My GEPI experience: MICA Ahmedabad : how to prepare for MICAT, what to expect, my own story : PGDM-C

Summary

In this video, Medha shares her unique MICA GE-PI experience, detailing the admissions process involving both the MICAT exam and a personal interview. She describes the creative and psychological assessment required, including a group exercise and personal interview. Medha candidly discusses her interview, covering questions on her academic excellence, business, and marketing strategies. She also shares her passion for creativity and art, and how MICA's approach aligns with her interests, encouraging others to prepare diligently for a distinctive and engaging experience.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Medha is sharing her MICA GE-PI experience, which includes both exams and interviews.
• 📚 Apart from MICA, Medha also appeared for other exams like CAT and XAT.
• 💡 MICA's exam format focuses on creativity, psychology, and storytelling, differing from other colleges.
• 📝 Medha offers one-to-one mentoring sessions for interview preparation and study guidance.
• 🗓️ MICA interviews were conducted in-person, despite the pandemic, with a unique GE (Group Exercise) round.
• 👥 The GE round involves group tasks like drama, skits, or drawing to assess creativity.
• 🕒 The PI (Personal Interview) round with MICA lasted 25-30 minutes with three male panelists.
• 📈 Medha discussed her academic achievements, entrepreneurial ventures, and creative pursuits during the PI.
• 🎨 As a fine arts graduate, Medha clarified that she creates and sells her own art, including paintings and candles.
• 📊 A significant interview mistake was made when Medha confused daily wages with monthly wages, causing confusion.
• 🌐 Medha's business promotion strategy includes social media, partnerships, and brand deals.

Q & A

What does MICA stand for?

MICA stands for Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad. It is a marketing specialized college.

What are the two exams one needs to appear for to get into MICA?

To get into MICA, one needs to appear for both the GMAT and the MICAT exams.

How often does the MICAT exam take place?

The MICAT exam happens twice a year, with MICAT 1 and MICAT 2.

What is the difference between MICA's interview process and those of other colleges?

MICA's interview process is different as it includes a Group Exercise (GE) round and a Personal Interview (PI) round, which focus on creativity, psychology, and storytelling skills.

What is the Group Exercise (GE) round at MICA?

The GE round at MICA is a group task that changes every year and varies by group. It assesses creativity and storytelling ability.

What was the duration of the Personal Interview (PI) round for the speaker?

The PI round for the speaker lasted about 25 to 30 minutes.

What was the first question asked in the Personal Interview (PI) round?

The first question in the PI round was about the reason behind the speaker's stellar academic performance in 10th, 12th, and graduation.

What is the speaker's own brand called?

The speaker's own brand is called 'that ci'.

What was the significant mistake the speaker made during the interview?

The significant mistake was confusing daily wages with monthly wages when asked about paying a worker.

What was the topic given to the speaker's group in the Group Exercise (GE) round?

The topic given to the speaker's group was to make a poster showcasing the Ukraine and Russia crisis and how different countries are playing their role.

What did the speaker do after graduating?

After graduating, the speaker worked for five months as an HR and then started her own brand 'that ci'.

What advice does the speaker give to those interested in MICA?

The speaker advises those interested in MICA to start preparing for the MICAT exam as the syllabus is unlike any other exam.

Outlines

00:00

🎬 Introduction and Overview of MICA GEPI Experience

The speaker introduces herself, mentions that she is bulk filming interviews, and talks about her experience with the MICA GEPI process. She outlines that MICA requires candidates to take either MICAT 1 or 2 exams, focusing on creativity, psychology, and storytelling. She shares that she participated in both exams, with MICA using the higher score. The interview process was different from others, emphasizing the uniqueness of the MICA experience. She offers mentoring sessions for students preparing for interviews and exams, and then begins detailing her personal GEPI journey.

05:00

🌟 Discussing Personal Branding and Marketing Journey

The speaker discusses her inclination toward marketing, mentioning her own brand and freelance work. She emphasizes her storytelling and creativity skills, sharing her experience in writing stories, with one even published in a book. She elaborates on how she inspired others throughout her life, discusses her gap year, and explains her business ventures, such as candle making and painting. The speaker describes a misunderstanding during the interview regarding how much she would pay someone daily for help, which led to confusion and embarrassment when she misstated a monthly figure as a daily wage.

