I cracked the PI, entered IIM

Following Shiksha.com “I cracked the PI” series, meet Neha Misra, a PGP student of Indian Institute of Management Shillong (IIM-S), 2012-14 batch.

Neha Misra

Twenty-two-year-old Neha pursued her B.Tech in Computer Science from IP University, Delhi. Along with B.Tech, she had enrolled for a 10-month MBA preparation course in a coaching institute.

In her first CAT attempt, Neha scored 98.73 percentile and got calls from IIM Shillong, IIM Raipur, IIM Rohtak, IIM Ranchi, IIM Trichy, IIM Udaipur, SP Jain, MDI, IMT and IIT-Bombay. She succeeded in converting all the above expect IIT Bombay. At the same time, Neha had a campus placement offer from CSC Noida.

Neha decided to join IIM-S. “IIM Shillong is an established B-school with a good alumni base. I wanted good exposure and experience,” says Neha.

Here’s Neha’s run-up from application stage to final admission call:

Application package

Neha submitted the following documents within a month of getting the call:

• 300-word essay on ‘any experience that changed your life’
• 200-word essay on ‘Your strengths’
• 200-word essay on weakness
• Academic records
• Professional records (Neha had no prior work experience)
• Extracurricular certificates

After declaration of CAT results, Neha got a call from IIM-S within two days and submitted her application package within 20 days. Her date for Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) was set on February 14, 2012.

Preparation Strategy

“The most important strategy employed was reading newspapers for at least two hours daily with a focus on editorial columns. I enjoy economics. So I pursued self-study of all macro-economic concepts and tried to link them to our current economy. Factual information was not that important but having an opinion mattered. For that basic knowledge of happenings around you is necessary. Apart from this, I revised my graduation subjects, developed in-depth knowledge of my favourite subjects and final year projects. As far as possible, I tried to be clear and create points of what I wanted to say. This ensured that I wasn’t vague in approaching a subject and nor was I repetitive,” says Neha.

The GD

Type of GD: Case-based GD based on current affairs

No. of students in the group: 7

Topic: A one-page summary was provided on “Is it worth spending Rs 50, 000 per MP for giving them an iPAD?” by the institute.

“We were given 10 minutes to read the summary followed by 10 minutes to write whatever we understood in paragraph form. We were categorically asked not to write in points. Our summary was a part of evaluation process. Next was discussion on the GD topic for 20 minutes,” says Neha.

She further recalls, “The GD began with points coming out in support of the fact that iPADs should be given out to ministers. Candidates stressed that this may speed-up various parliamentary processes and help them be connected while on the go. Considering the amount Government already spends on MPs, another 50,000 (INR) won’t be a big deal especially when weighed against the positives of such a move. At the same time, the group also stressed on the fact that literacy is a big issue and thus the move of giving laptops should be accompanied by proper training and education to ensure that all minister are able to utilise it fully.”

The PI

The interview panel consisted of three members – two professors and one another person. According to Neha, the focus of interview was academics, current affairs, judging the thought process.

Here’s what happened thereafter:

One of the interviewers opened the door for me and as I entered, he closed the door and went back to his chair. Then as I stood there, they asked me to take a seat. 

Neha: Positives – friendly people; good infrastructure in terms of roads and public transport; general political awareness among public.

Negatives – safety of women is a major concern since people do not accept working women; indiscipline as can be easily seen on the roads where bikes are driven on footpaths and people skipping red lights.

While people have a positive side in terms of being helpful and friendly, they also have a negative side by being less accepting of working women. It’s human nature. 

Dow Chemicals, previously Union Carbide is one of the main sponsors of London Olympics. Union Carbide is the same company that was responsible for the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and was convicted in the courts of India. Currently, there is a debate on whether to send Indian athletes to compete in the games. I personally believe that they should. By not competing, the loss will be for Indians. Instead, the best of athletes should go and win medals while at the same time show their opposition by wearing black bands or something on those lines. This way, the world will be reminded of the tragedy and probably come together to help the victims get justice.

Yes, he is the Head of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

No, I don’t believe so since the government has no jurisdiction over the IOA. On top of it, I believe the damage is already done and now removing or not won’t help matters. Instead the government should work towards putting in place stronger regulations and also push for the investigations to be fast tracked. 

Currently, nothing has been proved and so I would not like to blame a single person for all that happened during Commonwealth Games. However, I believe general public will be happier if government ensures implementation of proper regulations and prevent such mishaps in future. This will be more beneficial for people as their hard earned money can be recovered and put in right places.

Arrays are a list of homogeneous items that are arranged in rows and columns. Stacks is a list of items where objects inserted last are removed first, i.e. LIFO policy.

(I wrote a program with output clearly showing the difference between their working)

Stacks are used for arithmetic calculations.

Java converts the code into a ‘binary code format’ that’s independent of hardware architectures, operating system interfaces and window systems. This system independent code requires a Java runtime system which is different for various software platforms. Thus, an application written in Java can then execute on that platform without the need to perform any special porting work for that application.

Yes, by using the concept of bytecodes.

(I gave an example of a program and wrote it on the paper provided)

Yes.

Hindi films music and in English, I prefer the genres of alternate rock, rhythm and hip-hop.

I have heard about her. But I am not familiar with her music. My father was an avid listener of her songs.

No, but have seen a number of shows in which my cousins have performed. They are trained in Odissi and I thoroughly enjoy watching their intricate and beautiful mudras.

No, sorry, would not have any idea on that.

Being from Odisha and knowing people there, I believe more than the political environment, it is the people themselves who are responsible for the success or non-success of the state. The people of this state aren’t ambitious enough, which may not necessarily be a bad thing. A majority of them seem to be happy with their current condition. Being content with one’s self is also a unique trait. For example, everyday shops close down for an hour or two in the afternoon which could be a major revenue loss had they been in Delhi.

(The interviewers tried to counter my arguments but I stood by my answer)

In Delhi, people are ambitious but have a tendency to show more than they actually have. While in Odisha, the culture of so much showing-off is not present.

Tomorrow.

The interview lasted for about 45 minutes.

Results

Results were declared in April and Neha joined IIM-S in June.