Advice for future CAT aspirants

A friend (NIT, 2016 pass out) resigned from his job in Nov. 2016. His passion was in management. And being a brilliant student, he was dead sure of getting into an old IIM. As expected, he got 99.95 percentile in CAT.

Here comes the twist: A, B, L, and I have not even shortlisted him for the interview. Out of the old IIMS, only IIM-C has called him. Another twist here: C has given calls up to 99.6 percentile, they have distorted the selection criteria in such a way that he is ahead of the last person called by only 1.47 marks. Now the fun thing: IIM-C awards 2 marks for academic diversity and 4 marks for work experience. So, he will have to give an extraordinary GD-PI performance to have any realistic chance of being selected.

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The purpose of this article is not to frighten or dishearten you but to provide a realistic view of the admission process of IIMs. It is written only for GEMs. If you don’t belong to General Engineer Male, no need to read further.

Most people think that getting into IIMs (old ones) is all about securing more than 99.5 percentile in CAT. Sorry for shattering your dreams, but that isn’t even 10% the battle. Your whole life counts. From the chromosomes that determined your sex to your graduation stream, everything is considered. If you happen to be a General Engineer Male, things over which you have no control, you are screwed. A girl having 92 percentile and a GEM having 99.5 percentile have equal chances of getting into an IIM. Gender is not the only thing going against you, they consider work experience, academic diversity, your marks in 10th, 12th & graduation and the quality of the work experience. If you somehow manage to get a call, your selection depends entirely on the interview. Engineers are seen with contempt there. They have so many to choose from.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on reservations.

If you are a GEM having less than 90 percent in 10th or 12th and below 7.5 CGPA in B.Tech, think twice before putting your time and effort in preparing for CAT. You might regret it later. Life is unfair and the Indian education system is even more so. Unless a revolution happens, don’t expect the end of reservation or such diversity bullshit in a hundred years. However, there is no point in fretting about things over which we have no control. Here is a plan of action you can follow if you like.

If you are a fresher:

1. Before starting your preparation, read the selection criteria of all the IIMs. Every IIM has a different criterion. Indore gives 76% weightage to your 10th and 12th marks. Others have similar weird process. Prepare yourself mentally for what you are getting into. Here are some threads (to depress you) https://www.quora.com/Is-it-possible-to-score-99-5+-percent…, https://www.pagalguy.com/…/all-i-want-to-speak-about-gem-ge… . Know the worst that can happen. It’s time you start practising stoicism.

2. If you are still in B.Tech, focus only on building your GPA. Forget about CAT (or at least don’t neglect your GPA for CAT preparation). You will have 4-5 years to go for an MBA after B.Tech. Remember that even half an extra mark in your mid semester will count. Bargain, beg, plead with the prof as much as you can.

I know that you hate the rat race for marks. I hated it too. But the MBA world is all about rat race. During my 2nd and 3rd year of B.Tech, I had some rules: I never sat in the examination hall for more than 45 minutes in mid sem and more than 1.5 hours in end sem. I regret it now. Make sure that you don’t have any regrets.

3. Try to gain as much expertise in your stream/area of interest as you can. If you can publish a research paper, do it. If you can organize/attend any conference, do it. Get yourself enrolled in as many clubs as you can. Get published in reputed newspapers/magazines. Try to get good internships. You have to show that you are different from the herd.

4. Consider other exams. If they don’t want you, why do you want them so desperately? Depending on your ambitions, there are good colleges other than IIMS. XLRI, IIFT, NMIMS, to name a few. Though I don’t suggest going for GRE/GMAT in this era of rising protectionism; if you are rich enough, you may consider MS/MBA from a foreign university.

If you are a working professional: DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB. CAT is capricious.

Will add more things later.

गर्लफ़्रेंड ना बना पाने से निराश छात्र हुआ बज़रंग दल में शामिल, अब करेगा वैलेंटाईन डे का विरोध

ज़ैसे जैसे वैलेंटाईन डे नजदीक आ रहा है, आइएसएम के छात्रों में नैतिकता और राष्ट्रवादिता का संचार हो रहा है। इन्हीं भावनाओं के वशीभूत होकर द्वितीय वर्ष के छात्र हनुमान प्रसाद ने बीते शनिवार को बजरंग दल की सदस्यता ग्रहण की। सूत्रों के मुताबिक हनुमान प्रसाद पिछले 15 सालों से अपने लिए एक गर्लफ़्रेंड की तलाश कर रहा था, लेकिन आज तक उसे अपने प्रयासों में कोई सफ़लता नहीं मिली। हर बार 14 फ़रवरी का बेसब्री से इतंजार करने वाले हनुमान को इस बार जाके अपने प्रयासों की व्यर्थता का बोध हुआ।

