May 27, I landed at IIMA for the preparatory program. There were 17 people selected for the FPM program. The next 3 weeks were spent in developing communication skills (???), fundas of mathematics, managerial accounting (supposed to reduce our workload for the first term!) and computing skills... (this too… to reduce our first term workload!!)
The prep course was fun... it gave some idea about the pressures ahead … Some assignments were submitted... some presentations given… We are still awaiting the results of many of those assignments!
Our prep course was clubbed with the ABM students (Agri-business). This only added to the fun… We encountered some fun profs like Prof. T. Madhavan, Prof. Sanjay Verma, some fun TAs- all from the communication department.
High stress was given to developing communication skills... (meant more assignments, more work, etc.!) On the commencement of the first term, we all realized that all that, was valuable time lost. At least I'm not utilizing even 5 % of the communication skills ‘developed’.
We also had an outing to a resort to unwind ourselves for the weekend.
We had a gap of 4 days between the end of the prep course and the start of the first term. I chose not 2 go home so that I cud cover up some more ground and be better prepared for the first term. But those 4 days were spent sleeping… sleeping... and more sleeping!
So, I was better prepared in terms of sleep for the first term!!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
End Of First Term Vacations (Remembering The Path To Ahmedabad)
Calling the 7-day break a ‘vacation’ may seem a bit weird... but that’s the IIMA style. After the grueling first term, even a 2 –day break seems like a vacation.
The exams were a mere formality to be completed to proceed on to the vacation.
So, I’m at Nashik at my sister’s place... cooling my heels... licking my wounds… and recharging myself for the next term. Let me recount my first term… or even better... let me recount my journey to IIMA…
I was working with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) since 2002… was posted at a power plant at Kaiga, near Karwar (try to get that from the map!)
Got bored of my job after sometime (operating a nuclear reactor didn’t hold my interest for long!) So I decided to take the CAT... trying to study during the small amount of free time I got while working. Took the CAT in 2004, 2005, 2006… Kept improving my scores from 88% to 94.5% to 97.45%… While filling up the 2006 form, I thought why not try for the FPM program. Some of the fields looked interesting and the faculty was an obvious attraction. I applied to three IIMs - A, B, I (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Indore). The CAT percentile ensured calls from all three for the FPM program in the area related to Production & Quantitative Methods.
Interview dates for IIM-B and IIM-I clashed. So I decided to appear for the IIM-B interview. I felt that my interview went off well as they asked me about basic mathematics and use of operation management techniques in my job. The next interview was that of IIM-A. The difference between the two was that IIM-B’s area focused on the operations side. But A’s area was focused on both operations and quantitative methods. My preparation for quantitative methods was absolutely zilch. Even though QM was one of my favorite subjects in my engineering, I had been out of touch for nearly 5-6 years. The interview committee grilled me royally on QM, work experience, operations… the ordeal went on for around 45 minutes. I was totally devastated after the interview. I didn’t attend the dinner meeting that day and left for my friend’s place in A’bad.
The days passed by at work. I received the reject info from B’lore... and I was hopeless about Ahmedabad. I decided to go back to the drawing board and try once again next year. My quarter was in a total mess. Hadn’t really attended to it for nearly 3 months!
For a totally fresh beginning, I decided to start with clearing the mess. I had an off day after my evening shift. That was totally devoted to this task. I borrowed a vacuum cleaner to aid me in this herculean task. After 5 hours of hard work, I managed to complete the task. I check my mail… and lo... I receive the offer letter from IIM-A. Out of total disbelief, I confirm the offer from the IIM website and prepare for completion of the formalities.
I resigned from my job; the usual events of send-off parties, exit interviews, etc. followed and on May 16, I left Karwar for the last time.
The next 10 days were really good. Enjoyed the comfort of home and tried to orient myself towards rigorous studies ahead.
The exams were a mere formality to be completed to proceed on to the vacation.
So, I’m at Nashik at my sister’s place... cooling my heels... licking my wounds… and recharging myself for the next term. Let me recount my first term… or even better... let me recount my journey to IIMA…
I was working with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) since 2002… was posted at a power plant at Kaiga, near Karwar (try to get that from the map!)
Got bored of my job after sometime (operating a nuclear reactor didn’t hold my interest for long!) So I decided to take the CAT... trying to study during the small amount of free time I got while working. Took the CAT in 2004, 2005, 2006… Kept improving my scores from 88% to 94.5% to 97.45%… While filling up the 2006 form, I thought why not try for the FPM program. Some of the fields looked interesting and the faculty was an obvious attraction. I applied to three IIMs - A, B, I (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Indore). The CAT percentile ensured calls from all three for the FPM program in the area related to Production & Quantitative Methods.
Interview dates for IIM-B and IIM-I clashed. So I decided to appear for the IIM-B interview. I felt that my interview went off well as they asked me about basic mathematics and use of operation management techniques in my job. The next interview was that of IIM-A. The difference between the two was that IIM-B’s area focused on the operations side. But A’s area was focused on both operations and quantitative methods. My preparation for quantitative methods was absolutely zilch. Even though QM was one of my favorite subjects in my engineering, I had been out of touch for nearly 5-6 years. The interview committee grilled me royally on QM, work experience, operations… the ordeal went on for around 45 minutes. I was totally devastated after the interview. I didn’t attend the dinner meeting that day and left for my friend’s place in A’bad.
The days passed by at work. I received the reject info from B’lore... and I was hopeless about Ahmedabad. I decided to go back to the drawing board and try once again next year. My quarter was in a total mess. Hadn’t really attended to it for nearly 3 months!
For a totally fresh beginning, I decided to start with clearing the mess. I had an off day after my evening shift. That was totally devoted to this task. I borrowed a vacuum cleaner to aid me in this herculean task. After 5 hours of hard work, I managed to complete the task. I check my mail… and lo... I receive the offer letter from IIM-A. Out of total disbelief, I confirm the offer from the IIM website and prepare for completion of the formalities.
I resigned from my job; the usual events of send-off parties, exit interviews, etc. followed and on May 16, I left Karwar for the last time.
The next 10 days were really good. Enjoyed the comfort of home and tried to orient myself towards rigorous studies ahead.
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