XLRI GMP Class of 2014 - Interview experience

Dear Readers, i thought of sharing this experience. though i could not make it, hope this experience helps the folks who are preparing for XLRI GMP interview this year.

After the interview i felt that my GK(general knowledge) sucks
There were three professors and all the questions were different..

I was asked to give a intro about myself and the role that i play from the time i started my career(career progression in 2 lines). then the general question Why GMP and what post GMP. then my bad time started

• What was the reason for banking crisis

i explained. They i was asked to name the crisis. i could not recollect , took some time to think and it immediately flashed. I answered it and then i was asked why was it given that name. I could not answer it and they professions asked me that i mentioned(claimed) to read newspaper

• I was given a case study and asked how it will be conflict of interest and how i will handle it. I explained well

• i am from goa. So i was asked about its history. I recollected and answered it. But i never knew that it had a ancient name. i could not answer it

• They tested my knowledge about Indian finances.   

 I was asked me to explain whatever i knew about Indian finances. I explained them, starting from 1990. There was some cross questioning. But the professors had  no visible response on their faces.

• I am in US, so i was asked about the US history.

 I Explained it well and gave some background on the US constitution formation. But i could not answer the governor of the state that i stay. Also i could not explain them the terms that they were looking for difference between US and Indian government

• i was asked to explain on how Google search works. I explained them with an example. Lot of cross questioning. Then i was asked to name the google algorithm. I could not tell them the name. They seemed to be upset and asked me if i knew any other search algorithm. I told them that i knew about binary, linear etc algorithms but the ones used by the research companies are much advanced version

• I was asked to explain the meaning of secularism. i explained the whole story. The professor summarized it in hindi words. And i acknowledge he was correct.

Overall the interview lasted for 20 - 25 minutes. I apologized wherever i could not answer. Also i used the word basically while answering. One professor pulled my leg and the reason for it. I apologized for it.
At the end. hats to the prof and institute. My dream looks difficult to fulfill.
Only some karishma (magic) can save me

Student loan (also known as Education loans) for MBA

Student loan (also known as Education loans) is one of the popular methods of backing higher education in India with increasing price of educational degrees. Presence of many self-financing institutions ( which has less to no financial support from the government) for advanced learning in fields of engineering, medical and management which has higher fees than their government aided counterparts have encouraged the trend in India. Most large public sector and private sector banks offer educational loans.

But when it comes to interest, the countries largest private bank 'state bank of india(SBI)' is the best  player. If you are selected for any of the top Select 114 Premier Institutions in India, then SBI SCHOLAR LOAN SCHEME  is the best loan since it gives a very low interest rate. IPMX course offered by IIML is also part of this 114 premier institurions.

But the biggest challenge faced in getting this loan approved, is that employee of  SBI are not aware of this loan.  When you go to the bank to enquire about the loan, they will always tell you about the EDUCATION LOANS(SBI STUDENT LOAN SCHEME), which is costlier compared to scholar loan. Only  branches which process, loans for 114 premier institutions are aware of this scheme. Hence it is advisable to either contact any of this branch or take a prinout of material given on the SBI website to explain you local branch about this  scheme.


Most students can get their loan processed from the admitted colleges SBI city branch , but the application form will always come back to the base branch(which is the permanent resident of candidate)

What i will be avoiding by choosing the SBI Scholar loan scheme

• No Security, only Parent/ Guardian as co-borrower upto 20 lacs
• As of today, the effective rate of interest after all 3 concessions presently comes to 10.5 % p.a.
• IT exemption under Section 80(E) in respect of interest paid in all Education Loans once i get a good job post my degree
• Repayment - Course Period duration plus six months moratorium
• Repayment period upto 12 years.
• Processing Fee -  Nil and Margin  - Nil

What i hated while choosing the SBI Scholar loan scheme

• Tedious paper processing of the bank with less or no online support. But you can visit https://www.sbi.co.in/user.htm to get more details about the bank and its loan schemes.
• Missing knowledge of the scheme and time it took to convince my local branch that such a scheme exisits

I am still yet to get my loan processed and  hoping the ride is smooth. But the local branch loan officer has been very kind and supportive till now in giving information, though it needed her to go and get this info from her peers at different branches.

There are other institutes such as HDFC - CREDILA , Vijaya bank education loan and BOI education loan. and many national/local banks in India that provide loan. Most of my batch-mates are processing their loan from SBI with some exception who are funding on their own.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. I will be happy to  help.

Pre MBA Warmup Courses

Joining MBA after a study gap is a challenge since most students are out of academic touch. I have heard from seniors that first term is toughest for most of them. While others have said that they had tough time handling accounting. Each one had different opinion, but one thing for sure was that they had faced challenges.

It is too early to say if we should be scared or not, but it is always better to be prepared. So some of my friends have been searching on the net for materials. The pdf are a good way to build knowledge. But it is a boring exercise to read through something without the interaction with professor of fellow students. this is where MOOC can help.

A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings, and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forum that help build a community for students, professors, and teaching assistants (TAs). MOOCs are a recent development in distance education.
Although early MOOCs often emphasized open access features, such as connectivism and open licensing of content, structure, and learning goals, to promote the reuse and remixing of resources, some notable newer MOOCs use closed licenses for their course materials, while maintaining free access for students.

I have started using Coursera extensively for my online learning needs after getting a confirmation for my MBA. They have wide variety of courses from reputed institutes professors. Check them out and hope it can help.

About Coursera®

Coursera is an education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. Our technology enables our partners to teach millions of students rather than hundreds.
We envision a future where everyone has access to a world-class education that has so far been available to a select few. We aim to empower people with education that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in.

Classes offered on Coursera are designed to help you master the material. When you take one of our classes, you will watch lectures taught by world-class professors, learn at your own pace, test your knowledge, and reinforce concepts through interactive exercises. When you join one of our classes, you'll also join a global community of thousands of students learning alongside you. We know that your life is busy, and that you have many commitments on your time. Thus, our courses are designed based on sound pedagogical foundations, to help you master new concepts quickly and effectively. Key ideas include mastery learning, to make sure that you have multiple attempts to demonstrate your new knowledge; using interactivity, to ensure student engagement and to assist long-term retention; and providing frequent feedback, so that you can monitor your own progress, and know when you've really mastered the material.
We offer courses in a wide range of topics, spanning the Humanities, Medicine, Biology, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Business, Computer Science, and many others. Whether you're looking to improve your resume, advance your career, or just learn more and expand your knowledge, we hope there will be multiple courses that you find interesting.