IIM Admission 2021: How Rupesh Gupta Cracked IIM Ahmedabad Interview
BCom graduate Rupesh Gupta shares his IIM Ahmedabad WAT-PI experience. Read his personal interview experience of how he converted IIM Ahmedabad call.
Rupesh Gupta, who scored 98.3 percentile in CAT 2020, converted IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozhikode interview calls. A BCom graduate ((Accounting and Finance) from HR College of Commerce and Economics, Rupesh has cleared CFA Level 3 and has work experience in Front-office Investments role at Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance. Shiksha spoke with Rupesh on his IIM WAT-PI experience. He shared his IIM Ahmedabad PI experience with us. Read below.
IIM Ahmedabad PI Experience
Date: February 7, 2021
Place: IIM Ahmedabad Campus
Panel: 1 Male and 1 Female panelist, hereafter, referred to as P1 and P2 respectively
P1: Good morning Rupesh. Please sit. Make yourself comfortable.
Me: Good morning sir. Good morning ma’am. Thank you.
P1: So Rupesh, I see that you’ve worked at Edelweiss. So you must be living in Mumbai right now? (Subtly asked about the work gap)
Me: Sir, I used to work at Edelweiss. I reside in Bhavnagar, Gujarat currently.
For admission to MBA (or PGP) 2024 batch at IIM Ahmedabad, the CAT test will be conducted on November 26, 2023. Aspirants of IIM Ahmedabad are required to appear for the exam in Computer Based Testing mode at the allotted test centres. CAT exam 2023 will be held in three slots:
- Morning slot: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
- Afternoon slot: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
- Evening slot: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Earlier, the CAT exam used to be of 180 minutes with 100 questions but in 2020, both exam duration and number of questions were reduced due to COVID-19 pandemic. Now, starting CAT 2022, the total number of questions stands at 66 as part of CAT pattern.
P1: Okay, so what have you been up to?
Me: Sir, having completed 2 years in a front-end Investments role and cleared level 3, I believed the time was ripe for pursuing an MBA. I left my job at Edelweiss to give my best attempt at entrance exams. Unfortunately, I couldn’t crack target colleges and decided to reappear for the exam. I was associated with my family business and also learned financial modeling to upskill in my domain. Consequently, I could substantially improve my score and am looking forward to a premier B-school admit.
P2: Why haven’t you mentioned your family business in your work experience?
Me: Ma’am, I wasn’t invested completely into it. It wasn’t a 9-5 commitment. Therefore, I didn’t want to mislead you.
(P2 seemed content)
P2: Tell us about your work experience
Me: I joined Edelweiss Tokio Insurance as part of a 12-member Front office Investments team, managing an AUM of Rs 2500 cr+. The role provided a steep learning curve for a fresher. The opportunity to manage the Equity Dealing desk was a perfect path to acquire a ground-up understanding of equity markets. It provided me with a chance to contribute to fund performance by executing my tasks effectively and efficiently. In my second year, spearheading the setting up of the Special Situations desk with a corpus of Rs 75 crore was an overwhelming experience. Special situations involved investments relating to IPOs, open offers, disinvestment, demergers, or any other event contingent trade. Ownership of scouting, evaluating, and recommending investment opportunities provided me deep insights into asset management. Collectively, my role provided me a great platform for my long-term growth.
P2: Okay, so what’s going on with US equity markets?
Me: The US markets have been doing extremely well lately. They’ve had a bull run and are close to all-time highs, just like Indian Equity.
P1: Why are they doing so well?
Me: Sir, do you want the reason only for US markets or Indian Markets as well?
P1: The Indian markets have anyway rallied due to foreign capital infusion. So, doesn’t matter. Tell us about US?
Me: The rally is due to the infusion of liquidity in the economy.
P1: Where did the liquidity come from?
Me: The US Govt has been pumping money ever since the economy took a hit due to the pandemic. President Joe Biden recently announced a USD 1.9 trillion relief bill. A lot of unemployment benefits and other allowances have also been distributed throughout the last year.
P1: Do you think, the rally is justified?
Me: No sir, I believe the rally is only liquidity-driven and does not have a sound fundamental base. The companies have shown a rebound only in the latest quarterly results but the markets have been rallying for over two quarters now.
P1: Do you ever have a fundamental rally?
Me: Yes sir, I believe you can. I could’ve attributed a Nifty run up to 10,000, 11,000 or maybe 12,000 levels to a fundamental rally. But the Indian Markets are up around 95 per cent from 7,800 Nifty levels, which is crazy. I don’t believe the current frenzy is performance-driven.
P1: So Rupesh, how much did you earn at Edelweiss?
Me: Told.
P1: You were involved in managing money directly and a lot of other big responsibilities. How come you were paid so low?
Me: Sir, one of the core beliefs of Edelweiss is believing in people. It doesn’t matter if you’re relatively new as long as they believe you are fit for the role. Even our CIO always said during recruitment that he wasn’t looking for high experience or someone with great financial knowledge. He looked for potential.
P1: How did he find this potential? Please share with us as well. Would be a great help! (Laughing)
Me (Laughing): I’m not aware of the parameters he used but I’m sure once you’ve been in such a coveted position for so many years, you build your matrix.
P1: If we call up your manager right now, what would he tell us about you?
