How was your KJ Somaiya GD PI experience?

My brother appeared for his interview last year. His GD PI was at the Vidyavihar campus in Mumbai in the first week of March. He was a little nervous when he walked into the auditorium, where so many people were waiting for their turn.

GD Round: There was a group of 10 people for a case-based discussion. He and the other candidates went into a room where they were provided with a case sheet by the faculty. In addition, they had three minutes to read and think about the case. After which each person would be given 1 minute to conclude.

His group got the case where the question was asked whether the funds allocated to ISRO should be used for other more important purposes. There have been some statistics on the current percentage of GDP allocated to ISRO for their projects and other information in paragraph or two. The discussion had a mix of all that.

One person was shouting that ISRO should not be given any money while some other people, including my brother, were saying that it would help to improve the image of India as a developing nation in terms of technology and eventually attract FDI. Another person used the statistics given in the case very wisely. The rest of the people were chipping in their points to stay in the discussion.

There are few things you must keep in mind:

• You don't have to raise your voice to make a powerful point.
• You need to study the case carefully and underscore important information.
• Quality is always better than quantity. You can make 2-3 points that are better than talking constantly about irrelevant things.
• Use statistics if they are provided. It adds a lot of significance and contributes to a strong point.
• It is imperative to be competent in English. It communicates your points very easily to the judge.
• The conclusions are very important, as in one minute, you can make your point without anyone disturbing you. It will also help you to recover if you didn't perform well in the discussion.

PI Round:

After the GD he really wanted to do well in the PI because the discussion had not gone that well for him.

He knew that the first statement in most college interviews was 'Tell us about yourself.' So, he was already prepared to answer that question by including things that would give them clues as to the questions most favorable to him.

According to his expectations, for most of the interview, the 2-member panel asked him questions about the start-up and all. Other questions were based on general knowledge, such as "Who is Nandan Nilekani?" "What is he famous for?" and so on.

As a mechanical engineer, he was also prepared for the question of his choice to opt for the Financial Services program. The interview went exactly as he thought. He was satisfied with it, and he was pleased that he had most likely recovered the points he had lost in the GD.Being honest and smart made him crack his interview.