How to Prepare for GD/ PI for MBA Admissions at KSOM

For admissions to the majority of the management courses, candidates need to write competitive entrance exams such as CAT/ MAT/ CMAT/ KIITEE Management Exam etc. Depending on the scores obtained in any of these tests, colleges invite candidates to appear for Group Discussion (GD) and/or Personal Interview (PI) round. These days GD/PI is an integral part of the admission process for MBA course. It is conducted to assess a candidate's leadership skills, communication ability, and problem-solving skills as these skills are important to succeed as a manager.

KSOM MBA Admissions:

In order to get KSOM MBA Admissions, you need to qualify for KSOM’s GD/PI round. You can qualify for this by appearing for KIITEE Management exam which is a national level examination conducted by KSOM, KIIT. It is important that you score the cut off marks to be eligible for attending the GD/PI round. KSOM also accepts the scores of the national level entrance examinations such as CAT/ MAT/ GMAT/ ATMA/ CMAT/ XAT.

In many of the colleges, cracking this round is essential to get admission into Postgraduate courses. During this round, one must know what to say and what not to say. By the end of this article, you will know how to prepare to crack this round.

KIIT School of Management GD/ PI Process:

• Parameters on which applicants in KSOM MBA Personal Interview were judged in past years.

               - General Knowledge (current affairs)

               - Domain Knowledge (subjects of graduation)

               - Personal grooming 

• KSOM MBA Group Discussions are typically based on current happenings in the country/world, trying to judge how well candidates are acquainted with those topics.

Group Discussion (GD):

Group Discussion is a platform where candidates discuss an assigned topic and present their point of view in order for a meaningful discussion to take place. This round is conducted to check communication skills, attitude, interpersonal skills, body language and importantly how a candidate conducts in a group.

Tips to Prepare for GD:

• Do research and gather information on current affairs as in many GDs the topics will be related to the current affairs.
• Read newspapers and magazines.
• Watch informative documentaries and profiles.
• Practice mock GD with your friends or family.
• It is important that you speak loud and clear, so practice speaking out loud and clear.
• During the GD if you are confused about the topic then you wait for some time and listen to what others are speaking. When the matter is clear and the GD is in midst then you should start speaking.

Personal Interview (PI):

Personal Interview is a very important round of your final selection process not only for MBA programmes but also but also in any top-level job. This round is mostly conducted after evaluating your Entrance Exam Score. This round is conducted to test verbal communication skill, the presence of mind and how do you present your views and knowledge skilfully to convince others. Unlike GD this round does not stress on your team playing instincts.

Tips to Prepare for PI:

• Like GD, even for PI, you need to read newspapers, watch TV news, read magazines etc. if in case of interviewer asks you regarding current affairs.
• Be thorough with your academics especially the things in your specialization domain.
• Importantly, you should be able to talk about yourself. So present yourself as if you are selling yourself. So depending on what you say the interview can flow in that path.
• Frame opinions of most important events which had happened in the past or happening in the present around the world.
• You should also attend good preparatory sessions for PI round and also attend mock PI sessions.
• Get in touch with the seniors or alumni of the institute in regards to the nature of questions and what is expected from the candidate.

These are few important tips one would need to follow in order to crack GD/PI round of most of the best B-Schools.