For our success stories segment, we interviewed Nikita Ambadaskar who is a first year student at National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) (MBA, 2018-20). In this candid interview, Nikita talks about her preparation journey, her background and interests, and why she chose NITIE.
Nikita, for the benefit of our readers, share your profile with us.
My name is Nikita Manohar Ambadaskar. I have been born and brought up in Mumbai. I completed my Engineering from VCET college, Mumbai university. I have a work experience of 26 months in L&T Infotech – Media and Entertainment Business Unit.
Tell us about your extra-curricular achievements and hobbies.
I have always believed in keeping work and play balance and have been an extracurricular interested person right from school with participating, organizing and winning competitions. I was active member of college committee and served as Cultural Secretary in final year. While working in L&T Infotech I was part of sports event organizing committee. My hobbies include Painting, making travel vlogs for YouTube
When did you decide to do MBA and why? When did you start your preparation?
Doing MBA was always at the back of my mind since my personality fits the role. I started giving serious thoughts after completing 2 years in my company and took the decision to quit my job and study full time for my entrance. Also I have been in touch with CET and CAT from past 2 years before giving final try this year to be acquainted with changing exams patterns.
Did you join any coaching? Do you think any coaching is required? What material did you use?
Yes! Joining the correct coaching institute was very crucial in my case since I had a lot of free time and managing it properly was very important. I had scanned multiple coaching institutes and decided onto joining Learningroots (best decision ever). I got personal attention for the batch size was small, peer learning brought more enthusiasm in preparation with multiple doubts flowing in post class. There was always a level up teaching bringing in challenge questions to tease our minds a bit.
How many months did you prepare for and what was your schedule?
My Learningroots classes started in July and I was a regular in class but my preparation accelerated post mid August after serving my notice period. There was no specific schedule or I could not stick to any. But by the end I had solved each and every question from Learningroots notes, completed level 1 questions from Arun Sharma book and gave 35 odd mocks in total 25 just specific to CAT. I use to take two mocks per week and had started this process irrespective of my level of preparation. Mock analysis was very crucial and I got a hang of it after giving 10 odd mocks.
I had also made a formula book for all quants topics which I use to refer before taking mocks. I had also set a culture and gave my mocks in the same time as my actual exam time to help simulate the process. I knew that I am a auditory learner so classroom learning and online video classes became very helpful. I was also regular on live sessions done for exam strategy building and paper pattern understanding.
What were your strengths and areas of improvements during preparation and mock phase? How many mocks did you take?
One of my key strength was to always carry positive attitude throughout the preparation phase because a lot of factors pull you down and it becomes important to get up and try one more time. Logical reasoning became one of my strengths in the process while I had equal liking for quant and verbal. I also made sure I have some ME time (hobby time) once in a day in which I would do anything apart from studying to keep up the momentum.
Can you tell us about NITIE?
The admission process for NITIE is only for engineers where in you can apply through your CAT XAT and CMAT scores. Once shortlisted you are called for GDPI process, GD topic varies from case study to current topic to anything under the sun. For personal interview they ask about yourself, your engineering background, work experience, general views on some topic to check your confidence. Post this process final merit list is formed which we can check on the student portal.
Why NITIE?
NITIE is located in the commercial capital of India – Mumbai, is ranked 12th among management institutes in India and competes with IIM ABC for Operation management. It has a legacy of 50 years with a wide range of alumni base in various industries. It is very transparent in displaying their placement reports and has a great ROI and an experience rich faculty. What else one needs from a b-school?
What are your tips for applicants?
Always stay positive while in preparation phase, be practical in setting up targets, aim for a bit higher than you think you can, always have a learning mindset and be open to new concepts and learnings and enjoy the whole process it will be one of a kind!! All the best!
What are your future plans?
Future plans include absorbing as much knowledge as I can while spending 2 years in NITIE, gaining experiences and focusing on the opportunities head.
It was great talking to you, Nikita! We wish you all the best! Thanks! 🙂
End of interview.
