Ami Kothari, JBIMS Batch of 2010

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The CET GD-PI is highly neglected and taken for granted, considering the marks allotted to them (17- GD, 17-PI) as compared to the written score. I believe that GD-PI marks can decide one's chances of getting into JBIMS, even if the written score is a 99.98 percentile.

CET GD-PI centre - JBIMS, Mumbai

GD Score - 14/17

PI Score - 17/17

GD Topic (select one of the two by a group consensus):
1. Only 10 years to go ..the world is crying
2. Something related to illustrious businessmen and their contribution
Pointers for GD:
  • Give lots of examples. They help you to relate better to the topic.
  • Introduce the topic only if you can talk sense for 30-40 seconds.
  • You have to be well-read. You will get enough opportunities to make your points. Towards the end of the GD, everyone ran out of points to say.
  • There will be ample amount of time to talk. Each GD had on an average 6-8 member.
  • Avoid chaos. The moderator warned our group twice about giving us lower marks if we continued making the GD a fish market.

Personal Interview: I had an extensive PI lasting about 35 minutes, where I was asked questions on every topic- current affairs, Form-based, Politics, Civics, General awareness, etc. Two professors took my Personal Interview. They read my form carefully and began by asking questions based on the form (Be extremely sure about what you write in the form)

Few questions that I can recollect:

  • What is your CET percentile?(99.95)
  • What colleges are you aiming at? (Only JBIMS)
  • JBIMS is difficult with your percentile. We know of 75 students having higher scores than yours. (I gave them an explanation of the percentile system and how in the worst case my rank would be 35)
  • Why according to you is the setting up of TRAI a significant event? (Form-based)
  • Some questions relating to 3G
  • Spectrum wars and allocation for Defense
  • Name 3 women Chief Ministers in India.
  • Which newspaper do you read regularly? What are two headlines today? (I mentioned about Oil Crisis and Some government policies)
  • Tell us something about the Oil Crisis affecting India (This question was in response to the previous question)
  • Name the body that governs oil prices. (OPEC - asked me to expand the abbreviation)
  • Name some member countries of OPEC.
  • Name a non- Middle East member country of OPEC.
  • Why is Belgium a diamond trading hub? (This question was in response to my father's professional background)
  • What is the dollar rate today?
  • Who is your non-family member idol? Why?
  • Why JBIMS? And why not the other college you have already got admission into? (Had mentioned this in my form)
  • Will you take up finance or marketing at JBIMS? (Finance- reason was not asked, but be prepared with it)
  • Your GD topic was related to the environment. Do you know anything about Carbon Credit Trading? Is it trading carried out in India?
  • What are the functions of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha?

Myths about GD-PI:
  • The scores depend on the GD-PI centre. Many people have found a link over the years based on the marks they have obtained, as to which centres give more marks and which don't.
  • I was told that JBIMS grills you in the PI. I did face that, with a 35 minutes interview. However, I did manage to do well                                                                                                                                     It is highly dependent on the individual and his/her preparation level.
  • Marks are awarded at random and do not matter much towards final allotment of colleges.
  • We have many examples to show that the GD-PI scores have helped students which bleak chances of getting into JBIMS, get in thanks to wonderful GD-PI scores.
Filling the PI form:

  • The form is usually available online few days prior to the GD-PI process.
  • Fill the form well and get it checked. Most PIs begin based on the form. Fill the form for practice to make sure you are aware of the line spacing.
  • Questions can be asked on simple things like family background, fluctuating academic scores, etc.
  • The question on most significant event in the last decade is very important. Make sure you have researched enough about the event. Also, it has to be an event and not an activity (on-going).

My preparation for GD-PI:

You have to read a lot. Current affairs, newspapers, common topics (Economic Slowdown, IPL, Environment, Satyam fiasco, etc.) need good amount of preparation.

  • Newspapers
  • Research on internet
  • Articles from Economist
  • Mock GDs and PIs help a lot