Gap years & how I converted IIM Ahmedabad with a Gap year

[@ClarkKentRO]

Hi Milana, I'm unsure if this is the right space to ask this question but I'd be glad if you could address this. I've had a very poor 12th score because if which I'm not even eligible for most of the top institutes of our country. I completely understand the importance of having the right mindset while preparing which is to accept a fact that you cannot change and control and focusing on the ones in hand, but when I look at it from rights and opportunity perspective, I truly feel that I had no control over my upbringing and it had to happen by my parents who aren't so well educated nor rich and had no one to make me aware about the consequences that it'd have later and even if one did, I don't think I was mature enough to have acted upon the same at that point. It's been just couple of years where I find myself having the consciousness and a sense of responsibility that I feel within me and I strongly believe that I'm now capable enough to be out there learn and compete with the best brains and talents of our country. Even one of the most prestigious job of our nation like the civil services forgive students who've commited that sin out of sheer ignorance and give one more opportunity to them for shot at life. Can this perspective of mine be justified or is there a very valid reason for them to keep such a criteria like keeping a "points system" for 10th, 12th and graduation marks, something that not just I but many of us, who've had upbringing in a poorly educated family or family without any corporate connection, have felt it to be as a criteria we had no or very minimal control over. Eagerly waiting for your perspective upon this. Thanks and regards.

[@jithu5951]

Expecting more such amazing content! Much love

[@081praveenrajr4]

Anyone of your friends with 2 years gap are in IIM Ahmedabad??

[@MilanaPrakash]

Yes

[@081praveenrajr4]

@@MilanaPrakash 10th- 87% , 12th - 71% , UG - 8.7 CGPA fresher with 1.5 years gap but doing saree folding and packing business in home earning 15k per month. If i score 100 percentile in cat will I get IIM A call is my profile good ( ma'am plz don't esitate to answer I won't like to ask this kinds of questions but in this preparation journey lots of things revolving around my minds that's why I'm asking this question) thankyou 🙏

[@songoku-jx3cb]

@@081praveenrajr4no . You will get a call from iim ahemdabad but its not guaranteed that you will convert even with 100 percentile . Iim a has rejected people with 100%ile in the past and selected people with 99%ile .so it depends on your overall profile , communication skills , clarity of thought , writing skills etc not just cat percentile but be assured if you anyhting over 99.5 you will recieve a call .

[@shambhavie539]

I completed my grad in 2023 then i prepared for cat but unfortunately couldn't get through it, i joined an internship in dec which ended in april after that i decided to prep for cat again and while i was doing internship i realised preparing with a full time job is not my cup of tea! So i decided to not join any full time role. Other than that i also volunteered as a freelancer in chegg for 2 months and also did work for my passion that is as a professional makeup artist with body and face painting for which i have a certificate from a renowned institute (2019 was teh year i completed that course) but i was pursuing it as a freelancer. I am also doing MA in economics but that i am doing is from Open distance learning. So i just wanted to know like are all these things worth telling in interview maybe in future or should i be taking up something else ?

[@MilanaPrakash]

Yes! It's a lot of cool things that you've taken up. Brownie points for all of them!

[@GDPI]

Very Well Explained

[@Eternity3690]

Hey, im a ca dropout and in between the covid phase i had to step down and have a gap of 4-5yrs( as I dont have anything to show on my CV) will that be a problem i did a few courses to work freelance which was not related to my field last year so .any suggestions?

[@ranbeerchourasia282]

It was very insightful didi, i did a job of 9 months at a swiss firm where I was at the customer success manager and now I quit my job to prepare for CAT and I am just 19 so will it be counted as work experience as I am still in my college 2nd yr

[@ajatshatru33BCE]

Ma'am I have 94% in X, 80% in XII and currently doing CA Articleship, not a ranker but excellent marks.. Can I stand chance for IIMA? Or my 12th would toll it

[@fardeen_shaikk]

what r ur academics can u plz tell us?

[@pratikkadam3169]

Hi I wont be able to afford the coaching for CAT. Can you please help me with free resources where I can make my base strong.

[@divyamgoyal6935]

Hey 10th 94% 12th 95.5% Bcom 2024 grad 7.75(2nd year) Will gving CAT 24 be considered a gap year for me and also let me know what realistic percentile to get for IIMA for me I got 98% tile in XAT 23 and appeared for XLRI interview but didn't clear and till may (when I got results) I didn't do particularly anything different apart from Grad work and Case comps so please also guide as to what should be told in interviews in these situations. Honest or made up?

[@keshavbaghel7330]

hey Milana, this is my second drop but i don't have any work ex or internship so what should i do now and i also scored 92 in cat23

[@harshsingh5158]

Same bro 😭 I'm also 23 graduated and scored 92 in cat 23 This will be my 2nd gap year

[@Luvisill]

MERA ABHI COLLEGE KA 1ST YEAR NEXT MONTH SE SHURU HOGA, HOW SHOULD I PREP FOR CAT FROM THE 1ST YEAR ITSELF IK YE BHOT EARLY HAI BUT STILL WHAT SHOULD I DO TO HAVE A PERFECT PROFILE FOR IIMs?

