How I cracked IIM Ahmedabad: Fashion designer narrates her story

CAT 2015 aims to make a change in the system this year. Authorities hope to introduce more diversity in the class – both in terms of academic and gender diversity. The exam pattern has changed drastically. Shortlisting criteria of various B-Schools may also be tweaked accordingly.

So we went out looking for candidates who meet both – academic and gender diversity. In short, we went looking for a girl from non-engineering background.

And we found Priya Parul Trivedi, IIM Ahmedabad PGP batch 2014-2016. She studied Fashion Designing at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Chennai. Trivedi scored 97 percentile in CAT 2014 (first attempt) in general category and still managed to crack IIM Ahmedabad. She was one of the top 1% of the applicants in her field.

Her story also deflates the myth that IIM Ahmedabad only accepts candidates with 99 percentile or more marks in CAT from general category.

Here’s Trivedi, discussing about gender and academic diversity and how she made to it one of the best business schools in the world, in an exclusive interview with Shiksha.com.

 

 

1: Please tell us about yourself.

Priya: I studied at City Montessori School, Lucknow and then pursued graduation in Fashion Designing from NIFT, Chennai.  I went for two internships, one in Tamil Nadu and another in one of the biggest export house of the country.

Interning at both these places gave me a diverse experience – from developing interpersonal skills to overcoming language barrier by through different channels for communication and so forth. Also NIFT days prepared me to handle stress and perform well without compromising on quality even when there’s paucity of time. We always had to research on a project from different angles, from which I learnt the importance of multiple perspectives. Moreover every single project or assignment that we had to do has practical orientation. So it gave me an edge in developing realistic thought process.

I worked in Chennai post-NIFT as a design assistant. Those six months inculcated a sense of maturity and adaptability in me. I worked with operators who did not know English and Hindi. My role as a designer included handling every single procedure that a particular garment had to go through and the operators had to work on these details. The explanation process was initially extremely difficult and animated. But later I learnt some Tamil and the communication between us improved, thereby improving the efficiency of the design production team.

At present, my life at IIM Ahmedabad is amazing. I have crazy challenges and new experiences every single day. And honestly, I am very happy with my decision to take a shot at CAT and IIM A.

 

2: From Fashion Designing to MBA – that’s quite a radical shift. What’s the story behind this?

Priya: As a designer, I knew that I would not be satisfied by just being a designer. I wanted the power to steer something new with my knowledge of the industry on a large scale. When I was working with a designer in Chennai I realised the importance of understanding the nitty-gritties of business and hence the idea of management.

3. Did you face any problem in classes at IIM A due to your different background?

Priya: The first few days at IIM A were crazy. I started doubting my abilities and felt like a dwarf in front of the academic giants (achievers or rather over-achievers) studying in this place. But I guess that is what this place does to a lot of students. As achievers throughout our life, we generally do not face such immense competition.  The experience of being surrounded by the red bricked walls can intimidate many. I was one of them. Finance especially was the bottleneck. No matter how hard I tried, I could not perform well. Finance, Economics, Probability were things I had never studied before. As a fashion designer, I had no idea of these subjects. It took me more than a month to understand and get accustomed to the life at IIM-A.  

4. Was this your first CAT attempt? What other MBA entrance exams did you take?

Priya: Yes, this was my first CAT attempt. I got 97 percentile. I also gave SNAP ( 99.81 percentile) and  XAT (95 percentile).

5. What all B-Schools did you get a call from? How many did you convert?

Priya: I got calls from IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Shillong, all new IIMs, SP Jain, MDI, SIBM and SCMHRD. I converted all the calls except S P Jain.

6. Tell us about your WAT-PI at IIM Ahmedabad.

Priya: I loved my WAT-PI with the IIM Ahmedabad interview panel. I felt excellent during and after the interaction. The discussion ranged from my not so ordinary background to management. We also discussed my startup dream, feminism and many other topics. The panel extended the scheduled 20-minute slot to 35-40 minutes. They asked me about my passions and if I could continue following them at IIM-Ahmedabad after knowing the hectic schedule of the college. The panel was open minded and accepting flaws when I pointed out something.

7. Any memorable instance during WAT-GD-PI rounds at other B-Schools?

Priya: I had an interview with one of the top B-schools of the country and was looking forward to it. Well, I could say that it was my shortest interview as it spanned for about six minutes. The interaction started on a pretty good note, with reference to my performance and views on the GD topic. Then it took a sudden turn and left me shell-shocked.

One of the two interviewers asked me if I had done anything serious till then. The thought that just because I am a Fashion Designer, I would not be able to sustain myself among a horde of geniuses, appeared extremely chauvinistic to me.

I got really disappointed at the callous attitude of the interviewer and gave him a piece of my mind after that. I am not very proud of my behavior though! The best bit of the entire discussion was when they asked me if I had a question to ask. I asked, “If clothes, which were one of the three basic necessities of life, were not a serious aspect then what does the institute call serious.” It took obviously took them some time to answer the question but it felt nice in there to tell people what serious work meant.

8. When compared to top the B-Schools of the world, Indian B-Schools are lagging behind due to lack of academic and gender diversity. What can institutes do to improve this?

Priya: I think Indian B-schools understand the importance of diversity – both academic and gender – and to some extent are working on it. For instance IIM Ahmedabad has different lists for different streams. For WAT-GD-PI rounds, the top 1% of the applicants in each field are called. This ensures that they have a right mix. My batch has a good mix of people from various academic backgrounds. I guess other colleges should follow suit. Selection based on academic criteria during second round of the process can change the face of candidate selection. The idea that people with different skill sets and different academic backgrounds are competing together seems unfair. Once they have a common ground they should be pitted against each other but to commence with the process gets slightly biased and hence the negligible diversity.

9. Why do you think engineers rule the roost in most MBA colleges?

Priya: The entrance examinations of our country put a lot of weightage on quantitative aptitude. The engineers, even if they don’t have to solve such quant questions in MBA college, handle quant better than others. Hence, the majority.

 

10. What advice will you give to candidates from non-engineering backgrounds?

Priya: I have noticed that most of the students from the non-engineering background have either a fear of quant or just don’t like it. I suggest that they should try to understand the concepts. MBA exam topics are concepts from or below 10^th standard. They are very easy to handle once the concept is clear. The second step would be to work on the approaches. Right now, if a candidate dedicates a month on building various approaches, she/he can actually apply those approaches in exams. Also, approach-building process boosts a candidate’s confidence.

11. How did you prepare for CAT and other MBA entrances?

Priya: I had not studied anything during my under graduation days that could be called ‘academic’ in terms of MBA examinations. So, I took a conscious and informed break from work. Even before I started preparing, I made a list of colleges I was interested in and then checked the criteria for each of them. I took an examination at the beginning of my preparation period. That helped me to understand my status. Once I began classes for entrance exam preparation, I made it a point to clear my concepts thoroughly. I practiced everything that I could find. Clarification of doubts, discussion with faculties and friends also played a pivotal role.

 

12. CAT 2015 pattern has changed dramatically. Any specific tips for aspirants?

Priya: Just one suggestion: Aspirants should start solving papers once the exam is about two months away. Mock tests help in keeping a check on the concepts and in improving speed. Both of which are extremely important for the exams.

 

13. What are your plans for future? Will you like to continue in the same field or explore other opportunities?

Priya: I intend to take up a job in marketing. The plan as of now is to continue in this field for five to seven years and then focus on start-up revolving around fashion apparels. For the start-up, I would like to go back to my home town Lucknow and open a solution store that spreads from a Tier-2 city to the rest of the country.