Ask Us Anything: Nishtha Goel (SSCBS, Rank 3); Bhavesh Shaha (IIM Ranchi, Rank 2)
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Here's varied perspective (IIM & DU) -- all the questions will be answered and posted on YouTube!
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Comments (57)
As someone who doesn't enjoy maths, will my entire journey at an IIM, focusing Ranchi and Shillong, will be jeopardized? Like is maths that big part of the curriculum because as far as I know the curriculum at Ranchi is a mix of various other streams that balances the maths lethargy for me.
I won't say I am bad at maths cus I am ofc attempting ipmat and scored 90% in boards.
Thanks!
I'm not a big fan of maths either. I got 14/40 in my 4th term math course (shitton of calculus). However, I excelled in other quantitative courses like Business Finance, Statistics, Operations etc.
It's not a deal-breaker... however, it does make you very frustrated and pushes you out of your realm of comfort.
Hobbies Without Certificates What Should I Do Now 😭
What's the issue exactly?
Basically, I have multiple hobbies, but I have never participated in any competition, and that’s why I don’t have any certificates to add to my CV for PI preparation.
So what? 99% of the times, your resume/CV is ignored in IPMAT Indore interviews. They care about your high-school academics, current affairs, personalised general knowledge.
They don't care much about chotu motu competitions. Why do you think your CV is important when every professor has been vocal about it being an academic interview? Having all that is the cherry on the cake, but your cake is the most important part.
AIR 4 in IPMAT Indore (Gen) wrote "N/A" in his achievements columm.
Ok Bhaiya Thanks For Your Piece Of Advice 😊
How did you manage your school preparation with entrance, say ipmat and cuet. Please be brutally honest if we should really be focusing on preboards or use that time for entrance prep?
Todha motivation battdo bhaiya by showing campus sports <3
COVID hit just before we joined 12th grade. Our boards were cancelled.
IIM Ranchi's sports facilities are still under construction. So far, we have indoor games and one empty ground where folks play volleyball, cricket, etc. There's a basketball ground outside the campus too.
I am a 12th class commerce with maths student and have been preparing for IPMAT , unable to focus on boards . I have pre-boards starting from 4Dec . I have to complete the whole arun sharma as well geometry and a few more topics . my VA is very weak . Also the exam for IIMB has been declared to be conducted on 13 dec . how to manage everything? I am just aware of a few basics that too because of coaching...rest CBSE syllabus is uncovered . However , scoring 95 perc in 10th , I feel that maybe I will be able to score above 90 prec in 12th if I start preparing for boards after 13th of dec? what should I do .? Should I stop going to school at all and also leave pre boards?
Preboards will be (and needs to be compromised) if you wish to take IIM-B's exam seriously. Prioritise it.
You're under the impression that geometry ke sab questions Arun Sharma se karne hoge -- that's not necessary in the remaining time. Focus on items where the "marks gained" is the highest for "per time unit spent". Doing a lot of geometry is perhaps not as crucial as you fixing your VARC.
(1) As I'm a dropper I haven't touched class 12th maths after I gave my board exams. How do I manage it with my IPMAT such that I don't forget it by the time CUET comes.
(2) Can you choose applied maths in CUET even if you had core maths in 12th?
2nd - no , you will not be eligible for du
1 same bhai kya plan hai? jan mai agar interview dena pda phir bhi revise pdega one month mai
well abhi tak plan to socha nahi hai tbh. Soch raha hu har hafte ek chapter ka one shot dekh ke revision karlu and baaki questions solve karu. End tak wait kara to definitely bhul jaunga sab lmao
ha wohi toh , practice kaha se kroge ncert hi? afterboards type ka platform cuet ke liye hai kya?
abhi to aaya nahi hai afterboards ka cuet ka but jab aaega tab le lunga. Baaki, you can check out DU buddy. Mei soch raha hu lene ka
- No shortcut, no easy answer. You'll have to go through one-shots and get back your groove.
- No.
I know afterboards said that they'll provide pyqs for commerce. Does that include maths? And if yes, will they be included in all access?
It will include maths. PYPs are always free. Having the questions/options behind a paywall should be illegal and a crime. Sure, have a login system if you want... but no coaching or platform should ever not show the PYQs for free. Other auxilliary features (attempting it as a mock, hiding the solution etc. is a different service).
What is the different between IIM INDORE AND IIM RANCHI
What could be 5 major reasons someone would leave IIM Indore for IIM ranchi.
- Don't say it's subjective, I do not know what makes it subjective for me, I am still not given the exact opportunities to choose between
- For me those 2 colleges are something that I can't rank personally rn
If you have Indore and Ranchi, it makes sense in almost every manner to choose IIM Indore, especially given the graduating outcomes and the kinds of companies coming + the larger legacy.
