We are the Champions !!!

Hey All,
I joined Great Lakes on 23rd April. One month just flew by. No one could even feel the whiff..... The first term here is about to end. And what a term it was!!! We covered Financial Accounting, Macro Economics, Psychology,Marketing Management, Chinese, assignments, projects, field trips, guest lectures by CEO's and Presidents and Vice presidents, and what not...
It was hectic boss...And sad part is that it's just the beginning of our academic year...he he he ...

The life here in Great Lakes runs at breakneck speed. Being a one year course anyone can expect the life to be hectic here. A normal 2 year MBA program is spread over a span of 16 months of Academics( 2 year consists of Leaves, Internships e.t.c.). You may expect that compressing 16 months course into 12 months would not be a big deal; But sadly, it is. The rigour here is much more than most of the 2 year colleges. Since these two colleges in India - Great Lakes and ISB run on same pattern of Academic rigour, the companies take a cue while visiting in the Placements season.
Our Placement figures have grown exponentially year after year. This year the unofficial figure is about 9.8 to 10.5 lacs per annum for every student. It's much because of the kind of students Great lakes takes through its efficient screening model. Every student in the college is having work-ex. The average work-ex is around 42 months. A significant %age of people are with International Work-ex. People come from various stalwart companies in global platform. A majority of Junta here is engineers. I am so lucky to be studying with so mature and genuine professionals who are hell serious about their careers. The kind of group interaction which I have experienced here is unmatched. Nothing could have been better except the IIM's and ISB.

Its been 8 years for ISB and 4 years for Great Lakes and both of these colleges are soaring new heights. ISB was ranked 20th by FT amongst all MBA schools in world. They have done a commendable job by coming up in all the rankings. You must go to ISB to get a feel of the growth there. They are indeed smart Marketers. And indeed Great Lakes is on the same Platform, but it's 4 years younger than its elder counterpart i.e. ISB. And 4 years is quite a less time for any college to come up to that level where Great Lakes has reached. This why we haven't participated in any kind of ranking of MBA schools conducted nationally. But soon we will be doing so because lot of not-so-worthy colleges get overrated and ranked above us. The campus of Great lakes is coming up by March 2009. Its a Platinum rated environment friendly building which will make it one of the best college in India. It's coming in acres of land and the whole plan resembles a 5-star Hotel cum Academy. The location is on ECR near Mahabalipuram.

The Faculty here is awesome. We have likes of Bala Balachandran ( He is the Captain of this Ship called Great Lakes), Srinu Srnivasan, T.N. Sheshan, Nirmal Gupta, Paul Prabhakar, Surya Sekar, Lalitha Maheswaran, coming in from Ivy League colleges, ISB and IIM's to teach here. Goldratt (The Goal), Philip Kotler are other big names who have graced the dais in Great lakes. Indeed Great Lakes is one of the few colleges in country having such a star-studded faculty.

If you wish to know more about Great Lakes then please visit these links.
http://greatlakes.edu.in/

http://greatlakes.edu.in/testimonial.php

http://greatlakes.edu.in/businessAdvisors.php
Thanks,
Ciao.

My MDI's GDPI Experience

Hi there...
It's been long time again.
I'm in Chennai facing the heat. You are allowed to infer any meaning you want to, since Chennai is hot, real hot. The humidity here sucks. People tell me that there are three seasons in Chennai - Hot, Hotter, Hottest. Still there are few folks who maintain that the situation will get better by July. I sincerely hope so.
Well!!! , About the post title...Yes dear...I'm writing this post to share with you my GDPI experience for MDI Gurgaon' PGPM course. ( PGPIM was similar)
First things first.
I was lucky to get a call from MDI PGPM since last year MDI had called people with %iles above 98%ile only. May be because of my unusual profile they gave me a call after I got a 97.1 %ile in CAT 2007. I was dead sure about the call from PGPIM (Int. Management.)Course since the last year cut off had hovered around 95%ile.
My PGPM and PGPIM interviews both were scheduled for 25th March in Mumbai.

Venue: HMTAC Dadar.
Date: 25th March 2008
Time: 0900 Hrs.
PGPM:
I reached the venue 30 minutes before the schedule, registered and took my seat. I was carrying my business suit in my hand and was reluctant about wearing it. Finally I decided not to wear the suit as it was too hot out there. I talked to some guys there. I realized they all had got better CAT score than mine. I should not have talked to anyone as I felt kind of an anxiety creeping in my mind.
Never mind. My batch was the first batch for the day and we were led to a room which was supposed to be the Group Discussion centre.

