Never take CET lightly: Harsh, SIMSREE first rank holder

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Never take CET lightly: Harsh, SIMSREE first rank holder

Aug 10,2011

Harsh N Dhruva loves playing cricket. He is an avid movies and serial watcher.

Despite having all fun things in life he made it big. He is Sydenham Institute of Management (SIMSREE) first rank holder.

Harsh scored 99.84 percentile in CET 2010 to make it to the b-school of his dreams. He spoke to CoolAvenues.com about his CET experience, preparation strategy and more…

CET Score:-Written-136/200, 99.84 percentile
GD-PI-14+14=28, PAR (Past Academic Record)-4
Final Score-168/240
Open category, Home University Rank-53, State Rank-62

1. Tell us something about yourself.
My name is Harsh N. Dhruva. I completed my graduation in Bsc. Biotechnology in 2010 from V.G. Vaze Kelkar college. I am a die hard fan of cricket and love to play it. I like to watch movies, TV shows especially Taarak Mehta, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, F.R.I.E.N.D.S and The Simpsons. I live life happily and follow one motto-"Live in the present as it will be responsible for your future".

2. What do you wish to achieve in life? Why did you choose MBA as your career path?

I want to do MBA in finance and get a job in investment banking as finance attracts me and interests me a lot. I like to play with numbers and MBA would help me learn all these things. Also at a later stage if I want to do my own business then an MBA degree would be of great help and support.

3. How did you prepare for CET? Did you join any coaching classes or self study?

I joined T.I.M.E-Thane branch for CET and various other entrance exams. I studied hard for each and every exam as 80-90% content of each exam is similar. I gave each mock test seriously and faithfully considering each of them as the final exam. I never let any day go waste and would study for as short as half an hour if I did not have time on a particular day.

4. What are the major differences between CET and CAT? Which one is more difficult?

CAT is concept based and CET is time based. There are no sections in CET whereas CAT will have 2 sections from this year. Also there is no negative marking in CET but there is negative marking in CAT. CET is paper-pencil and CAT is online. Both of them have their separate difficulty level as one cannot take them granted. CET 2010 was the toughest of all the CET's so far and hence proper preparation is needed for each of the exams.

5. What was your preparation strategy before one month of the exam?

I kept on giving mock exams regularly and improving where I had gone wrong. Proper adherence to time limit is absolutely necessary. Regular revision of formulas, English words and analyzing every mock paper is what I followed on a regular basis.

6. What strategy you chalked down for CET exam day?

I was always prepared for the worst as I did not take CET lightly. The paper as it turned out was very tough as it was very different from the regular CET pattern. I had decided that I will solve my strength questions first as you are fresh and will not make mistake. I had decided to solve minimum 35 questions per hour and not to waste more than 30 seconds on a question if I could not solve it. Last 10 minutes I went through the paper and marked randomly for questions I could not attempt.

7. CET is often termed as speed exam. Any special strategies for that aspect?

Always follow the time limit which is 2 and half hours for every mock exam. It will help you plan properly and improve if you are slow. Do not waste time on a question if you don't know. There are 200 questions in total so there is plenty of choice to solve. Identify your strength and weak areas, improve them by revision and solving papers and plan it accordingly. Always solve strength areas first and fast as it would fetch you marks and give more time to solve your weaker questions.

8. Were you able to stick to your strategy or there were any last minute changes?

I was able to solve the paper in my way. I was not baffled by the sudden change of the paper pattern. I stuck to my strategy and didn't lose my concentration.

9. List the 5 dos and donts.

DO's- Study well and brush up your basics, Read newpapers, Proper revision, Eat well and sleep well to stay fresh and healthy, give mock exams seriously.

DONT's- Never take CET lightly, do not keep any part as option, do not neglect lectures in classes and mock exams, never compromise with your health.

10. Where do you place your b-school among its contemporaries?

Sydenham Institute of Management (SIMSREE) is the most sought after B-School in CET after JBIMS. It has a great industry interface, backed by strong alumni, 100% placements and student driven which gives you the on hand experience of running an institution. It certainly comes in Top-20 B-schools of India.

11. How was your experience of CET Group Discussion and Personal Interview?
CET group discussion and personal interview can make or break your chances of getting a good institute. It was a good experience as I had prepared well for it by attending mock GD/PI's, reading newspapers daily, keeping myself updated with current affairs etc. It was well-conducted and everyone behaved in mature way to avoid turning it into a fish market.

12. What was the easiest, most interesting and toughest question during personal interview?

Easiest question- Tell me about yourself

Most interesting- What do you think about the current political scenario and corruption. (At that time poll results of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu were out).

Toughest question- Why MBA after Biotechnology and why not MBA in Biotechnology. Why MBA is the most preferred question and has to be answered in a smart manner.

Concluded.

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