I'm surprised you're facing difficulty in such a decision. Why do you think they're equivalent when there's close to ~6-10 lakhs difference in the average placement numbers itself?
Well I think you posted so many things that are gonna happen in IIM ranchi and I that made me think IIM ranchi's growth is exponentially increasing.idk for sure!..
I have seen the modulus of YCP 3.0. not only on the technical side, but the content seems very human, as if humans wrote it.
I mean to say it doesn't look like a report rather someone sharing their experience! I wanna write those too.
I also read those student dairies
That Life@iimranchi is so well put, I don't think I saw that level of explaining in any of OFFICIAL websites.
IIM ranchi also has like empathy talks, YCP programme, the SMALL BATCH Size.
But I don't know IIM Indore in this depth, I am not saying IIM Indore isn't good,but IIM ranchi doesn't seem to be bad either
That why I was pondering in my free time over IIM ranchi / IIM indore
Yes, this is because IIM Indore (to an extent) is complacent about their IPM batch. Their syllabus hasn't been updated properly (my personal opinion) in a long time. The curriculum is still all over the place (as per my personal opinion). However, there are fantastic top-notch faculties every term who make it worthwhile.
IIM Indore has i-Help, an amazing initiative. It's just that they don't market much... and also because they don't think they have to. They also have Atharv-Ranbhoomi, footsteps and various other programmes. Do they have a competent marketing/social-media admin team? No. Mainly because it's not a priority for them (to an extent). The IPM students do run a VERY VERY good instagram page with a lot of fun updates, do check that!
YCP and Student Diaries are both initiatives that I absolutely love (and had the honour of being involved in). I wanted to make sure the world knows what IIM Ranchi is doing -- and why it is worth it. Back in 2021, people used to call my college a "scam/waste-of-money" and would recommend people to get South DU instead. I wanted to build the legacy along with all my amazing batchmates. Hence, we put in effort to make it happen. That is why people look at Ranchi right after Indore (and in cases, above Shillong).
IIM Indore also has a very nasty (my personal opinion) media policy. IIM Ranchi is very friendly to student content-creators and want us to share our experiences online. It helps not just the college's perception but also the individual.
Plus, the official website of IIM Ranchi is something I had designed and developed because of the EXTREMELY supportive faculties (huge thanks to Gaurav sir for pushing for this opportunity, Subhro sir for actually trusting me with this and sitting with me every day + managing the admin-side of things). We were able to instil the confidence in our Director sir -- that gave creative freedom wrt how the website can be -- which also allows us to have a page like this: http://iimranchi.ac.in/achievement/ (filter achievements).
If any of the college that I join is forcing me to follow it strictly and saying they'll throw me out of college if I don't obey and complete all of their not so worthwhile assignments.
I am not joing cuz Ik I'll get kicked out of school/college , it happened 4 times( they didn't throw me out of school, but I got threatened that they'll give me TC in 4 different schools )
I can't do the same in college, it's where I get my placements. That was my concern actually.
If it's not student friendly and those authorities think just because I joined their college I'll have to all of those dogmatic assignments I QUIT
Deal with it. You'll have to submit assignments at IIM Ranchi too. If you don't, and you fail the course, and you have 4 Ds or 2 Fs, you'll be asked to re-write or get expelled.
Assignments make a good chunk of your marks. Student-friendly is not the same as "oh, beta, aapne assignment nahi kiya, no issues". This is a very delusional take.
This is college. You'll be given homework/projects/assignments, if you don't do it (even if you hate it), you'll be penalised.
The world doesn't work as per our whims. If you can't follow this (regardless of you finding it worthwhile), no major MNC is going to hire you for their entry-level roles, especially if you can't follow orders to the point.
You're joining an IIM to get placements (as per your text), ergo, you're being a middle-level manager who has to be a good boy/girl and follow orders. You're not going to be a left-alone-do-what-you-want person unless you show the competency in 10-15 years of extremely good hard-work that shows that you're to be left alone (or you just have your own business at that point).
Ik that the people who design the course for a semester aren't stupid to include unnecessary subjects or credits. I want it to be a part of my life not my whole life in my college life.
If the company that I'll join wants me to do a very stupid project, I'll do it cuz Ik I get paid to do that.
I don't want to join a college, where they aren't open for change,I want them to be welcoming to have students they choose in selection process to be in their college.
I want them to take us as a responsibility not obligation.
I want them to be eager to teach us stuff, eager for us to grow, I am willing to put in efforts.
People who make your curriculum aren't the same ones who actually teach those exact courses.