10:01

💡 Strategy and Business Expansion Plans

The speaker shares her thoughts on expanding her business to achieve a $1 million turnover. Although she admits she is a small business owner without an exact plan for such a large target, she outlines strategies involving promotions, partnerships, and worldwide shipping. She explains how she currently promotes her business through word of mouth, social media, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. The interviewers questioned her about her customer base, and they scrutinized her online presence. They provided feedback on improving her Instagram marketing, which she appreciated and found insightful.

15:03

🔍 In-Depth Interview Questions and Branding Discussions

The interviewers asked detailed questions about the speaker's marketing interests, specifically branding, and she cited Starbucks as an example of effective branding. They inquired about her other interview offers, and she ranked them according to her preferences, explaining her reasoning. The interviewers expressed concerns about her financial knowledge, suggesting she pursue a general MBA instead of specializing in marketing. The speaker defended her decision to specialize in marketing and explained that she would hire experts for areas where she lacked knowledge, like finance. They then allowed her to share her drawings, which they appreciated, and the interview ended.

20:03

🎨 Group Exercise and Final Thoughts

The speaker describes the Group Exercise (GE) round, where candidates were divided into groups of six to seven people. Her group was assigned the task of creating a poster about the Ukraine-Russia crisis, and then role-playing as if explaining it to a UN general. She was responsible for drawing since she was the only one confident enough in her artistic abilities. They successfully completed the task within the 30-minute limit. The speaker expresses her appreciation for MICA's unique and creative interview process, recommending it to those interested in creativity and storytelling. She encourages potential applicants to prepare for the MICAT exam, emphasizing that MICA is a distinct choice for those who love creativity.

Keywords

💡MICA

MICA stands for Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad. It is a leading institute in India offering postgraduate programs in the field of Communications, Management, and Design. In the video, the speaker discusses their experience with MICA's admission process, highlighting the unique nature of the interview and group exercise rounds.

💡GEPI

GEPI stands for Group Exercise and Personal Interview, which is part of MICA's admission process. The speaker mentions that MICA conducts these rounds to assess candidates' creativity, teamwork, and communication skills. The video provides insights into the GEPI experience, including the group exercise task and the personal interview questions.

💡MyCAT

MyCAT is the entrance exam for MICA. It is conducted twice a year, and candidates can choose to take either or both of the exams (MyCAT 1 and MyCAT 2). The speaker appeared for both exams, and the higher marks from either are considered for admission. The script emphasizes the importance of preparing for MyCAT due to its unique syllabus.

💡Group Exercise

The group exercise is a distinctive part of MICA's admission process where candidates are given a task to perform as a group. The task varies each year and assesses creativity and storytelling abilities. In the video, the speaker describes the group exercise they participated in, which involved creating a poster about the Ukraine and Russia crisis.

💡Personal Interview

The personal interview is a one-on-one session with the candidate, where they are asked questions about their profile, interests, and goals. The speaker recounts their interview experience, discussing questions about their academic performance, business ideas, and marketing knowledge.

💡Storytelling

Storytelling is a key skill assessed during MICA's admission process, reflecting the institute's focus on communication and creativity. The speaker mentions their own storytelling abilities and how they were showcased during the interview and group exercise.

💡Marketing Specialization

Marketing specialization is one of the areas of focus at MICA. The speaker expresses their interest in marketing and how it aligns with their passion for creativity and business. The video discusses how the speaker's experience and skills relate to this specialization.

💡Branding

Branding is a specific area within marketing that the speaker is interested in pursuing. The video mentions how the speaker discussed their understanding of branding during the interview, using Starbucks as an example of effective branding.

💡Financial Knowledge

Financial knowledge is an important aspect of running a business, and the speaker's understanding of this was tested during the interview. The video describes a mistake made by the speaker regarding financial matters, which led to a recommendation to consider a general MBA instead of a marketing specialization.

💡International Immersion Program

The International Immersion Program is an opportunity offered by MICA for students to gain international exposure. The speaker inquires about this program during their interview, seeking clarification on whether it is compulsory or not.

💡Mentoring Session

The speaker offers one-on-one mentoring sessions to help others with interview preparation, study guidance, and self-preparation. This service is mentioned at the beginning of the video as a way to assist those interested in pursuing a similar path.