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हालांकि हनुमान की उम्मीदें इस बार भी 12 तारीख तक वर्चुयल कैंडी, रोज़, ग्रीटिंग कार्ड और टेडी जैसी चीज़ों के सहारे जिंदा थी, लेकिन जब हनुमान ने अपने आस-पास के सभी चुन्नू-मुन्नू और झन्डुओं को उनकी गर्लफ़्रेंड के साथ देखा तो उसके दिल पर गहरा आघात लगा। और इन्हीं झन्डुओं से बदला लेने के लिए हनुमान प्रसाद ने बजरंग दल में शामिल होने का निर्णय लिया। हनुमान को उम्मीद है कि इन committed लड़के-लड़कियों को सबक सिखाने के बहाने वो पिछले 15 सालों से अपने दिल में छिपे गुबार को बाहर निकाल पाएगा।

बजरंग दल की आइएसएम इकाई के संयोजक नितेशानन्द दत्तात्रेय ने बताया कि बजरंग दल के दरवाजे उन सभी छात्रों के लिए खुले हैं जिनके पास 14 फ़रवरी को करने के लिए कुछ नहीं है। 14 फ़रवरी के दिन ऐसे छात्रों को हाथ में जूते-चप्पल देकर Ruby lane, Main Canteen, Library और SAC में तैनात कर दिया जाएगा ताकि ये लड़की के साथ दिखाई देने वाले लौंडों की GPL कर सकें। स्वामी दत्तात्रेय के अनुसार बजरंग दल में शामिल होने वाले सभी छात्रों को भारतीय संस्कृति के पहरेदार और राष्ट्रवादी होने का प्रमाण-पत्र भी दिया जाएगा।        

First written for ismdiaries.com

Ridiculous 11 P.M. Rule of ISM Dhanbad

In-time for students (no student can remain outside his hostel gate after 11 P.M.) in hostels has been the most discussed and debated issue of ISM. For the last few years, it continues to be in the 'issues raised' section in various meetings of ISS, but so far ISM administration has paid no heed to this demand.  Most students (in fact every student) want this rule to be scrapped.

The reason given by the admins in support of this rule is hilarious. Argument is given that this rule is only for the safety of students because any mishap can happen during the night. This argument is as strong as saying that "To avoid molestation, women should stay at home". Doesn't the administration know that most of the students here are adults? Students here possess the same security threat as any other person of our country. What if the government imposes this kind of ban on every person to stay inside their house to reduce the crimes? Will anyone accept this? In a free and democratic society where every person has the right to do anything as long as it is not obnoxious to other citizens, where the government is about to decriminalize attempt to suicide, imposing these kind of bans in the name of maintaining discipline and ensuring safety is egregious.

There are other ways to ensure safety of students during the night. There are already enough guards in the campus, but still numbers of guards can be increased for added security. And instead of banning students why not ban outsiders after 11 pm since they are the potential offender to the students, students should be told to carry I-cards to distinguish them from strangers. Regular and strict checking of I-cards should be done and outsiders can be punished with a fine or something else. Even after having so many guards, if safety of students cannot be ensured within the small premises of ISM which is confined by boundary walls where no palpable evidences of ‘criminal-on-prowl' are available, just imagine the plight of the common man living in open societies where no significant police or security is available.

All the possible problems can be sorted out, but the ISM administration is too defensive to take any step to abolish this rule.  For the administration, it also serves as an excuse to prevent students from getting involved in ‘bad habits' like studying till late night in the library. In reality, admins are using this rule to hide the insufficiency of available night-staff. Now that we are bragging about the new library which would be Asia’s largest academic library, it would be unfortunate if this rule is continued; people would laugh at us. The ISM administration should consider the demands of students and completely erase this rule.

12 Students Suspended for Celebrating Birthday without GPL

 GPL in ISM Dhanbad    GPL in engineering
In a huge shock to the whole engineering fraternity, 12 students of ISM (Institute of Single Males) celebrated a birthday without GPL. The college authorities took immediate notice of this shocking act and suspended everyone involved in the birthday celebration.

This stunning event took place on the birthday of Padhaku Teja - the notorious 10 pointer of the college. It was around 11:50 pm when Lallan Jha2 – the GPL specialist of ISM who has successfully performed GPL of more than 400 students, set out on his daily birthday/GPL hunt. When Jha2 finally reached Maggu Wing, he heard some strange voice of “Happy birthday to you” coming from a room. Stimulated by this opportunity, Jha2 rushed to the room but he was left mind-blown when he peeked inside the room.

