How I converted the IIMA PGPX in the Co’2022?

Update: Deferred my admission to IIMA PGPX Co’23 owing to professional commitments.

You can acquire an general MBA from IIM Ahmedabad in two ways:
1. MBA via the CAT-PGP route.
2. MBA via the GRE/GMAT-PGPX route.

In case you want to read my GRE prep journey, please go to my article on cracking the GRE.

The Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (MBA-PGPX) is one of the best 1-year full time residential programs in the world.

In 2020, the PGPX programs Ranked#61 Financial Times Global MBA Rankings and Ranked#1 in India by National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) (Management Category).

Eligibility:
- Bachelor Degree or equivalent.
- Valid GRE/GMAT score.
- Minimum 25 years of age before programme commencement.
- Minimum 4 years of full time work experience between graduation and programme commencement.

My Profile:
Applied For: IIMA PGPX Class of 2021–2022. Round 1.
Education: B.Tech. — KIIT University, Bhubaneswar (2014)

Work Experience:
Deloitte Consulting US India Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad/Bangalore, India (2014–2020)
Mercedes-Benz Bank (Daimler AG), Stuttgart, Germany (2020–2021)

Motivation to Apply:
- Looking for a 1-year top ranked programs in target countries.
- Long-Term plan to be in India hence applying to IIMs and ISB made sense.
- Looking to jump up the ladder in the technology industry.

Pre-Interview:
All interviews for Round 1 were online (Zoom) given the COVID-19 situation. Received a pre-interview zoom link to check for connectivity issues and some due diligence from IIMA admission staff.

Interview Experience:

Time: 08:00 CEST | 11:30 IST
Panel: Two current professors at IIMA. Both teach the PGPX class.

Panelist 1: Are you in Germany now and isn’t it too early for you?
Me: Sir, just past 8AM. Good enough!

Panelist 1: That’s good. I was going through your entire application and your essays and CV. I just want to know your journey after your graduation.
I had prepared an Elevator Pitch for such situation. Would highly recommend on for you. Delivered that clearly in around 90 seconds meeting all objectives.

Panelist 1 then goes on to pick up a chit with the extempore topic.

“Annual Heath Targets as part of employee KRAs should be counted towards annual incentives.”

I decided to speak for the topic and not request a change.

Took around 90 seconds to think. And then spoke about 1 min when the panelists started questioning my stance. Questions revolved around how to measure improvement, viability and feasibility of idea. Asked me to cite examples at Deloitte and Daimler and how there can be tangible and/or perceived changes in India and in Germany. This went on for around 15 minutes overall.

Panelist 2: Please cite some differences that you found in Germany and in India in terms of your work experience and your key takeaways from them.
Was prepared for this and hence was able to answer. Told about cultural and work-life balance differences.

Panelist 1: Tell me something about Mercedes-Benz Bank (MBB). We just know that the Mercedes-Benz group is in auto sector. What is this about? And your journey to there.
Told in detail about the structure of Daimler AG, the parent company and my work in Deloitte and here.

Panelist 1: Assume I have approached MBB for a loan to finance my new Mercedes-Benz car. And currently it takes X days for that process to complete. The management tell you to bring down the total duration to X/2 days. How will you go about it and what steps will you take? You are free to take a minute and think about the solution or make notes if you want.
I made some notes and spoke about credit history, car financing, applicant’s financial history, how the banks and credit bureaus work. And since I am in tech, I said I would perhaps get the idea of the current tech ecosystem and identify bottlenecks, especially when the application moves from the MBB to the credit bureaus and then to some other institution as here the chance of delay is the most. They started to ask if there is any process improvement needed or not, and if so how I will identify. I think this was from the fact that I had a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, so they delved into that a bit too.

Panelist 2: Explain your short term goals and industry. Why you would want to move out of current role?
Standard question. Was prepared.

Both Panelist: Any questions for us?

Tips:
- Be calm.

- Be direct, to the point, yet relevant. Goes without saying, this needs practice. Standard MBA question and answers should be in your mind all the time.

- Research. About the school and program. Talk to alumni. Get an idea about the course from them. Make sure you ask something in the “Any questions for us?” that is not readily available on Google.

-It’s totally okay to not know something. Tell them. Honesty is always appreciated. You can evade the extempore topic too if you feel you’re not comfortable.

- Know your current firm, previous firm, current industry, previous industry, target industry and all the roles well. Know how you will transition from current role to future role via the MBA route.

- Believe in yourself.

Result: Selected! :)

I had applied to IIMB, ISB, and a few international schools too. Awaiting their decisions.
In 2019–2020, I had applied to IIMA, IIMB, ISB, McCombs, Kenan-Flagler, Kelly. Received interview invites from all except ISB and IIMB. Converted McCombs. Didn’t join due to COVID and US visa situation.

Since I have a few months to go before I hit my B-School, happy to help anyone who needs help with GRE/GMAT, application essays and review and interview prep. Please feel free to reach out on sreejitbakshi@gmail.com.

Please note, I am currently based out of Germany and hence my responses maybe delayed.

All the best! :)