Highlights

Introduction to the channel and the host Medha

Medha's experience with MICA GE-PI

Explanation of the MICA entrance exams, including MICAT and MYC-AT

Unique format of MICA's exams focusing on creativity and storytelling

Offer of one-on-one mentoring sessions by Medha

Description of the in-person interview experience at MICA

Difference between GE (Group Exercise) and GD (Group Discussion)

Details of the GE round, including tasks and evaluation criteria

Medha's PI (Personal Interview) experience, including questions and her responses

Medha's blunder during the interview regarding payment to a worker

Feedback on Medha's business strategy to increase turnover

Discussion on Medha's current business promotion methods

Critique of Medha's social media presence by the interviewers

Medha's explanation of her fine arts background and painting business

Interviewers' advice on Medha's potential MBA specialization

Medha's defense of her choice for a marketing specialization

Details of the GE round topic and group dynamics

Medha's role in the GE round as the only painter in the group

Outcome of the GE round and the overall interview experience

Medha's final thoughts on MICA's unique interview process

Invitation to subscribe for productivity and CAT tips

Transcripts

[Music]

uh guys welcome back to my channel or

welcome if you're new my name is medha

ak that ci

and i am bulk filming all my interview

videos today uh i have posted four

videos till now i will be linking the

playlist here

and few more are yet to go so i am

filming that now this is going to be my

mica gepi experience so for micah you

need to give that or that or both i

appeared for both exams and

apart from that you also need to appear

for their my cat exam now my cat exam

happens twice a year that is my get one

and my cat two and again you can appear

for any one of the exams or both i

appeared for both

and

whichever one you will be getting the

higher marks they will be considering

that format of mica is completely

different because this is the marketing

specialized college so whether it's the

my cat exam

or the ge pi round it is completely

different from that of other course so

you need to look into it because they

check your creativity your psychology

your story writing and all those skills

so you need to separately prepare for

this exam now before jumping into the

video i just wanted to say that i was

giving one-to-one mentoring session so

if in case you need any help regarding

interview studying self-preparing which

all books you need and any other query

you can reach out to me via dm or mail i

will be very happy to help and now let's

actually start the interview so as i

said micah is a very different college

and they always conduct their interview

in person so even though this year all

of my interviews were happening online

micah gave me a date and place to reach

for my in-person interview i was called

at hhi at 1 p.m and the g e p i for me

started from 2 p.m so if you have

noticed i am actually saying g e p gepi

and not gdpi because micah actually

does this group exercise which is very

very very different from the group

discussion which normal colleges have

and in this group exercise you will be

giving like the whole group will be

given a task and the task changes every

year

and also depends on group to group like

you they can ask you to perform they can

ask you to sing

they can ask you to

basically make a drama or a skit or draw

paint they will just be checking your

creativity and your storytelling ability

because as i said it is a marketing

based college generally speaking first

the group exercise round happens and

then the pi round starts but for me it

was the other way round i first gave my

pi round and it was very nerve wrecking

for me because i was not prepared for it

then the ge round actually happened and

here comes my handy laptop to remind me

everything and every question which they

asked me

so for the pi it was around 25 to 30

minutes it was a long long pi

and three panel members were there all

of them male

and it all started with

them asking me to remove my mask and my

file i was carrying my cv and some other

documents which you can in a micro

interview uh i was carrying those so

they asked me to put that aside on a

separate table and sit down and

everybody was maintaining social

distancing so it was all cool and i sat

and the first question which they asked

me was after checking my cv

they asked me what is the reason behind

your stellar marks of 10th 12th and

graduation so for those of you guys who

don't know my profile is 989 so they

asked me why am i kind of very much into

studies and

what was the reason so i explained that

i try to give my best

uh irrespective of it is uh pertaining

to studies or not i am kind of you know

into stuff i give my 100 percent and try

to achieve and complete it i explained

my own thing and after that the second

question was they said that they have

called 800 people to interview

and ah from what i can recall the seats

was around 200

yeah approximately 200 something so they

asked me

why should they be selecting me

now i explain my profile my creativity

my inclination towards marketing the

fact that i have started my own brand

that is which you are seeing now

i have been selling my products i run my

own freelancing thing

plus i am very much into storytelling

creativity i have many medals for story

writing even my one of my stories got

published in a book so

since childhood i am into creativity and

my profile

very much fits that of michael so that

is what i explained so while explaining

