My narration of the IIM-A interview experience is going to be a long story. I request you all to have patience while I share every minute detail I remember. I am not fond of writing articles or experiences, so please bear with me if you find any lack of continuity, grammatical errors, or improper flow of information.
My Background: I belong to the General Engineering Male (GEM) category. I scored 10 CGPA in X, 95.8% in XII, and 8.62 CGPA in the under graduation. I wrote the CAT for the first time in 2020 and scored 99.6+ percentile. Till CAT ’20, I had work experience of around 23 months and I was working at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Date & Time: 7th Feb 2021, 08:00 AM
Place: IIMA New Campus, Ahmedabad
It was a breezy morning, and I was nervous as well as excited for my IIM-A interview. I reached the campus half an hour before the reporting time. The security guard checked the identity card and the provisional shortlisting intimation letter. Post checking, I went to the classroom for the Analytical Written Test (AWT). It has a 10% weightage in the final convert merit list. There were around 60 students in the classroom for the AWT session and, we had to wear masks, maintain social distancing and adhere to Covid-19 appropriate behavior.
After document verifications, the AWT paper, with the topic written on top of it, was provided. The instructions were to write only on the front side of the paper and use the other side for rough work. It was an A4 size paper, and the maximum word limit that one could have written in the space provided was not more than 300 words. The time allotted was 20 minutes, and it started around 10:00 AM (if I remember correctly).
My AWT topic was:
Virat Kohli, captain of the Indian cricket team, decided to take paternity leave and return home after the 1st test match of the ongoing India Australia Border Gavaskar Trophy. Various comments passed by retired players criticizing the Indian captain for this decision. Sports magazines compared it with army personnel who does their duty for the country and don’t leave the battlefield midway. They argued that cricket players are given equal treatment and respect, as compared to the army in India, so many people wanted that he should have stayed back for the nation.
I had to discuss how well reasoned the argument was. What are the underlying assumptions in this kind of reasonings? What sort of evidence will strengthen or weaken the opinion? What changes will make the argument more logically sound?
(Although I couldn’t recall the AWT topic exactly, it was on similar lines as mentioned above.)
Post AWT, the interview session having a weightage of 50% in the final convert merit list took place. The students were divided into batches and were assigned an interview panel. I was in panel number 3, and my interview number was 5 (out of a total of 7). The interview was held digitally in a room pre-equipped with an LED screen, speakers, microphone, and the interview panel was sitting in the adjoining room. Various things like a writing pad, markers, chocolates were present on the interview table. My interview panel had two male professors, and my number came after waiting for 1.5 hrs., which felt like an eternity. I wished the panel and exchanged greetings.
(Let’s denote the male panelist as M1, M2, and myself as P. The text in the bracket represents what my thought process was & what I conveyed.)
M1: Pulkit, you are working in a very esteemed organization of our country. Why do you want to leave ISRO and join IIM for an MBA? Don’t you want to serve the nation anymore?
P: (I was pretty much expecting this question and was prepared. I gave my standard 40-second answer, where I mentioned my long-term career goal and how an MBA from IIM-A will help me. I also added how I can serve the nation even if I leave ISRO. The panelist seemed pretty convinced with my plan and vision.)
M1: What is your role at ISRO?
P: (I mentioned the division and the group in which I was working. I talked about the projects and activities carried out by me. Also, explained the processes involved in layman terms and kept it very concise.)
M1: What’s the budget of ISRO?
P: 13,000 crores for the year 2020–21.
(Also mentioned how much this is in terms of % of GDP and compared it with NASA’s budget.)
M1: The space sector is seeing so many changes. Can you mention the developments and where this sector is heading?
P: In India, space is currently at an inflection point. The global market for the space sector is 350 billion dollars, and India only contributes 2% of the total trade. The Indian government is allowing private players in the space sector to change this scenario. They are also encouraging space startups to take part in end-to-end space activities. They are setting up institutions like NSIL, INSPACe, etc., for the efficient use of ISRO facilities by the interested customers.
The mapping activities have liberalized to become self-reliant in navigation, and private sector participation will open up new and exciting opportunities in the coming years.
(This discussion was followed by some details on NSIL, INSPACe. The panelists seemed genuinely interested in knowing more about these developments, and the interview felt like an interaction at this point.)
M2: How good are you in statistics?
P: I am out of practice. I read and used statistical methods during my college. But I am very well aware of the basic concepts and fundamentals.
M2: How do you rate yourself in statistics?
P: I am definitely above average and able to answer the questions except for some mathematical expressions.
M2: What are the different probability distributions.
P: Normal, Binomial, Poisson, Bernoulli, exponential.
M2: Explain with real-life examples.
P: (Explained and also gave practical examples where we encounter different distributions.)
M2: Mathematical expression for Poisson distribution?
P: (I didn’t know this. I wrote the expression for normal distribution and mentioned that I am not sure and it’s a guess.)
M2: Explain mean, mode, median.
P: (Explained).
M2: He gave me a few numbers and asked me to find the mean, mode, and median of that data set.
P: Solved it in a matter of seconds. It was an easy question.
M2: You explained the mean, mode, and median mathematically. Tell me a scenario where median and mode make more sense than the mean. You have 15 seconds to think.
P: (The last statement that I have 15 seconds adds to the pressure and can sometimes really affect the thinking process.)
Median makes more sense when we analyze the b-school placement figures. (Explained how a single very high or low package can affect the mean significantly.)
M2: Alright. What about mode?
P: (After thinking for 5–10 seconds) If we have to analyze a sports player who plays archery, the mode makes more sense than mean. The mode will tell the area which is most likely to get hit when the player aims.
M1: Where are the other ISRO centers, and what kind of work happens there?
P: Told.
M1: Is it justified for a country like India to spend so much on space when there are issues like poverty and unemployment.
P: I would like to quote Vikram Sarabhai, father of the Indian space program and one of the founding fathers of IIM-A:
“There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. “
“But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society.”
(I also explained the other applications like tele-medicine, communication, resource mapping, urban planning, strategic uses like data for Uri attack, etc., and explained the importance. The panelists were quite impressed by this answer.)
M1: Do you follow Elon Musk. What are the developments that SpaceX is focusing on apart from the Mars colony?
P: (Explained the Starlink and Falcon projects of SpaceX. Then the interview steered towards other private players like Boeing, Virgin Galactic. I was very much comfortable answering these kinds of questions.)
M2: What are your hobbies. How do you spend your free time?
P: (Gave the prepared answer and mentioned things like cricket, stock market, chess, movies, etc.)
M2: The Covid-19 has shaken the economy. Still, the stock markets are making new highs. Explain why this is happening?
P: (Explained about the liquidity that has flooded the markets because of the US government. Also, explained about the market is a forward-looking indicator and the worse is behind us. The outlook is positive. The interest rates are at an all-time low which makes the equity market a desirable alternative for investment purposes.)
M2: Explain the budget in one or two lines.
P: The government has decided to focus on growth and wants to achieve a double-digit growth rate of around 12%. They are ready to spend more while maintaining fiscal prudence by the slew of measures which include privatization and asset monetization. The government is hoping that the fiscal deficit will come down to 6.8%.
M2: Alright. That will be all.
M1: Do you have any questions for us?
P: No. I am good. Thank You.
M1: (No chocolates offered) You can leave.
(From my perspective, the interview was good, and I answered almost all the questions. The panelists were smiling throughout and never interrupted even once. It lasted for 35 minutes.)
Verdict on 14th May: Selected.