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Things You Must Know Before Joining IIM Ahmedabad
"Yaar yeh cheez kaash pehle pata hoti! (I wish I had known this earlier!)" These are words that are often uttered out loud in a B-School campus by many people - contexts changed, words not so much.
To give you a glimpse of the life at IIMs and bridge this gap of asymmetric information, my friend and batchmate, Aaditya Agarwal, who was the topper of our batch, has come forward to share a series of 16 videos created by him that detail the "The things you must know before joining IIM-A to survive better".
In Aaditya's Words:
B-Schools are often marked by the significant amount of stress that the students end up reeling under, often self-imposed, but stress nonetheless. Some are more fortunate than others to have had siblings, mentors, friends or even parents go through this journey earlier and be a north star in all things big and small with the light of their advice dispelling the darkness of an uncertainty that a vast majority often face.
This asymmetric access to information leads to asymmetric stress levels and eventually asymmetric access to opportunities which eventually creates an Orwellian reality where all 'B-School students on campus are equal but some are more equal than the others'.
In an attempt to reduce this inherent inequality of access to advice, I have compiled a list of 16 videos under the title "Surviving IIM Ahmedabad", videos which detail advice which I would give myself if I had to do my 2 years of B-School all over again. While these messages were compiled from my (and of those around me seen from my lens) experience at IIM-A, much of what it captures is relevant for other B-Schools as well.
I start with one fundamental - that the outcomes in the 2 years are a function of choices and priorities that we exhibit at the start of the MBA course; followed by detailing some choices that I exercised and more importantly, many that I did not whether it was about academics, extracurricular activities, placements, and inter-personal relationships.
Link to All the Videos:
Surviving IIM Ahmedabad: 16 Videos by Aaditya Agarwal
The opinions in the video are subjective opinions that can and should be taken with a pinch of salt. However, there is merit for every B-School student to go through them especially at the start of their journey - it is better to hear and ignore these things than not know at all.
I strongly believe in these words (paraphrased) that came out of a discussion with some friends recently- "Every student will make mistakes in this crooked road to success. Our task as those slightly ahead on the same road should be to improve the road quality, so that the energy of those who follow is not spent fighting the bumps but in imagining new ways to travel and new destinations." - and I hope this comes to be true!
I've known Aaditya for two years now. I can personally vouch for the credibility in his advice. But, you don't even need me to tell you that because his credentials speak for himself. He was the Gold Medalist at IIM Ahmedabad, IR-2 at IIT Delhi, all set to join McKinsey & Co. after making a name for himself in the consulting world.
Despite having graduated from IIM-A, I'm going to watch all of his videos because I'm sure the learning is going to be immense. You all are fortunate that people like him are there you help you from the very beginning. I wish we had such a head-start. So, I'd like to thank him for putting in so much effort into making these videos.
Hope they benefit you all!
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