that i may have used the word i inspire

people or something like that so they

wanted to know few uh instances where

that actually happened so i recalled few

moments from my childhood days as well

as my school days where i did something

and because of that many people were

actually inspired to

actually do that thing like it happened

a lot of time and

i encouraged people to take a good step

whether it was in a class or

in my complex so i explained those

examples to them so i actually have a

gap year and they asked me what did i do

after graduation

and i

basically graduated in 2020 after that i

worked for five months as an hr and then

i started that ci and currently i am

still working on it

and then they asked what are the

products which i

offer i said candles painting canvases

prints everything basically

and so the interviewer uh thought that

somebody else is painting and i am just

selling it so he

asked that don't you have to take

permission from the artist uh to sell

his or her art so i said no sir i myself

am a fine arts graduate so i am into

paintings and everything since childhood

so i

make the paintings and then sell it like

the entire thing is run by me only so i

don't need to take permission from a

separate person

then they asked about the profit now the

profit margin is different for the

different products the candles the

prints so i just explained all the

different profit margins and they also

wanted to know about the costing of

individual candles so then the interview

asked me how many candles can be made in

an entire day like if you work the

entire shift how many candles can we

make maximum so i did not know like i

just

because i don't make candy every single

day i just make it in batches so i

estimated it and gave them a number and

then a huge blunder happened in my

interview

so they asked me okay if somebody is

willing to help you or you know as i

have hired somebody or something

and that person is working the entire

day and helping me to make candles

because right now i am the only person

who is making the candles so how much

will you be paying that person daily now

the blunder happened because i did not

understand or hear their question

correctly and in my mind the only thing

which popped up was me asking my sister

to help me in making the canvas which i

have done a lot of times and she uh we

had a conversation okay i'll be giving

this much to you

and you know one third of the entire

thing to you you help me and everything

so i just said that okay i will be

paying that person that amount of money

now i completely forgot that they asked

me how much i will be paying a person

like not my family member but i work for

daily and what i said was weekly or

monthly like depending on the bad size

so

i basically said 3 000 rupees and there

is no way that i can pay someone 3000

daily and so they completely was shocked

like how can you even say that answer

kind of they just made a face and they

just assumed that i

do not know anything about maths or

numbers or accounts or finance and i was

so ashamed because it's like yeah like i

could not understand where did i go

wrong but then after few moments we did

and then i was like

what have i done

what have i done and it was too late for

me to say that oh i just said the wrong

answer you know they just assumed they

just assume i am completely dumb

uh so then uh the second person actually

uh mocked me and said okay so people

will be leaving

mbas to just work in your candle company

so and i was completely ashamed for the

fact that i could do

such a stupid mistake and just say

like confuse between daily and monthly

thing then the next person asked me

if i have to increase the turnover of my

business to one million dollars

and i had enough resources to do

anything which i wanted to do what would

be my strategy now i am a very very very

small business owner so for me

like i definitely had plans to expand

the rci but

i did not have some

very very uh strategized plan to

increase the turn over to one million

dollars like it was too big but whatever

i

had in my mind i jotted them down it

actually took few minutes for me to

answer this question but i talked about

promotion and partnerships brand deals

whatever was in my mind i said it but i

don't know how much it made sense

because

i did not know whether the things which

i was seeing could actually result in

one million dollar turnover

i talked about website shipping

worldwide what else partnering with

cafes

something like that

and then they asked me okay so this is

your strategy but how are you promoting

your business right now your brand right

now

so i talked that uh i just have i don't

do external promotion currently it's the

word of mouth

and through my social media platform

that is instagram youtube pinterest

everything

so they just assume that i don't have

any customer and they said okay so that

means since it's a word of mouthing only

your families are blind

and that is not the case actually uh

people from internet have actually

reached out to me by instagram and many

of my customers are from instagram so i

try to explain that to them like i

obviously did not have proof that those

people who are my customers are not my

family members or friends they're

genuinely

buying the product right i tried to

explain that but i don't know they just

assume at that point of time they have

been to that grilling mode like okay

whatever i'd be saying they will not be

kind of happy with the answer like know

how does that work how will people know

that you are selling the candle so i

said i have an audience on my instagram

and