You could have a course that says "Coding Fundamentals" but have a sub-part faculty who comes and teaches you Java in 2025 and makes you submit coding assignments (handwritten ew).
Sometimes, the people making the curriculum might have different intentions from what the instructor might have.
Submitting a sub-par assignment will give you lower grades, imagine not getting a finance-company shortlist because your grades are not good. Get this reality check.
You will and MUST have to do boring, rigorous, sub-par, annoying, idiotic projects and also stay in classes which just kill you mentally. This is a life-lesson wrapped in college. Do I wish they didn't exist? Yes. However, can I be practical about it? Also, yes.
You will have faculties that just read the slides, you will have faculties who are extremely passionate. Every extent of the spectrum exists.
P.S: I absolutely understand how you feel -- I felt the same way in my 12th grade too. However, I had to mellow down, AHHA.
If all choices are meaningful, does choosing the menu matter?
My questioning doesn't seem to end. I'll get back to studying, after I get the offer letter, I will ask my doubts!
Atleast I know it's not all rainbows and butterflies in any college now.
Thankyou for your efforts!
if you had to choose between bba/bms (either at any iim or sscbs) and economics hons at du (srcc/stephens/hindu) which one would you go for and why i’m torn because i want good internships but also some time for hobbies.
Good internships and time for hobbies can be brought out in any of the two options. It depends on how you use it. If you choose to just pass your courses, have low attendance, just GPT the assignments and not put effort, boom, IIMs aren't rigorous either then.
I have the same question, and no matter how much I research and think, I am unable to come to a conclusion. @basicallybhavesh, can you please provide an elaborate checklist or pointers that help people decide which option suits them best between CUET and IPMAT?
Hey! How is life at SSCBS? Are you doing case comps or building something, basically, how is the peer group?
I am actually interested in economics, and my maths is a bit on the weaker end so should I go for CUET and target SSC wagere or should I focus more on IPM?
(I am anyway going to give both) My question is: My sole purpose of taking the IPMAT is that I believe the curriculum of an IIM is rigorous, and we get to learn a lot. The opportunities we gain from clubs, real-world case studies, and placements are also appealing. The only thing that bothers me is the fees and the loan.
I have not heard much about DU colleges. Can you please brief what it is compared to IPM? (or at least my perception of what life at IIM is)
The life at SSCBS and IPM is pretty similar. People enjoy the 'Delhi' life at SSCBS, people enjoy the 'campus' life at IIMs.
Peer group is always ambitious in the top IIMs and top DU colleges. SSCBS curriculum is different from the IPM (more liberal arts comparatively).
I do not know how "weak" your math is to comment on the same. Figure out what is (easier) for you -- CUET Maths or IPMAT Maths; take a call accordingly for the entrance exams.
Many leave IIM Indore for SSCBS too for the same reasons: fees, loan etc.
I am actually a partial dropper. I had commerce with applied mathematics. I have 2 questions
Q1) do my college acads/ CGPA matters or anything that I study in the college
Q2) also should I revisit my all 11th and 12th subjects or the ones that genuinely interest me. I didn't score well in maths and accounts, so I am but worried about them.
I know I should focus on my ipmat score, it is just that I have time right now to prepare anything like I mentioned above which I might not have later on. Hence my question.
- Yes, makes a difference for your Masters application form. Whatever you study in a good college is one of the many basis points of your personality and workplace fundamentals.
- For IPMAT interview, you'll have to revisit all of them (at least the basics).
Even the applied mathematics
Topics like integration, derivation etc. Because I was not good with that.
Thank you
Yes, applied math does have calculus.
Thank you bhaiya. Now ig it is time to go back to 11th.
How would you go about prepping for cuet while keeping ipmat as your main, assuming one has a decent enough base. One that makes you go, "arreyy hannn, I didn't know the answer to this problem, but after looking at the solution I get how the author has reached this conclusion" . Are CUET based practice questions, mocks enough? Commerce + maths btw
CUET questions are very NCERT-focused too. If you're good with boards, just doing 20-25 mocks and learning from all of it will put you in a very very good spot.
To bhavesh bhaiya- What motivated you to start Afterboards? And how did you build it so successfully from scratch that almost every IPMAT aspirant now uses the platform? For those who aspire to be entrepreneurs but are unsure about what to offer or how to take their ideas forward after starting, what would you recommend?
My co-founder, Vani, is the brains behind AfterBoards. The initiative and the startup was conceptualised by her. She's the one behind most of the features (deep analytics, forums and a lot more). She also sat and got all the questions and mocks made.
My role has been with marketing/media, distribution, sales primarily. Plus, I contribute in the development/design at a couple of places too, hehe.
