SPJIMR is a coveted B-School in the heart of Mumbai – among the top 10 institute rankings. Their unique selection process opens doors for exceptionally talented students from all areas. Today, let me take you through my entire journey and experience of the SPJIMR Process 2021.
Ping! 9pm on 26 December 2020 –
Even before the CAT results were released, SPJIMR’s Student Dashboard flashed the much-awaited words in bold – Congratulations, you have secured a profile-based shortlist for the Interview Process in the Finance specialization (my first preference)!
SPJIMR, as we know, focuses a lot on a candidate’s profile outside of academics, and so there was an elaborate form with over 8 essays to write and submit by 30 December i.e., in practically four days.
A week after the submission, they opened slot bookings for the interviews. The profile-based interviews were to be held from 25-29 January, with time slots of 7:30-9:30, 9:30-11:30 and 11:30-13:30. The slots were running out super-quick, and I booked mine for 28 January, 9:30.
There was also an option for the profile-based candidates to give the interview in February along with the score-based shortlist. However, in general it is preferred to give an early interview as it ensures that your dates won’t clash, and you’ll also get the experience of a real interview.
Cut to 9:30 am on 28 January –
The Zoom link had been mailed to us a day prior. The entire process was being conducted by the Student Admissions Committee (AdCom) of SPJIMR. All the candidates for this slot were there on the same Zoom Call. The moment you join, you are sent to a private room where one of the AdCom members checks your ID (Aadhaar in my case), after which you are back into the main call. Then the AdCom made batches of 4 students each and redirected them to other Breakout rooms for Group Interview-1 (GI-1) as and when vacancies occurred. There were multiple panels, and a lot of interviews were taking place simultaneously.
After the GI-1, we exited the Breakout Room and were back on the main call, and now began the wait for the results of round-1. We had to wait for more than an hour for the same, but the AdCom members were really warm and engaging – they talked to us about life on campus, their own experiences etc. and also showed us some interesting videos of college.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they announced the names of the students who had made it to Group Interview-2 (GI-2), the selected students would receive a mail with further details. And with this, the call ended.
At around 1pm, I received another mail from SPJIMR with a fresh Zoom link for GI-2 at 3pm.
The Final Lap - 3:00 pm –
On joining the new link, my ID was again verified, and there were a set of new professors and fellow candidates for the interview. As this got over, I heaved a sigh of relief as the ball was now in their court, and I only had to wait for the results.
I knew that the wait would be long, as they release the final list only after both the profile-based and score-based interviews are done. The score-based ones were scheduled from 25-28 February, and there was no difference in the process.
The Aftermath –
On 23 March, I received yet another awaited mail, and the Dashboard once again glowed with the words “Congratulations, you have been selected for PGDM 21-23 Programme at SPJIMR!”
In order to confirm my acceptance, I had to pay Rs.50,000 by 28 March, and another Rs.8,01,000 by 11 April.
Refund Policy –
If one withdraws their admission before 16 May, they will by refunded Rs.8,50,000 with Rs.1,000 being deducted towards processing charges. Similarly, Rs.27000 will be forfeited if they withdraw between 17 May and 30 June. After 30 June, it’s a whopping Rs.5,72,000.
I hope this post helped you get some clarity on how the SPJIMR Interview process is done; do drop in any further questions that you have. All the best to you!