GD:
I had 10 guys (including me) in the GD. Topic given was -
“Media role in society, Is it getting overboard?”
The fellow who started GD spoke only once and then we could not hear his voice all through the GD of 15 minutes.
The 2nd speaker was a strong one. I spoke after him. The GD turned out to be a decent one. I participated well and I ranked myself somewhere 2nd or 3rd best speaker in the group. I got a nice feeling after I got out of the room. Later I learned the best speaker in my group was a 100%iler (Name – some Mittal from NIT Surat). Tough luck for me guys!!!

PI:
I was called 1st in the Interview room. There were two Profs in the room- one of them was old and one was middle aged.
Old guy- O
Middle age man- A
Poor Me- M

M- May I come in Sir?
O- Yes please, are you Abhinav…..Sinha ?
M- That’s correct sir
A- Hmm…..you spoke about the Rahul Dravid in GD?
M- Yup!
A- So you seem to be fan of Rahul Dravid…
M- I like him, but I am not his ardent fan. I prefer watching Tendulkar. I supported his stand since he is a nice human and he has done a lot for country and media should not start blemishing his image. I felt about it and thus very objectively I put forth my views in GD.
A- Hmm…..so you are a righteous person
M- Just smiled
O- Ok Abhinav, you are from Merchant Navy, right?
M- Yes Sir!!!
O- What is your qualification?
M- Sir the degree name is B.Sc Nautical Science from T.S.Chanakya

O- You have cleared IIT JEE 1999. Then why you decided to go for a normal graduation? You cleared JEE and joined a B.Sc ?

M- Answered with a smile all the way.
O- What is the difference between T.S.Dufferin and T.S.Chanakya?
M- (Hmmm….so he knows about Dufferin) Sir I am college junior of a person who got training in T.S.Dufferin as T.S.Chanakya is its progeny.
O- What is a Nautical Mile? Tell me as if you are explaining to a layman.
M- Answered properly
O- Ok tell me what’s the point in doing an MBA course?
M- Explained….convincingly….he seemed to started liking me.
O- But don’t you think that the life in corporate career will be very tiresome compared to the easy going life of sea?
M- I don’t think so sir and I will give reason for that….Life on ship as perceived from outside is not very easy. We live away from family and civilian life for continuous 6-7 months under mental and physical stress which would frequently push you to edge. You need to have strong nerves to handle the pressure on ship.
O- Tell me boy, is this the reason why you want to leave navy?
M- Smiling…..No sir , I have told you the reason why I wish to do MBA….and for doing MBA I have to leave ship. Leaving ship is the effect and not the cause.
O- Hmm…..Tell me what do you know about Shipping Operations?
M- Told properly…..( I had prepared it well after the Great Lakes GDPI)
O- How is Logistics different from Supply Chain?
M- I tried to answer …..but he cut me short ( Lucky me…..I didn’t know answer the properly)
O- Tell me what do you know about the Charter Parties?
M- My forte!!!!! He was impressed.
A- Ok Abhinav, tell me what is your long term goal?
M- Answered
A- Hmm…..But for that do you need to do MBA?
M- Yes sir ….that’s a major prerequisite for my goal.
A- Ok, Why do you want to join MDI Gurgaon for that?
M- Blah Blah …..
A- And how many courses are there in MDI?
M- I started enumerating all the courses….
A- Which other calls you have got?
M- Sir IMT Gzb, Great Lakes, MDI Pgpm and MDI Pgpim…..
A- How were your other interviews?
M- Sir my Great Lakes call is converted, waiting for IMT’s result and right at the moment I am quite positive about MDI Pgpm conversion.
A- And why do you think so? Haan …ek Baat batao bhai Sinha ji…..How do you rate yourself in this Interview?
M- Sir I think I am doing well.
A- You are not nervous….eh?
M- Smiling …..No sir. Rather I am delighted to have such a nice interview.
A- Thank you Abhinav…..Well sir ji, mera ho Gaya …..Aapko kuchh poochhna hai? (Looking towards old man)
O- Nah, Even I am done. You may carry on boy….all the best.
M- Thank you sirs,
O- Just send the next guy in….
M- Sure sir. Have a good day sirs.
( I walked out smiling….)
This was one of the best interviews I ever faced for MBA entrance, but still, MDI guys gave lot of weightage to CAT score and less weightage to GDPI Performance….and thus they gave me long waitlist rank. ….sad!!!

Now, results are out and getting revised and at the moment I am waitlist 695. (Tuff Luck)
I converted MDI Pgpim call and IMT Gzb- Fin but decided to go with great lakes since it suits to my needs. MDI Pgpm was a dream unrealized…..but again, Life is not about getting all your dreams but to have faith and to keep dreaming…..
And today, in Great Lakes, I am again dreaming…..La Vita e Bella.