Instead of preparing for GPL, students were greeting Padhaku and were eagerly waiting to cut the cake. However, Jha2 took pity on the starved students and decided to wait outside the room. After 10-15 minutes, all the students came out of the room and started dancing to the tunes of Honey Singh’s Volume-1. Still seeing no signs of GPL, Jha2 completely lost his mind and went to call his friends.
Jha2 returned with his 5 friends. They all had leather belts and chappals in their hands. Padhaku saw them coming. Sensing their bad motives, he immediately ran from the place. Jha2 and his friends followed him but they couldn’t catch him. For the entire night, they searched every room of the hostel but remained unable to find Padhaku. Jha2 couldn’t endure this blow on his self-respect; next morning, he went to the dean office and narrated this inhumane act in detail.

“What! ....... How? ............ How could they ……?” was the reaction of the surprised dean. “At first I didn’t believe him, how can any student leave the golden chance of beating his friend?” the dean told our reporters, “but then Jha2 requested me to myself check Padhaku’s body”. After that, dean himself went to Padhaku’s room and minutely examined his body parts. Not finding any mark of GPL, the dean asked Jha2 the names of everyone present in Padhaku’s room that night. Dean first called the parents of the students and informed them about the in-disciplinary acts of their children. Then he issued an order suspending the students. “These students are a blot on the face of engineering, what message do they want to give to society?” said the dean.

Meanwhile, some of the suspended students told our reporters the reasons for abstaining from Padhaku’s GPL. “I had not eaten anything for the last 15 days, I was surviving on only RD's tea. Padhaku had threatened me not to give any piece from the birthday cake if I were to forcefully do his GPL,” said one of the suspended students while justifying his acts.

PS: I wrote this article for ismdiaries.com. GPL culture in IITs and ISM Dhanbad. What is GPL?
      

ISS: Everything You Want To Know

ISS: ISM Student Society

The ISM Student Society is a magnificent manifestation of the democratic spirits of ISM. Over the years, ISS has evolved as an institution having multi-dimensional roles. Nurturing and inspiring participatory democracy among students, ISS has been instrumental in ushering in various changes and developments in ISM. But sadly most students don't even have a basic clue about ISS. This article is an attempt to acquaint the students with the ISS, its functioning and the ISS elections.

Objective: ISS was established to bridge the gap between the students and the ISM administration. It discusses issues directly or indirectly effecting ISM and ISMites with the concerned authorities.

The ISS Body:
Electoral College:  It comprises of 40 members, all of whom are selected through interview by the concerned authorities. Details of members and selection process are given below. First year students are not included in the Electoral College.
Executive Committee: It consists of 7 members: The President, Vice President, General Secretary, Joint Secretary, Cultural Secretary, Sports Secretary and Secretary of Alumni Affairs. These 7 members must be among the members of the Electoral College. The President and the Vice President are selected from the B.Tech 4th year, and the rest are selected from the B.Tech 3rd year.

ISS Elections:
Electoral College: The 40 member team consists of following:-
(1) 3 Class Representatives.
(2) One representative from PG Students.
(3) One representative each from the Faculty Societies (ME, PE, Mechanical, MME, FME, Electronics, CSE, Electrical, ESE, Chemical, AGL, AGP, MS, Applied Math, Chemistry and Physics).
(4) One representative of the meritorious students from each year of B.Tech (total 3 students).
(5) One sportsman.
(6) One Hostel Perfect from each hostel.
(7) One Secretary from of the following societies: CSLS, Chayanika Sangh, Music Society, Cyber Society, Photographic Society, Yoga Society and NSS.
All members are selected after an interview by the concerned Presidents/Faculty Members/Wardens. GPA and extra-curricular activities form most important part of the selection criteria.

Executive Committee: Executive Committee is elected by (through voting) members of Electoral College from among its members.
Note: Any student who has appeared in any special examination or against whom any kind of disciplinary action has been taken, is not eligible to apply for the interview process of Electoral College


Functioning of ISS: First, a General Body Meeting (GBM) is organized to take feedback from students regarding their problems. After that, the issues raised in GBM are discussed in the ISS-Administration meeting. A GBM is held again to update students about the progress.

Suggestions:Currently there is no direct role of ISM students in the selection process. From time to time, demands have been raised to make the selection process more democratic. A large section of ISMites feels that instead of selecting members of ISS through an interview, students should themselves choose the members by election/voting.

PS: I wrote this article for ismdiaries.com. What is ISS. What is ISM student society. Election of ISS. Election of ISM Student Society and functioning of ISS.

And the ragging continues………

His face was deadly pale, beads of perspiration gleamed upon his tensed forehead. He had just stood up after finishing the 30 – minutes Murga Punishment, his fragile legs shook from his small weight and his weak body wagged like a branch in wind. The abusive words and threats were still echoing in his mind.

