How to get into IIM with Poor Academics
We are not talking about an unachievable dream, we will discuss in details on How to get into IIM with Poor Academics. You can overcome low academic performance by having –
- Good CAT Percentile
- Good profile
Attend Profile Plus program and give kick start to making a strong profile
99+ Percentile should be your target.
Get trained by CAT toppers and make your IIM Dream come true
For building a good profile I would recommend the following –
1. Certificates
A certification in the relevant field, might give you an upper edge over others, and if not, would definitely give you something to boast about in the PI. Again, you would have to make sure that the certification you are going is relevant to the profile you are going for an MBA.
a. MBA Finance aspirants can appear for NCFM modules.
The best certifications provided by NCFM are:
i) Certified financial planner certification
ii) Financial markets
iii) Security markets
b. MBA Marketing aspirants can undertake the Digital Marketing Course (DMC). Digital Marketing is the next big thing and MBA colleges, will give your profile a preference if you are aware about Digital Marketing. This certification can also be undertaken by MBA Finance aspirants as being digital literate is good thing esp. when there are a number of FinTech start-ups coming up.
c. Additionally, students can do various online courses from the top universities like Stanford, MIT from international websites such as Coursera, edX
2] Internship
Internships are a great way of showing that you are very serious about learning & enhancing your knowledge and experience. As a rule of thumb, you should be looking for internships that are relevant to the stream you are focusing on however, in-case you are yet to decide the stream, you can do a few in some of the streams you are interested in. There are many website such as Internshala & Lets Intern which can help you find the right internship for you.
a. Startup internship– Interning at a startup gives you more practical, transferable experience and allows you to see the inner workings of an entire company, as against working with a big firm you will be a small part of the process; in a start-up, you will be doing some real work. It’s not always easy as you may have to work on a number of things with the shortest deadlines.
b. Internship at large firm– Interning at a large company provides you with a recognizable brand name and teaches you about how large organizations function. One advantage here is the Brand Name, if you are keen on Marketing & have HUL, Coke, Pepsi etc on your resume you will beat the competition easily. Similarly having J.P. Morgan Chase, HSBC will give a good chance of making it through MBA Finance.
3] Community Work
Companies are looking for empathetic leaders these days; so working on a social cause or joining an NGO shows that you are willing to contribute to the society without any selfish motives. Few NGOs that you can consider joining are Sounds of Silence, ATMA
4] Work Ex in the Same Profile
The most common question to engineers in the PIs is – “Why MBA after engineering”? This is definitely a pickle. If you can, make sure you pursue your current job in the profile where you would be working after your MBA, then it will help give you the required recognition.
5] Interesting profile
Your profile should stand out in the interview. Go for workshops like “Be a scientist for a day”, “Star gazing”, go on treks in order to build an interesting profile.
6] Ranks in Sports
You will definitely have an upper edge if you have a rank at national/state/district level in sports. S.P. Jain gives profile based calls to students every year, even before the CAT results are out, they give a good weight to National / International Level certificates.
7] Know the latest happenings
Keep a check on the latest happening in order to get through the GD/PI. You should be aware of the economic trends and things happening in the business. May it, be related to scam by Nirav Modi; or effects of demonetization; you should be well aware of these topics.
To conclude, having good academics is a plus but if you don’t have it, it’s not an end to your IIM Dream. You would require to make up at the other areas which can create the much-required impact.
