Need honest advice about taking a drop for IIMs after a really rough year.
This year has honestly been one of the hardest of my life.
Just before my Class 12 boards, I was diagnosed with Hepatitis A, and on top of that I also got dengue. Because of my health, I ended up getting a compartment in Physics and scored much lower than I normally do in my other subjects too. My overall percentage came out to around 70%.
Before all of this, I was a pretty good student. I had prepared well, but my health completely ruined my plans. I missed applications for some IIMs, gave a few entrance exams while I was sick, and I couldn't even attend my IIM Rohtak interview because I was hospitalized.
This year I got into NMIMS, TAPMI, and Nirma, and I was also waitlisted at IIM Sambalpur (around 15X).
I'm now thinking of taking a drop year and preparing seriously for next year's admissions, especially IIM Bangalore's UG program and other management entrances. I've almost completely recovered now.My biggest concern is whether colleges will judge me because of my compartment and low Class 12 scores, even though they were due to genuine medical reasons. I'm also worried because I haven't been able to study properly for the last 5–6 months, and I even scored poorly in Maths boards because I only attempted enough to pass while I was unwell (Maths is actually one of my strongest subjects).
Do you think taking a drop is the right decision? Will I still have a realistic chance at getting into a good IIM or other top B-schools next year, or will my board marks and compartment hold me back? If you were in my position, what would you do?
I'd really appreciate any advice or experiences. I'm honestly feeling very confused and anxious about my future.
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Hi there, if you can show that you re-wrote boards and got a higher score + answer their academic questions in the interview, you're sorted.
If your mental health is sound, a partial-drop (if feasible), else a full drop isn't a bad idea!
If you have the confidence of doing well and getting a good college (CUET/IPMAT), a drop in this case would make sense.
Thank you so much for your reply!
I had a few more questions if you don't mind.
I'll definitely be giving the Maths improvement exam next year. Do you think it's necessary to improve Chemistry and Physics as well, or is improving Maths enough? My Physics compartment happened because I had dengue and Hepatitis A during boards, and honestly I'm exhausted with Physics and Chemistry. I'd rather spend the year focusing on Maths, GK, Logical Reasoning, and English for entrance exams if that's enough.
I'm planning to move to Ahmedabad and join IMS coaching for IPMAT/CUET preparation. Do you think taking a partial drop while studying at colleges like TAPMI, NMIMS, or Nirma is realistic, or would it become too hectic? My parents prefer a partial drop, but I'm worried about managing both.
Since I'll have around a year, what extracurriculars or certifications would you recommend to strengthen my profile? Any online courses, internships, volunteering, research, or competitions that would actually add value for IIM interviews?
Also I will be doing mocks etc from here and coaching from ims ahemdabad . Is it a good option ? I also dont want to go for partial drop is bec tapmi,nmims,nirma fee is too much for a year . Why waste so much money and i dont have another option .
I'd really appreciate your advice. Thank you!