“Behen ke lo** first year me kuch nahi hua to apne aap ko Bond samajhne lage,” bellowed the self-declared Student Leader of College and chief of the group of six – who were monitoring 450 students. Their language was becoming more and more vulgar, but none of the 450 2^nd yearites seemed to have any kind of self – respect. “In salo ko ek baar fir Murga banate hain”, suggested a Sardar jee to the leader. The leader ordered everyone to repeat the punishment.

But, his body was not able to endure any extra physical load. Some kind of self-respect seemed to arouse out of him. “Why are you following their orders, who are they to order you and why you are here? You should have been in your room, these rubbish people have wasted your two hours,” his vainglorious heart told his body. He began to think of ways to get away from there, he thought of fleeing but his heart told him not to do so, after all he was not a coward. Then he thought of open defiance and verbally facing them – “Every one of these seniors is a coward, they didn’t even dare to touch you in your first year, for they were afraid of your complaint to ragging committee; they are doing all this only because you are allowing them to do so – just show a little firm attitude and see what happens, no one would want to be in trouble – everyone is here only to get a job and have a good career,” –  his heart tried to convince his mind. He tightened his fists and prepared himself to speak loudly and firmly.

But just before uttering the pre-meditated words, the last sentence said by his heart came to his mind – “Everyone is here only to get a job,” and suddenly he remembered the advice of his elder brother – “Never involve in any kind of altercation with any of your seniors, always maintain a healthy relationship with them. You are going to college to get a decent job, who knows one of your seniors may be interviewing you during your placement. Engineering job is always about following orders of others,” and he tightly shut his mouth.

“Tujhe alag se bolna padega Bh@**di ke,” snapped the Sardar jee.

He slowly bent down to silently follow his command. “ I will take my revenge next year, I will also get juniors” – he spoke to himself while raising his butts.

And the ragging continues………

Ragging in ISM Dhanbad

P.S. This is not a work of fiction, it is based on the description given by one of my friends who willingly attended the Sr - Jr Interaction cum Ragging Program

Does India need new IITs? Is it quality vs. quantity?

The announcement of Indian government to open five more new IITs has created a buzz among people. Most of the common people are seeing it as a decision to eradicate the dearth of quality higher education technical institutes, for odds of a student getting a seat in any of the IITs and ISM, Dhanbad is less than 0.8% (not to forget some new IITs, which by no means, can be called ‘Quality Institutes’). On the other hand, most of the students and alumnus are comprehending this decision it as a threat to the brand IIT.

Many people are contemplating this decision as quality versus quantity. Some are saying that the sheen of brand IIT will tarnish because now less intelligent, less talented and low-ranked students will get the prestigious IITian tag. But is it really true? Do IITs still flourish the most brilliant minds of our country?  Do all IITians still have the same veneration and status in society as they had had only 7-8 years ago? Answer to all these questions is NO. Chances of getting admission in an IIT are infinitely increased if you are born in some particular caste. 50% students of IITs are from reserved categories. One may simply understand by looking at cut-offs that these 50% students are not that talented and are not of the level of general category students. One may argue about their hidden and creative talent or their passion and desire of getting admission in IITs, but the fact is they have not been able to match the performance of the rest 50% students. The selection criteria are completely different depending on one’s caste. Would these 50% students ever get a chance of studying in IITs had they not been born in their caste? A student getting 70 marks, another one getting 120 and a more hard-working student getting 170 marks study the same course in the same institute, but a student getting 150-155 doesn’t get admission anywhere. Where is the quality in all this process?

Quality is a very nice word to read. India really needs quality in every zone if it is to become a developed nation. But the policy-makers of our country don’t like this very word. They have been preferring caste over quality from the time the caste based politics came into existence. All that matters to them is appeasement of castes or categories and vote bank, and it’s not going to change till the end of caste based politics. Many people who work hard do not get what they desire only because they have taken birth in General Category. But the people who have less knowledge, work less and consequently perform worse eat the cake baked by others.

Keeping in mind that quality is not the first priority to grab a seat in a good institute or land a government job, we should now think again over this decision. If more Institutes are opened or more jobs are created, more talented people who have not got any dais to unveil their potential due to their caste will be benefited. By that way some reserved categories will definitely get seat or job after scoring even lesser marks, but that should not bother much. We should make sure that not a single talent is wasted even if we are obliged to include some less talented ones. This is not limited to the context of opening educational institutes, but it is valid for every area where caste overshadows talent.

Quality has already been diluted to such an extent that increasing quantity will do no further harm to it. But increasing quantity would provide opportunities to unfairly treated sections/General Category of our society.