IIM Admission 2023: Saara Mehta Shares Her IIM Ahmedabad PI Experience

Saara Mehta who bagged 99.95 percentile in CAT 2022 has made her way to IIM Ahmedabad PGP batch 2023-25. In her interview with Shiksha, she shares factors that led to success and important tips to crack the interview rounds of IIM Ahmedabad. Read this complete interview to know the questions asked in PI and AWT rounds.

Saara Mehta, a young and ambitious individual from Faridabad, Haryana, recently secured a staggering 99.95 percentile in the CAT 2022 and was shortlisted for the IIM Ahmedabad selection process. Saara's stellar academic record, coupled with her work experience, proved to be the key factor that led to her success in tackling the PI interview.  In an exclusive interview with Shiksha, Saara sheds light on the interview questions she faced during the process and offers valuable tips for aspiring MBA candidates.

Shiksha: Hi, please tell us about yourself.

Saara: I am Saara Mehta. I belong to Faridabad, Haryana. I did my bachelor in law from National Law Institute University, Bhopal in 2020, and have worked as an Associate at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.

Shiksha: Was IIM Ahmedabad your first choice? Why?

Saara: When it comes to doing an MBA in India, one will be hard-pressed to find aspirants whose first preference isn’t IIM A. The pedagogy, the brand value, the infrastructure, the diversity, and the opportunities at IIM Ahmedabad ensure that it is in a league of its own.

Shiksha: What was your AWT topic and how did you present your argument?

Saara: IIM Ahmedabad conducts an Analytical Writing Test (AWT) wherein one has to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the given arguments. I was given a passage related to truth and lying, which I can’t recall all that well. But anyone with above-average reasoning skills can comfortably tackle the AWT.

Shiksha: How was your PI experience? Tell us about your high points or low points during the interview.

Saara: My PI experience was quite thrilling. I was asked questions spanning the fields of mathematics, politics, law, badminton, and even the significance of the famous IIM A toffee.

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Shiksha: Can You please Transcript your PI.

Saara:

Q. You’re from Faridabad, it’s almost Delhi but not quite. How do you feel about that?

Q. What does Faridabad mean to you?

Q. You want to pursue Civil Services, tell me honestly if you’d prefer the services over this program.

Q. Do you know of the UPSC rank 1 some years ago who chose IFS as his first preference? (Since that’s also mine)

Q. Which IFS officers do you look up to? How will you handle quant?

Q. What are your preferred areas of quant? What is a GP?

Ans. I didn’t know the formula for the sum of the GP and they made me derive it there

Q. Who is your favorite IIM Ahmedabad alumnus?

Q. Who is the recently recommended World Bank head?

Q. What are some colonial-era laws that the govt doesn’t plan to change?

Q. What are laws that it does plan to change?

Q. What are your hobbies?

Q. Who is Syed Modi? (As I mentioned badminton) Who is he related to? (I had no clue)

Q. What is the full form of DMK? Which state is it in? Who heads it?

Q. Who is ruling Kerala right now?

Q. What is the UAPA? Name a few people charged under it.

Q. Under jurisprudence, is the death penalty justified based on circumstantial evidence?

Ans. I spoke of the rarest of the rare doctrine.

Q. Do you think there is someone who received an unjustified death penalty according to you?

Q. Is any IIM Ahmedabad alumnus charged with the death penalty?

Q. What did you do at your job in the law firm? (I have a tech law background)

Q. What is the latest PDP bill and how do you feel about it?

Q. Do you have any questions for us? (I said no) Really? Does a lawyer have no questions?

Ans. I said I’m trying to let go of the habit now that I want to become a manager, they laughed a fair bit- Take a toffee.

Q. Have you heard the theories surrounding this toffee bowl? What do you feel about them?

Ans. I said I don’t think about it at all, I will evaluate my chances based on my answers.

Shiksha: At what point of time during the interview you thought you made it?

Saara: Honestly, at no point in the interview did I expect to make it, as it was an intense experience wherein the panelists were asking me a lot of varied questions, some of which I could not accurately answer. Even on the results day, I was not certain of my selection, until I saw the email sent by the admissions office.

Shiksha: Was there a trick question in PI? How did you handle it?

Saara: I can’t think of any trick questions as such.

Shiksha: How much credit will you give to your academics and professional experience for IIM Ahmedabad selection?

Saara: I have a good academic record, with a 10 CGPA in the 10th standard, a 95% in the 12th standard, and am one of the top six rankers in my university. Since the academic record is a key criterion for MBA selection, I certainly benefited from my past efforts. Additionally, the law-related questions I was asked were handled well by me because of my academic record. As for work experience, I was able to answer a question related to the DPDP Bill 2022 because of having worked in tech law.

Shiksha: Any tips for future aspirants?

Saara: An important tip is to ace the CAT. You’ll have ample time to prep for the WAT-PI process of each college after the results. But getting a killer percentile in CAT will boost your confidence and get you those coveted shortlists. One step at a time, basically.

Shiksha: What is your future plan?

Saara: I am not sure of what the future holds. As of now, I’m grateful to be entering college life again at such a prestigious institute. I will figure out where my career heads from there once I have more information to make a decision.

Read More Interview Experiences

The table below mentions the links for more interview experiences for MBA Admissions 2023:

Name of Candidate	College Name	Link for Interview Experience
Aditya Singh	IIM Ahmedabad	Click here to read the full interview
Bharat Karena	IIM Ahmedabad	Click here to read the full interview
Yash Kaviya	XLRI, Jamshedpur	Click here to read the full interview
Pratyush Adhikary	IIM Ahmedabad	Click here to read the full interview
Avi Shrivastava	XLRI, Jamshedpur	Click here to read the full interview
Sujit Kumar	IIM Ahmedabad	Click here to read the full interview
Siddharth Lilani	XLRI jamshedpur	Click here to read the full interview
Saurabh Wani	IIM Ahmedabad	Click here to read the full interview
Lavisha Taneja	XLRI, Jamshedpur	Click here to read the full interview
Kushagra Dash	IIM Ahmedabad	Click here to read the full interview
Eshwar Naik	IIM Ahmedabad	Click here to read the full interview

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