eMBArked on a Journey Finally !

At last I achieved what I felt impossible to achieve, i.e to get an MBA seat.I got it in ICFAI, Hyderabad(Ranked in the top 20 B-Schools in India).My next big step in life.I have inked my experiences in this post.

My preparation for my presentation and interview was in full throttle only a week before my actual date of interview, till then life was smooth and easy.And moreover out of the 13 institutes i applied, i got a call letter from this institute only.My Last Hope.And going into my preparation, i had to present a micro-presentation on a topic which was to be chosen from a list of topics given by the institute.My three choices of presentation were the following:

1.Abolition Of Capital Punishment

2.India in 2050

3.FDI in India

I chose the above because those were the topics with which i was familiar with to an extent and the remaining 17 topics given by the institute were just Greek and Latin to me.

Out of the three i was made to present on India in 2050(compulsion from my Dad).He knew better so did as per his wish.Frankly speaking I never bothered to prepare my presentation 60% of it was done by my father, the remaining contributed by me and my brother.Preparation for the interview was Null till the day before my interview, which was scheduled for February 9th.

My first rehearsal for the presentation clocked 8 minutes solid with lots of unwanted stuff viz. gestures, redundant usage of words, and of course my speed .My father even caught it on tape so as to learn from the mistakes i made.My performance was just pathetic.Later that night we had one more rehearsal which clocked 7 minutes with slightly better performance this time.The reason i am mentioning the time is because of the fact that the institute was stern about the presentation getting over within 5 minutes(managerial skill-time management).Then we called it a day.Still interview prep was Null.D-day was approaching fast.

Feb 8th myself and my dad boarded a low cost airline to Hyderabad.On reaching the destination I found myself in a pathetic position, i.e. fell sick.Had to spend three to fours sleeping in my hotel room.Later that night we had n number of rehearsals.And moreover i missed the repeat telecast of the friendly between England and Spain which was played the previous night.At last in my final rehearsal I clocked 4 minutes and 57 seconds, a sigh of relief for my father and me.It was on that night that i started preparing for my interview.I even messaged my friend asking for the various biographies written on famous sports personalities.Preparation for the interview was for just an hour.

D-day I did not catch much sleep the previous night, only the presentation going through my mind.Hardly slept for an hour.Got up at 5AM(had to be at the center by 7AM).On reaching the center (about 15 KMs from the hotel we stayed) i felt butterflies in my stomach looking at the people who were too competing for the seat in that institute.The registration was complete by 8 AM.My slot for presentation for at 8 45 AM and my interview was scheduled at 10 45AM.I met my batch mates only at the time of presentation, except me they had gathered together and decided on what questions to be asked when others presented.I was unaware of the questions they might ask me.when my turn came for the presentation i finished it on time.But was pissed off when two girls posed questions.I somehow managed to answer them.After witnessing my batch mates' presentations, I felt that i stood some chance for the MBA seat in that institute.It was time for my interview, I had a bad experience of attending an interview when i sat for my placements .I thought i could pull it off this time around whatever be the situation i was in.I was made to sit between girls on either side, that was like adding salt to the injuries.The girls who sat beside me did not close their bloody mouths even for a minute.And did not bother to close also even after being warned by the staff there.

My Interview panel asked questions from the Indian Football league, they still continued asking questions from it even after telling them that I had no idea in Indian football.After the initial screw ups ,they asked me some questions regarding bluetooth, having studied about it in my engineering curriculum I was able to answer them easily.Then sarcastically asked how the guys from the south were able to score incredible marks in their board exams.And finally asked about the current affairs that were taking place in the country.Due to the initial screw ups i felt i might not stand a chance, but i felt that i had given my best shot.Results were scheduled to be announced at 6PM.Till then time went on at snail's pace.It was just irritating.But i found a companion in two Bangalore based guys.It was fun talking with them.One of them was a die hard Manchester United fan like me and the other guy a die hard Arsenal fan(Worst team on the face of the Earth),we had good time teasing each other.At 6Pm we were made to stand in a queue,adrenalin levels inside me would have been reaching their highest and i could feel that.Whatever be the result it was given in an envelope,the first thing i searched for when i opened was whether i was selected or not.Once having found that started searching for the center i was allotted to, except that everything else were visible at last i sighted the word Hyderabad , thats when i felt the real meaning of"Being on Cloud Nine".Finally I had achieved my Goal.The Ultimate Goal.