Admission Story: Parijat Panda, XIMB, 88, CAT

Parijat Panda is a student in the MBA Business Management at XIMB. He scored 88 percentile in the CAT exam. Parijat graduated from Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, Sarang with an aggregate of 72.7%. He shared his admission details through this article.

Parijat Panda Profile

Current institute: XIMB
Graduation College: Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, Sarang
CAT score: 88
10th Percentage / GPA: 80.43
12th Percentage / GPA: 78.5
Graduation Percentage/GPA: 72.7
Work Experience: NA

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Parijat Panda Admission Experience

Did you avail of the benefit of any reservation?

Parijat Panda: “General (No reservation).”

Describe the general setting of WAT / GD (if any)?

Parijat Panda: “My Group Discussion process was conducted in an online mode, with 3 moderators and 7 members. The topic was introduced and we were given 30 seconds to gather our thoughts. They also provided us with a rough sheet for that. The floor was kept open for about 8 mins, and then everyone was given around 30 seconds to give their own conclusion.

Make sure you maintain eye contact and project your confidence in your words and body language. Moderators also get impressed when the group reaches a consensus before the time allotted ends. Jot down important points that others say, be a good listener, put across valid points. Here, quality matters and not quantity. Also, be prepared with basic abstract topics and current affair topics."

What was the WAT / GD Topic?

Parijat Panda: “Opening up the economy is good or bad?”

What were your answer/points put forward for the WAT or GD respectively?

Parijat Panda: “Opening up the economy is a good thing and our government has done it since the 90s. Free trade leads to faster generation of income.”

Describe the general setting of your personal Interview.

Parijat Panda: “My interview was taken by a total of 3 panelists, all of whom are professors of XIMB. Make sure to be confident (not overconfident) and make eye contact the whole time. Remember that posture and gesture are important to project a good personality. Be attentive to what they say and if you don't know the answer to some questions, don't beat around the bush. But let them know how much you know about what they're asking. In a PI, you have the power to lead the interview in a certain direction. This is a skill you'll only acquire through practice and presence of mind.”

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Mention at least 5 interview questions that were asked to you and your responses to each of them.

Parijat Panda: “1. Tell me something about yourself.

This is a very basic question and you must be fluent when you're answering this. Talk a little about your graduation, your hobbies, your passion, and it'd be great if you can speak about any good projects, internships, or any work experience you have.

Academic questions

Be prepared with one or two subjects from your UG thoroughly. Generally, academic questions are asked to freshers, but you never know what might happen. After all, it's a very subjective thing.

Work-ex related questions

They might ask you specifics about the work you've done in your jobs. Be prepared and maintain employer-employee confidentiality while answering any sensitive question.

If you get multiple offers from other colleges, would you join XIMB?

This is a trick question. I took a little pause, and then answered that I'd definitely join XIMB, not because it is the best college that I'm eligible for, but because of the different reasons due to which XIMB is a top-tier college."

Mention 3 reasons why you chose this college over other colleges which you converted.

Parijat Panda: “Placement is one of the most important things which was in my mind when I joined XIMB. But there were other great things about this college which made me join it. It is situated right in the middle of a very developed city. Most of the faculties are PhD holders and publish their own research papers on a regular basis. The college provided you 100% placement with an average package of around 15.42 LPA. It also gives you opportunities to get roles in all domains, be it Finance, Marketing, Systems, Sales or Operations.”

What was the reason for you not converting other colleges? (if any)

Parijat Panda: “I needed 90 percentile to get calls for IIMs. But I couldn't! Instead, I tried my best to convert to other colleges and I did get offer letters from around 10 great colleges, including TAPMI, GIM, Great Lakes, NIBM (Pune), KJ Somaiya. The only college I couldn't convert was IRMA (waitlist 150). It was mainly because I messed up a little in my Case Discussion.”

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