Admission Story: Bharadwaaj Manchala, IIM Calcutta, 96, CAT

Bharadwaaj Manchala graduated from IIT Madras with a 6.4 CGPA. He is currently enrolled in the Sales and Marketing/ Operations course at IIM Calcutta. He has an excellent CAT score of 96 percentile. Bharadwaaj also had 2 years and 9 months of work experience as a Shop Floor Operations Manager at Steel Authority of India Limited.

Bharadwaaj Manchala Profile

Current institute: IIM Calcutta
Graduation College: IIT Madras
CAT score: 96
10th Percentage / GPA: 78
12th Percentage / GPA: 76.2
Graduation Percentage/GPA: 6.4 CGPA
Work Experience: Steel Authority of India Limited, 2 years 9 months, Shop Floor operations Manager

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Bharadwaaj Manchala Admission Experience

Did you avail of the benefit of any reservation?

Bharadwaaj Manchala: “SC.”

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

Bharadwaaj Manchala: “I had given my WAT for IIM Calcutta, at IIM Calcutta campus in the month of March 2013, for admissions into the batch 2013-2015. It was conducted offline. By then most IIMs got done away with GDs and only WAT and PI were conducted as a part of the process. The time given for WAT was 11:30 AM in the morning and I reached the beautiful campus by about 10:00 AM, in formals with all the required documents. At the given slot timing we were asked to come into a conference room and 8 candidates were called into the room for the slot. There was a spacing of about 2 meters between each candidate. We were given a small booklet and a pen to write about the topic. Since it was a booklet there was sufficient space available. The topic was to be displayed on the screen in front of a projector. We were asked to write about 350 words in a period of 25 mins. The 25 mins included time for thinking/brainstorming and writing as well. My approach to the WAT topic was pretty straightforward. I allocated 30% of the time to COLLECT, ORGANISE, DEVELOP ideas and the remaining 70% to actually write about the topic and review and finalize it. These inputs I got when I took training at T.I.M.E. coaching institute. The institute also provided a no. of general articles for reading and getting perspectives of various current events happening around. I use to write on a WAT topic every day, a month before the test and get it evaluated by the T.I.M.E. mentoring team on how to improvise. That amount of practice is usually enough to deliver the best on the D-day.”

What was the WAT / GD Topic?

Bharadwaaj Manchala: “The topic given to us was "Should PSUs in India be privatized?" and we were asked to write about 350 words in 25 words.”

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

Bharadwaaj Manchala: “Since I had work experience in PSU, it was not difficult for me to ideate and write on the topic. I had presented some financial data pointers initially, and what are the typical advantages/benefits that could come out of privatizing an organization and how it could improve the current status of the PSU, the basis on all these reasons I finalized that the PSUs may be privatized. I mentioned some specific numbers about SAIL since my work experience was from SAIL and mentioned some data points. In WAT or GD mentioning data always helps build your case. There are also a few approaches to writing a WAT topic. First being the Keyword approach- In which you pick the keywords in the topic and build your write-up. The second being Viewpoint of affected parties- you look at the parties/groups of people /organizations who are going to be affected due to any decision that your taking. Third, there is the PESTLE approach- i.e., look at the topic from Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental/Ethical angles and describe it. Students also need to remember what they have mentioned in the WAT topic as that could be the basis for the start of the Personal Interview round. PI could also revolve around the WAT topic. Again, a lot of help in the preparation I received from the T.I.M.E. mentoring team, probably one of the reasons why I didn't feel much difficulty in the process.”

Describe the general setting of your personal Interview.

Bharadwaaj Manchala: “Firstly it was an Offline interview. There were 2 middle-aged males- One faculty and one Alumni. Overall it was an easy interview that went for not more than 10-12 mins. Since I had three years of work experience the questions were mostly around work experience and SAIl in general. It is recommended that aspirants need to preserve their energies before the interview as the interview could prolong for a while and it helps in maintaining the energy through the course of the entire duration. Also, it would help if they are greeted with a smile after entering. There is no need to feel nervous because the first question usually is about self which would be an ice-breaker. It is advisable to politely refuse any beverages like Tea/Coffee if offered.”

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

Bharadwaaj Manchala: “1Q) Tell me about your roles and responsibilities at SAIL

A) I take care of the Steel Refining Unit in the Continuous Casting Section and I'm the shift incharge. There is a team of about 15 people on my shift. My job is to assign work roles every day, monitor work, progress, oversee shift transitions- internal and external, etc.

2Q) Who is the present MD of Bokaro Steel Plant?

A) Mr. BK Srivastava

3Q) Who is the Present Chairman of SAIL?

A) Mr. CS Verma

4Q) What did you learn from playing sports?

A) I understood the importance of teamwork, right coordination, strategy, planning and execution, and most importantly not giving up even in the most difficult of situations.

5Q) Why did you choose Metallurgy in your undergraduate degree?

A) Because that was the option available based on the rank I secured in JEE."

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

Bharadwaaj Manchala: “The colleges I converted were: IIM C, IIM L, FMS Delhi, All new IIMs. Among all the colleges I converted my best option available was IIM Calcutta being in the top 3 IIMs: A, B, Cs. In terms of campus life, placements, faculty it was a no-brainer decision. IIM L and FMS Delhi are other good calls, but IIM C ranks anyway better over IIM L and FMS is better in the way that the Fee is quite low as compared to IIM C, but IIM C has a reputation of giving a great College life and peer-to-peer learning opportunities, the reputation built over years is priceless.”

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

Bharadwaaj Manchala: “I couldn't convert IIM K call from the ones I got calls. The interview was more focused on my Maths score in 10th and 12th and also in general about academics. My academics were not great, so that could be one of the reasons. Also, I would like to mention that initially I was put under waitlist in FMS- but later converted the call. The reason I did not do so well I believe was, I didn't answer the things that I claimed I know. If you are mentioning that you know something- be thorough in the preparation. Preparation not only gives you enough knowledge and awareness but also confidence that you can answer because you have prepared!”

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