MDI Interview experience:
Background:
10th: 85.5% ( C.B.S.E. )
12th: 84% (C.B.S.E)
Graduation: 75.2 C.G.P.A. (Engineer)
Work experience: 0
Category: General
CAT: 99.55 percentile
My MDI interview was scheduled for 6th March, just the next day after my I.I.T. B. interview, in Gurugram. I arrived at the campus at 1 PM and was directed towards a room that was filled with other aspirants.
After the preliminary documents checking, we were split into groups and then taken to different halls as per the group number. Each group had around 12 members each, and we all got familiar before the WAT-GD-PI. The process started off with W.A.T.
The topic for W.A.T. was “whether social activism is necessary for democracy.” I penned down my thoughts about the subject and was reasonably sure that I had done a decent job here.
The GD was conducted on the same topic, and I initiated the discussion. I pitched in 7-8 times in the GD, and by this time, my confidence had already shot up. Since I was the third in the group to be interviewed, I spent some time talking to the rest of the group and tried to keep myself as calm as possible. I was called in for the interview, and the panel consisted of two male professors who were also reviewing our WAT and GD. For the sake of simplicity, I would refer to them as P 1 and P 2.
P 1: Tell me about yourself.
Answered – the well-rehearsed and edited answer as this interview was among the last of the lot for me.
P 2: So, Sugam, you’ve managed to score a decent percentile. Which other calls do you have?
Me: Told them about IIM Shillong, CAP, and IIT Bombay and Delhi. (Refrained from telling about NITIE as they might counter-question about the preference between MDI and NITIE.)
P 2: So which college would you join, given that you convert all of them.
Me: MDI.
P 2: Why not IIM Shillong? It’s among the top 10 IIMs.
Me: I agree that the college is among the top 10 IIMs, but it does not stand among the top 10 b-schools in the country.
P 2: Why didn’t you get a call from the rest of the IIM?
Me : Sir, the selection criteria of all the colleges differ, and they have varying weights for academic performance. I do have a decent track record, but it is not exemplary.
P 1: So why do you want to pursue an MBA?
Me : Told them about my shifting career directions from service operations to consulting. (It’s good to have some clarity of thought about this question as this is bound to pop up in almost all of the interviews)
P 1: But MDI is not so good for consulting. Why join here?
Me : I understand that the likes of MBBs might not recruit from here regularly, but the college offers various other opportunities to get into this domain, and with relevant work experience and the tag of a well-known brand, I can get into these firms later on in my career.
P 1: So which specialization would you choose in your two years here?
Me : Operations and Strategy.
P 2: (after looking at my application form) So you’re a mechanical engineer from Panjab University. Can you tell me why the university has an “A” in Punjab instead of “U”? The original Punjab university is based in Lahore.
Me : I think the university changed its name to keep hold of the lineage while avoiding a clash in the name.
P 2: (Pressed on this question for some time as he was not satisfied with my answer. But, I stuck on my viewpoint, and he let it go afterward.
P 1: Do you know what is Hooke’s Law?
Me : Answered.
P 1: Which equipment did you use to test the breaking point of a metal?
Me : (Did not remember, so told them clearly.)
P 2: What is Reynold’s number? And what can you tell about a liquid which has Reynold’s number of 5000?
Me : Told them about Reynold’s number. I didn’t remember the range of the parameter, so I told them clearly.
P 2: What is a Pelton turbine?
Me : Answered.
P 1: What, according to you, is more significant growth or environment?
Me : Told them that a balanced approach is required in this area. Cited examples of the highest temperature recorded in Antarctica, Australian bush fires, and increased Amazon forest fires have become more common due to uncontrolled growth. (Both the panelists were impressed by this point).
P 1: What do you understand by S.D.G.?
Me : (after taking a pause) Sorry, sir, does not ring a bell.
The interview was then concluded, and I felt that I had done a decent job. The interviewers were engaged in a formal conversation rather than a random questionnaire. There’s no need to answer all of the questions. It’s always better to acknowledge that you don’t know the answer rather than blurting out irrelevant or incorrect information.
Result – Converted