Because of this really good fit in terms of product & distribution, we've been able to have the highest market share! Plus, because of our prior experience in this industry and as students, we were able to recognise problems statements really well (since we faced it). Plus, Vani was just fresh out of writing IPMAT and had insanely smart feature + product ideas!
We'd recommend young entrepreneurs to cater to the problem statements that plague their audience (i.e. their distribution) — that would help a lot in getting some of your first clients/customers!
really inspiring bhaiya!! great work! thank u for letting me know:)
hi,
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i tend to really freak out if i'm not able to solve questions and i end up wasting a lot of time on a seemingly easy question.. how can i fix that?
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i have PCM as my stream, how can i focus on both IPM and Boards? at the moment it seems really impossible. i end up compromising one everytime i focus on the other
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how do i know if my mock scores are sufficient and whether i'd hit the cut off?
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it feels like my syllabus is never complete and despite being a maths student i'm struggling with IPM modern maths a little
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should i target iim bangalore's ug programme? i had my mind set for only ipm but my parents want me to pursue it and i'm really confused about what's the right decision for me
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what did u do on days when ur motivation was running REALLY low. how did you cope with the pressure?
thank you for your time <3
- Boring answer but practice. You'll only remove these deficiencies with more exposure (and practice).
- You're in this (IPMAT Prep Race) to be a manager, time-management starts from today. You'll never be able to do 100% to boards and IPMAT at the same time. Some days, you'll focus more on boards... and that's normal.
- Two-three bins to the right of the peak (in AfterBoards Mocks).
- Very normal! This is the default state. You'll never "finish" your syllabus. People don't feel that way even after they get admission, ahah. You'll only tend closer to completion... and you'll keep learning something or the other with every mock!
- Yes, why not?
- Breaking down the tasks into very small chunks -- and having some sort of a reward at the end of it!
The 12th appearing students aren't eligible to write for the ug programme of iim bangalore?
They are. Read the official discussion thread: https://www.afterboards.in/forums/general/colleges/RdEfab7LDKY0Zggo
How did you prepare for Mathematics for CUET and what resources did you follow?
bhaiya getting around 190 in toprankers ipm indore mocks
but only 150 in afterboards mocks
english is making the difference maths is almost 32 and 50 but english is around 70 75
could you please guide me as in tpr mocks english is about 130
also gave the ipmat indore 2025 actual paper mock it was 152
97 in va
Don't compare or make judgements based on 1-2 mocks/sectionals:
The Indian cricket team scored just 105 runs (all-out) against Bangladesh on 17 June 2014.
The Indian cricket team once scored 358/9 against Australia on 10 March 2019.
Saying that 358 > 105, hence, the performance against Australia was better is illogical because other variables are not constant: pitch, players, weather, form, toss, crowd etc.
This is how it looks when you try to compare scores between two sectionals or two mocks.
The difficulty distribution, the topic distribution (in the case of quants), the time at which you attempt, your energy/focus while attempting are also very different.
Asking, "is 125 in VA sectional good?" doesn't give us a lot to go on. Someone scores 250ish in Coaching A but only 180ish in Coaching B. Some people get 70 in some VA sectionals at AfterBoards and sometimes 130 (because things are adaptive). Look at the difficulty-distribution!
Some people get more in sectionals and less in mocks (also because of stamina issues, VA after 80 mins of quants isn't the same as doing a standalone sectional)
Lastly, India won against Bangladesh with 105, but lost against Australia with a 358.
So, how should you compare?
Focus on being 2-4 bins to the right of the peak in AfterBoards Mocks. If that is happening, you're at a good position.
Plus, here are some tips for VA: https://www.afterboards.in/forums/ipmat/verbal-ability/CqEqPdDuf3jh0soU
How to improve RC's
And Same tips for QA also
Tips are available in abundance.
For QA: https://youtu.be/V2SVPyukOOk
For VA: https://www.afterboards.in/forums/ipmat/verbal-ability/CqEqPdDuf3jh0soU
For RCs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r6Pc8jWfF9TIYhRjU0XdbKY7pzrkP8nn/view?usp=sharing
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How's the "college life" at IIMs? Do you get time to play video games/relax? Does the course rigour mandate studying everyday?
You get to choose that in a way.
If you want to take your acads seriously, then the time is allocated for that.
You can complete an assignment in 30 minutes (or) 3-4 days with 3 hours daily. You get to decide how serious you wish to be.
I personally never (generally) studied apart from 2-3 days before the exam. I also know of batchmates who studied everyday religiously. Surprisingly, the top 3 (institute rank holders) studied just before the exam, ahah. So, your initial base + competency plays a huge role.