Me: Fortunately, I had a good repo with my manager and I can tell you exactly what he will. He’ll say I’m highly accountable and take ownership of responsibilities.
P1: Okay, some negatives?
Me: I do not stand up to seniors and put my foot down. It's extremely important and necessary to discuss your opinion until the discussion comes to a logical conclusion.
P2: Okay. Tell us a little about your family business?
Me: Alang, situated close to Bhavnagar, is the biggest ship recycling yard in the world. After a ship gets recycled, every small part of the ship is scrapped or resold. We’re engaged in the dealing of industrial machinery and equipment parts of recycled ships. We guide customers to buy marine-grade quality items at the best possible prices.
P2: How would you expand your current business?
Me: Ma’am, the two biggest challenges we’re facing right now are: Lack of awareness about the Alang Industry and hence the distrust. The other problem is a long working capital cycle. So if we manage to get clients with better payment terms and increase the awareness/reliability of the industry through our website and other modes of communication, we could substantially advance.
P2: How would you make your clients trust your product or the industry as a whole?
Me: (Asked for time to ponder upon the question)
Testimonials. We’ve been serving clients for over 3 decades now and we can broadcast the reliability of our services more creatively and plausibly.
P2: But you’re not the only one engaged in this business, why focus on increasing customer awareness about the industry?
Me: Most of our new clients right now are through referrals. There is a need for an organized manner of improving client engagement and thereby, acquiring new customers. Without working on the awareness part, these objectives are difficult to accomplish.
P2: So you think awareness is good enough. The farmers have been actively raising their concerns and increasing awareness, you think you know about their problems?
Me: I think I do. Though, there’s always a chance the ground reality might be much different from what gets communicated through media.
P2: So what are they, in 3 brief statements?
Me: Answered
P1: What else do you like to do? What are your interest and hobbies?
Me: I like going on hiking trips. I also enjoy watching documentaries/movies on historical events.
P1: Okay, so do you know the importance of Bhavnagar in the silk route trade?
Me: No sir, I’m not aware of this particular event.
P1: Do you know what was the Silk Route?
Me: Told
P1: Okay, so what could’ve been Bhavnagar’s role?
Me: Sir, I’m aware that Bhavnagar was a prosperous city due to the trading of goods through our ports in medieval times. The Silk Route was related to the textile trade. But I’m not aware of the exact role of Bhavnagar in the trade. I will check up on it as soon as I get back.
P1: Okay Rupesh. Thank you.
Me: Thank you, Sir. Thank you, Ma’am.
Verdict-Converted
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered a month ago
There are plenty of statistics that cadidates canuse to judge which institute is best for them for pursing an MBA course. In terms of reputation, IIM, Ahmedabad has one of the highest reputations of any MBA institute. However, this results in a significantly higher MBA fees at IIM, Ahmedabad which i
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
IIM Ahmedabad's selection criteria is entrance-based for the offered courses. Students need to meet both the basic eligibility and clear the selection rounds as well. Check out the table below to know about the selection criteria for IIM Ahmedabad:
| Courses | Selection Criteria |
|---|---|
| PGP | CAT + Analytical Writing Test (AWT) + Personal Interview (PI) |
| PGP-FABM | CAT + Analytical Writing Test (AWT) + Personal Interview (PI) |
| e-PGP | CAT/ GMAT/ GRE/ IIMA Admission Test (IAT) + Personal Interview (PI) |
| MBA-PGPX | Valid GMAT/ GRE score + Essay submission + PI round |
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
For admission to the MBA programme at IIM Ahmedabad, the required CAT score varies by category. Based on the previous year's cutoff (2024), candidates need an overall percentile rank of 80 for General and EWS categories, 75 for NC-OBC and transgender candidates, and 70 for SC category candidates. I
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
Yes, IIM Ahmedabad does have a reservation policy for MBA/ PGP programmes. As per the Government of India requirement, 27% of the seats are reserved for NC-OBC, 15% for SC, 7.5% for ST candidates, 5% for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD), and up to 10% for Economically Weaker Sections (E
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 months ago
To apply for MBA courses at IIM Ahmedabad, candidates are required to follow certain eligibility requirements. Firstly, applicants must ensure that they have completed a bachelor's degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA (in the case of the candidate belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC)/
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 months ago
No, you cannot pursue and online CMLT course from IIM Ahmedabad because it does not offers that course. You can opt for Manipal academy or IGNOU for CMLT course.
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered 7 months ago
The University College London institution bases its operations in London, United Kingdom not United States. UCL MBA shares its reputation with the IIM Ahmedabad MBA but serves diverse types of career aspirations. The Indian market-oriented candidates benefit most from IIM Ahmedabad's programs becaus
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Contributor-Level 8
Answered 8 months ago
IIM Ahmedabad is a top-ranked business school in India with global recognition, strong industry connections, and high placement rates. Aston University in UK is well-regarded, especially for international exposure, but it does not match IIM Ahmedabad's prestige in management education. If your goal
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Candidates (General category) seeking admission to IIM-A for MBA must have a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 50% aggregate. For final selection, a student is required to have a valid score in the CAT exam (both sectional and overall) and is required to go through the AWT and PI rounds conducted by the institute. Additionally, for the final selection of candidates, everything right from their scores in Class 10, Class 12 and graduation are considered along with their CAT percentile, PI and WAT scores, stream in Class 12 and work experience.