAT Preparation

My job profile at Nestle demanded 10 hours daily. Hence, I started my CAT preparation in April 2014. Quant seemed easy but verbal was tough. I enrolled for IMS and CL test series. Since I was never good with regular coaching, I stuck to test series only.

I got an 89 percentile in my first mock test. I felt bad about it but later on realised it’s a good enough start. I completed Arun Sharma Quant and Verbal by June, slogging two- three hours daily, after coming from office from 10 pm -1 pm.

However, the drastic change in fortune took place when I found a website where people would post and solve a wide range of questions with the fastest and most innovative ways. Gradually, my percentile rose from 89 to 98 +.

From June I started giving mock tests regularly – two tests a week. Simultaneously, I started preparing from Quantum CAT for quant and reading the Economist, The Hindu and Philosophy Now for Verbal preparation.

I started analysing the paragraphs, did lots of RCs and critical reasoning.
Basically one needs to understand the concepts really well and give infinite number of mocks. I even took a leave of 10 days from office to prepare well.

CAT 2014 Exam Day

My slot was on November 16, 2014, morning slot (first slot). Quant was unexpectedly easy and I breezed through in 80 minutes, solving 36 questions.

Then came Verbal. I attempted 42 questions in the next 80 minutes, doing all the RCs, PJs and PCs related questions. I felt confident about my attempts.

In the last 10 minutes, I moved on to quant. This is where I encountered a seemingly tough DI set and could attempt just two questions.

So total attempt was 38 + 42 = 80.

Happy with my attempt, I was expecting 99.5+ percentile.

CAT Score

And then I forgot all about it and slogged in office.  On the result day, I was heartbroken. My score read 98.62 percentile.

I locked myself up and cried as my dream schools (IIM ABCL) seemed distant now.
I was caught by surprise when IIM Bangalore and Lucknow shortlisted me, mainly due to my overall profile. Now, I was confident that my dream could very well turn into a reality.
 
WAT/GD/PI Preparation
 
I broke my preparation into two parts - Personal questions and current affairs questions.
 
For personal questions I wrote some 50+ questions, building a flowchart. Here’s one example:
 
What is your name? ----> What does it mean? ----> Tell me something about your city?
----> So why do you want to do an MBA? ----> Why did you choose the company?
----> What are your strengths?
 
Through the flowcharts, I created branches out every possible question that the interviewers might ask.
 
For current affairs, I had three materials:
 
1. CNBC TV18
2. The Hindu
3. Essays for IIM (The best material out of the three listed. It has information on all recent topics)
 
On the D-day, I wore a white shirt, black tie and a dark blue suit.

Below is my interview experience -

IIM Bangalore interview experience

Venue - The Orchid, Mumbai
Date – February 16, 2015
 
WAT topic

I don’t remember the entire paragraph, but the essence of the topic was:
Is internet addiction a disorder?

We were given 10 minutes to think and 20 minutes to write. I used data and quotes in the essay.
 
Personal Interview
 
There were a total of three panels taking interviews. I was the fourth member to be interviewed in my group. My interview panel consisted of three members – One alumni, and two other persons (P1 and P2).

My panel was taking interviews for 30 minutes at least.
 
P1: So you are CA AIR 3. What vision do you have about the future of CA and role they should play in nation building?
 
A: Chartered Accountants have become book-keepers and watchdogs in our country. They are much sought during and post financial year. But the role of a CA should not be limited to these aspects. They can contribute a lot towards nation building. Provisions should be made to introduce relevant courses in CA programme. (Answered a few more points to make my point)
 
P2:  So you pursued Sanskrit in school. How much do of it you remember? And isn't 93 marks too low in Sanskrit?
 
A: Yes, it is low. I had initially selected Sanskrit to boost up my marks in school. (From here I moved the conversation to the importance of Sanskrit). Even NASA has certified Sanskrit as a language that can be used for Artificial Intelligence
 
P1: Asked some technical questions on CA stuff.
 
A: (I answered them correctly.)
 
P1:  When was the SEBI Act formed?
 
A: I think (pauses…) in 1991.
 
P1: Are you sure. I think it’s 1992. (They tried to confuse me and give contradictory arguments)

A: No, I am sure it’s 1991. (I stuck to 1991, but later on found out I was wrong. The correct year is 1992.)
 
Alumni: I am ex-KPMG. KPMG trained you for more than three years during Articleship. You chose to leave them and joined Nestle? What about your ethics?
 
A: Right from the beginning, I had mentioned all about my future plans to my seniors at KPMG. From an ethical perspective, I never beguiled them with lies. As a matter of fact, my letter of recommendation has been written by my manager at KPMG.
 
 P2: (Started grilling on my work-experience) What are the products of Nestle? What is its market share, brand positioning, Distributors margins?
 
A: (I gave them straightforward answers. Discussed about the products, market share and competition with Cadbury and ITC)
 
P1: So tell me about 2G scam and the why was CAG so dumb? How can they be so idiotic and irresponsible?
 
A: Our country lost 1.76 lakh crores due to the CAG scam. However the loss was pegged down to Rs 30,000 crores. (I gave more answers about the 2G scam but faltered on whether CAG was responsible enough or not. Finally ended up saying ‘I don’t know.)
 
P1: Asked a few more questions about DTC, GST (related to my background)

A: Answered them correctly.
 
P2: Tell us a few issues surrounding Nestle and its products?  

A: Back in 2000-03 there were cases against Cerelac’s (a Nestle product) claim (written on product) that it’s the next best thing after mother’s milk. But later on we changed the line to ‘Mother’s milk is best for you baby”. (Spoke a bit more on it).
 
P1:  So, finally, tell me what after MBA?
 
A: I have a special affinity towards management consulting. (Told them about the entire incident with BCG during CA interview as mentioned above) I think my strengths that can be used well in management consulting. Which is why I have watched about Suits ten times. My mentors are Mike Ross, Jef Immelt, Indira Nooyi.
 
P2: So you are an auditor. You must have researched about us. Any questions?
A: What kind of qualities do you want a consultant to have?
 
P1, P2, Alum: (Answered my query) We are done here.

A: Thanks. Have a nice day.
 
The entire interview lasted for about 40 minutes.
 
Converted
 
Finally the result date came out April 15, 2015. I was attending a meeting and secretly checking the result page. And the results came out. Hands trembling, I opened the site.
I made it.

The very next moment I was in tears. I called up my girl and my parents. Ultimately, it was my gift for them.
 
Tips for Aspirants
 
So, here are some pointers which you should keep in mind -
 
1. Never quit your job for CAT.  CAT is unpredictable and neither do interviewers like people who have quit their jobs.
 
2. Be regular with studies.
 
3. Getting an answer right is not sufficient. Getting it the fastest should be the ultimate aim.
 
4. CAT is just a small criteria among many others that will get you a final admit. People have been rejected at 99.99 percentile. That proves it all. Hence, simultaneously build a great profile. Do some community service, lead a project in your office, read books, organise events in your college and so on.
 
5. Be confident. That's what helps when you are in a pressure cooker situation – be it exam or the interviews.
 
Signing off.

Read CAT 2014 topper Neha Maglik sharing her IIMs and XLRI GD-PI experience.