Meet Ananya who made her way through XLRI Jamshedpur with a percentile of 96.85

“Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought” – John F Kennedy 

We always hear success stories of the extraordinary students who score north of 99%ile in exams. But you can have a percentile like me (96.85%ile in XAT) and still land an extraordinary college if you truly believe in yourself. 

2020, the year that changed the course of action not just for our immune system but also for the career trajectory of many. 

I had my eyes and mind set on going abroad to pursue my masters. I was even about to start preparing for GMAT and started exploring country options. However, covid struck the world, and in July 2020, I decided to prepare for management exams. I was told by everyone that it’s too late to prepare and this is too long a shot to get into one of the top B-Schools of the country. My coaching institute told me, you can try but it’s the last batch and really late in the year. But if you work hard, miracles happen. I held onto this ray of hope that my student advisor gave me and started my classes and preparation. 

How did I prepare for management entrance tests?

1. I attended 2 hours of classes on all weekdays (Monday to Friday). The weekend was my time to self-study and practice all that I had been taught during class. 
2. I made sure I study all 3 subjects on a daily basis once my classes ended (1 hour VA, 1 hour DILR and 2 hours Quant) 
3. I took about 1-2 mocks a week every week starting at the end of August. 
4. LISTEN to your mentors. They tell you from experience and you will only realise how right they are once you land a B-School and look back. 
5. Regular reading of articles from different fields to get used to speed reading in areas you’re not particularly comfortable with, you never know what kind of comprehension you happen to get in the exam. This also helps you enhance your vocabulary in case you struggle with that. 
6. Decision Making (particularly for XAT)- I practiced previous 5 years question papers, this is your holy grail. Please do these very religiously and properly. Apart from that IMS has their DM questions and modules, they’re also great for practice. 
7. Take at least 2 different mock series (I took IMS and CL) to get the perspective of different test setters 
8. Maintain an excel sheet in which your entire week and month is planned and try not to deviate from it. 

What material did I use? 

• IMS books + portal (you get access to these if you are an IMS student)
• Arun Sharma for all 3 sections 
• IMS + Career Launcher mocks 
• Previous years papers (5 years) for all exams non-CAT. 
• At least 2 mocks of all non-CAT exams. 
• Articles and opinions from- The Guardian, aeon.com, the conversation, NYtimes, WSJ, The Hindu. 
• Interview specific newspapers- Mint (business), The Hindu, ET

What did I not do and should’ve done?

• Maintain a formula notebook with tricks and tips. Why? It is very handy in the last 1 month when you are revising, and you don’t want to flip through 15 registers to find important notes. 
• Maintain a “mistakes” notebook which would have all mistakes and errors from previous mocks. 
• No regrets but I should’ve started preparing a little earlier- I would say 8 months is a very ideal time to prepare for these exams (provided you do it with complete dedication) 

Honestly, I didn’t do my best in CAT or even close to what I imagined, but I pride myself on the fact that I did well in all other exams including XAT, NMAT, MICAT, SNAP. 

This is a lesson that I learned very initially during this journey to keep my options open and not lose hope. Our mentors used to tell us to apply to all colleges and take all exams. No B-School is above or below you. This was honestly the best piece of advice that I was given. Setting a target and goal is great but remembering to stay grounded is also important as a part of this MBA process.

After getting a call from XLRI

XLRI Jamshedpur was my best “call” as they call it in the world of MBA. I was honestly ecstatic just by the fact that I received those two calls from XLRI. I decided to give it my all in preparing for that interview. I explored every single domain- academics, behavioural questions, current affairs, world affairs, work experience related questions, parents’ profession, dream company, interest areas, researching about the colleges- all of it.

How should you prepare for the interview? 

1. Reflect- Why do you want to do an MBA? Why are you a good fit for college? Why should they choose you? Why should they reject you? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What have your past experiences taught you? 
2. Revise- Prepare 2-3 course subjects you enjoyed during your undergrad and be prepared for questions on the same. 
3. Read- Read all that you can- about your college (past and aspirational), about the fields you’re interested in, about your hobbies (for example if you’re into cricket you should be aware about the latest matches, your favourite player, etc), business news, read about the economy, about your city, etc. 
4. Remember- Remember that this is your chance to make an impression and the panelists give every candidate a fair chance. It is okay to not know things, they understand that. Learn how to stay I don’t know and not let that affect the questions that follow. 
5. Prepare guesstimates and how to be spontaneous (eg: why is the middle finger the longest finger) 
6. Go through all interview transcripts that are shared by your peers.
7. Always remember to be humble, polite and gracious! Keep a smile on. 

A piece of advice...

I was lucky enough to convert almost all calls that I received from various colleges. My biggest takeaway from the interview process is the fact that the interviewers want to get to know you as a person. They want to see the kind of soft skills you possess, how well you communicate and articulate your thoughts, how much logic and substance your words have, they want to know more about your experiences and most importantly you will never fully know what they’re looking for. So be at your best and be honest (remember they’ve been doing this for years and can see through you). 

(PS- Never listen to people who say it’s very difficult to convert at X percentile or Y percentile if you have an interview call you have as much of a chance as anybody else so don’t let these things bother you or hamper your preparation)

Lastly, if you work hard, it doesn’t matter who you’re up against. Be honest to yourself and to the process. Work hard and learn from your mistakes. Never let others make you doubt yourself. Keep learning, unlearning, and relearning to be the best version of yourself. 

For similar interesting reads:

1. From 15 failed attempts to getting a call from SCMHRD- Arushi Gupta’s story from hardships to victory
2. This commerce graduate not only scored 99 percentile in CAT 2020, but also converted 20 IIMs and FMS, Delhi
3. Failing CAT twice helped him score a whopping 99.72 percentile in XAT
4. Learn how to ace management exams from 99 percentile scorer in SNAP 2020 Minkesh Devani, IIM Shillong
5. Did not make it to IIMs? Don’t worry, it is not the end!