iim bangalore interview (2nd feb iim mumbai + i know i'm late, just discovered afterboards)

IIM BANGALORE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:

(general male 98.32 percentile, got in directly)

(took zero pauses and just rambled off about everything)

(while walking into the room)

panelist 1: why is everyone wearing formals? did we specify that in the mail?

me: no ma'am, it's probably just an assumption they made. i personally wore it because i feel most confident and comfortable in it.

(she laughed, sat down normal greeting and stuff and asked if im comfortable and if my travel to the campus was convenient)

panelist 1: we saw that you mentioned that you did drama and acting in school, what was the most important lesson you learnt from acting

me: that is a very nuanced question ma'am. but to choose one specific answer i would choose adaptation. acting taught me to be aware of my surroundings at all times. while on stage ma'am, you never know what act might go wrong, what dialogue might be forgotten, or what prop might fail. my teachers always taught me to maintain my composure and to keep the show going.

panelist 1: what roles and plays did you put across

me: ma'am the biggest project we put up was the archies where i played the role of reggie mantle

panelist 1 (interrupting me): ohh archies? you kids also read old comics?

me: yes ma'am, we students picked the concept and tweaked it so that it works on a school stage. our teachers gave us suggestions and guidance but the larger side of the decision making was by the students. plus our school is anglo-indian aided, making the choice for archies even simpler.

panelist 1: so why do you want to come to iim bangalore?

me: i had always been dissatisfied with the concept of the ipm program or other management programs being the only gateway for 12th graders to enter IIMs. I had always looked out for something that gives economics the type of focus and priority in India, and iim Bangalore's announcement of this course gave me exactly that. its a golden ticket for a Charlie like me to enter a place where i can truly maximise my potential and passion of the subject.

panelist 2(taking over): so you want to get into research and stuff?

me: yes ma'am

panelist 2: so you mentioned that you made an economics project or case study on Kendrick lamar? (this was roughly the question)

me: yes ma'am. i have always loved combining my interests. and 2 of my most prominent interests have been rap music and economics. so my project basically has musical undertones to it, but it is truly an economic case study. one of Kendrick's most prominent albums, my personal favourite, is called to pimp a butterfly. the introductory song on that album goes by the name Wesley's theory. now Wesley's theory itself is not proven, but my case study was my closest attempt at proving it.

panelist 2: so what is Wesley's theory

me: Wesley snipes was an African American black rights activist who is currently in jail for tax evasion. he theorised that the American government or just the overall American economic system is created in such a way where it doesn't favour black americans. it creates economic bubbles in certain geographical zones which have a higher population of black residents, where they sell an excess of certain commodities that allows them to be taxed more.

panelist 2: how did you try and prove that? what statistics did you have?

me: that was the issue ma'am. reliable large scale statistics that go against the government are hard to find. so my project aimed at proving why African americans have a disadvantage in the American economy, for reasons other than racism and the not yet proven Wesley's theory.

panelist 2: do you think India also has a similar issue with certain minorities?

me: of course ma'am. India has historically had discriminated communities. Dalits and the untouchables in the past have always suffered and been disadvantaged.

panelist 2: what steps has the Indian government taken to reduce this gap?

me: ma'am they have implemented social security schemes and also used reservations

panelist 2 (interrupting me): how have they used reservations? and do you agree with its usage?

me: basically ma'am, reservations are a necessity and have helped a lot of students and underprivileged families bridge the gap between poverty and confirmed sustenance. even beyond college seats, reservations have ensured political representation of these communities. however, fake documentation or non-updated documents can cause reservations to be misused by students to get unfair admissions, and reservations now should be based on income as well, not only class or past. its not really fair for a student in a Bugatti to get an obc reservation.