[@MilanaPrakash]

You can start in your final year. A strong profile helps, but it's not sacrosanct.

[@Parthkavlog]

Mam ap mail ka reply q nhi da rhe ho ?

[@abhinavk.]

woooowww, really informative. but can i get an opinion on a more personal level as it is my 3rd time writing cat

[@MilanaPrakash]

It was my third attempt too. Please write to me: [e-mail]

[@varchasvatiwari9085]

I've been working in a Unicorn for 4 years now as a SDE 2 & planning to drop this month & prep full time. Was thinking of taking CS coaching classes during this time. My profile is: 10th: 91.4% 12th: 95.5% UG (Tier 3 college): 8.14 Will it be fine to justify the gap with the above profile?

[@MilanaPrakash]

yes! Sounds great

[@nishthaaaaa]

hi! i have bachelors in biology. do you see people, especially freshers from my background in iim a? love your videos :)

[@MilanaPrakash]

Yup. We have doctors in our batch too! So don’t worry. IIM A wants diverse candidates

[@harshtripathi3338]

ideal number of mocks one should attempts before cat ?

[@MilanaPrakash]

I attempted ~45 mocks

[@divyakotian1635]

Hii I needed your advice on the gap year I took so I have mailed you my gap year story it would be helpful if you advice me on that, thanks:)))

[@AasthaMehta51]

Chances of freshers to convert IIM?

[@MilanaPrakash]

Yes! So many people are freshers!

[@riddhichothani7217]

how can we justify gap from job for CAT prep. Im CA by Profession

[@MilanaPrakash]

What else did you do during your prep? Any hobbies? Or freelancing?

[@riddhichothani7217]

@@MilanaPrakash no mam I have only 5 months of prep so not focusing on other things

[@riddhichothani7217]

My profile is 93/93 10 th 12 th and CA in first attempt at all the three levels

[@IIM-A]

mam 10th - 8.3 cgpa , 12th - 801/970 marks , ug : bba final sem completed waiting for results , i think it would be 7 . literally i dont have any extra things like certifications or something. (nc-obc) , currently prep for cat ,how much %ile should i get to go for IIM-ABC plsss reply mam. by the way i like this video somuch🙂

[@MilanaPrakash]

Hey, i don't really know the cut offs. But I would say 97+

[@IIM-A]

@@MilanaPrakash tq 🤝

[@Bengalitadka370]

Is job experience required to get in IIMA and how can somebody build an nice profile to get in here?

[@MilanaPrakash]

No. Freshers get in too. Just have a lot of extra curriculars - sports/art/music/social work + good percentiles

[@Bengalitadka370]

@@MilanaPrakash I have done my graduation and stuff how can I get in these extra curriculars activities can you suggest some ideas.

[@Jamie-mh8fp]

ma'am any ngo's you can recommend?

[@MilanaPrakash]

It really depends on which sector you are interested in: women's health, mental health, children's education etc.

[@anarghamudgalayannayak7235]

@@MilanaPrakash ma'am can you tell me how to find ngo jobs. oneline or offline.

[@081praveenrajr4]

10th- 87% , 12th - 71% , UG - 8.7 CGPA fresher with 1.5 years gap but doing saree folding and packing business in home earning 15k per month. If i score 100 percentile in cat will I get IIM A call is my profile good ( ma'am plz don't esitate to answer I won't like to ask this kinds of questions but in this preparation journey lots of things revolving around my minds that's why I'm asking this question) thankyou 🙏

[@MilanaPrakash]

IIM A might be tough because of your 12th %. But don't lose hope, Study hard and you'll get into some good B-School.

[@kusumpal6424]

Is taking tuitions during gap year valid ? I'm earning 20k from it .

[@MilanaPrakash]

Yes!

[@saumyakumari7111]

What is your profile?? 10/12/graduation

[@MilanaPrakash]

10th: 10 CGPA 12: 90.8% UG: 9.04/10

[@jithu5951]

I have a gap of one year. My honest reason is that I come from a underprivileged family and I've never been in a situation where I had the time and money free from family commitments to focus on my hobbies/goals. So once I got the chance I went all in. I am currently a volunteer with a well known NGO and I am into body building/fitness. It is only recently I figured out that both of these are great but not a full time fit for me. So that is why am giving CAT. Do you think this is a good/fair enough reason to tell in an interview?

[@MilanaPrakash]

Hey, that's a very valid and compelling narrative and most importantly, it's honest. You should definitely tell this in your interview. We're all discovering ourselves and your story is also that of finding what you want to do in life. I would say, it's perfect :)

[@jithu5951]

@@MilanaPrakash Means a lot, Thank you :)