i do vlogs and youtube i tried to

explain that to them i don't know how

much it made sense so they asked me okay

so you have youtube and instagram i said

yes sir so at that point of time they

opened my youtube one interview opened

my instagram and another person opened

my youtube and then one was the third

person was basically staring at me while

i was extremely nervous and they

scrolled and opened every post of mine

trying to scrutinize

and then they floor one million flaws

because

obviously they are marketing and

branding teachers okay they are

professors who are specialized in that

and i am just a novice they find many

flaws but what i appreciate is that

people with such great knowledge and

you know experience actually took

interest in my work and they were

explaining this is where you are going

wrong and this is how you can increase

or improve

and it was a very good learning

experience for me whatever the amount of

time it was a short period of time but

whatever remarks they said it was like

you know it was

i said to myself okay yeah it actually

made sense like why am i not doing it

and i really really really appreciate

that such

people actually took their time to give

me the feedback though i was kind of a

teeny tiny bit sad because they were

able to find so many flaws in my

instagram and youtube

not youtube they basically found the

flaws in my instagram account

uh but still

i will try to

implement whatever they said i agree

with them 90 percent 10 percent my views

are different but yeah appreciate that

next they look into my cv and i actually

did a certificate on consumer behavior

and they asked me what have i learned

from that course i explained buying

behavior how to target customers

segmentation and everything which i have

learned so they asked me what are the

different type of buying behavior which

i can explain

so i knew the answer and i explained and

then they asked me to give an example of

any kind of buying behavior and also

give a sub example so i explained

habitual buying behavior then i actually

give an example of my father how he goes

to the market to buy a specific brand

for a specific product and if we ask him

why will you buy this brand only he does

not have an answer and it is completely

because of his habit so that is perhaps

full buying behavior the next question

which they asked me was

as i'm interested in marketing and if i

get into micah which will be the

specialization which i will be looking

forward to i said that i would be

interested in branding so they asked me

name a company which is very famous for

its branding the first name which popped

in my head was starbucks and i said it

then they asked me how the starbucks

branding is different from those of

other companies i tried to explain

whatever point was you know i knew about

then the next question was which are

calls do i have

i told that to them and they asked me to

rank every single call which i had and

give an explanation why

that particular college got that

particular rank so it was very very

difficult for me to actually rank those

thing but i did it and also gave a legit

explanation for my

reasoning and then they asked me okay

not ask they basically said to me that

since my financial knowledge is not that

great i knew for a fact that this was

because of that three thousand rupees

cup blunder we just assume that i'm

shitty with my maths

and uh

they said that you should not be going

for a marketing specialization it's not

for you you should be doing a general

mba ah because in general mba you will

be

taught marketing finance operation you

will be learning everything holistically

and you can actually implement

everything in your business and if you

just take on a marketing then your

company will definitely not do good

because we just saw that your financial

thing is not that strong explain them to

him that what my plan is and why i feel

like i made for marketing and creativity

and basically i enhanced the creativity

part because since childhood i was so

much into storytelling and

basically making my new product so it

was very well with

products and branding i told them and i

also said that if in case i feel like

i'm lacking knowledge in few

areas of my business especially the

finance part which they told i said that

i will be hiring other people who can

definitely look into that and i will be

looking into marketing and that was the

end of the discussion and then they

asked me if i wanted to ask something

from them and i asked two questions the

first question which i asked is the

international immersion program which

michael offers is compulsory they said

no it's not compulsory but you have to

select either the international program

or the rural program i said okay and the

second question which i asked is would

you like to take a look at my drawings

because i was carrying my certificates

and my drawing book and they were like

yeah yeah sure why not i handed them my

sketchbooks and they were very intrigued

and they asked me many questions

regarding my drawing and they asked me

since when am i actually

drawing and painting i said since i was

four years old they took their time to

actually look into my drawings which i

again was very happy about

and after that they said it was very

nice meeting you thank you and my pi was

over after that my ge round was starting

now the second round or the ge round

in the ge round people are divided among

groups a group contains six to seven

people our group had six people in it

and i was the only girl and five of them

were boys and we were very nervous

actually because every group got a

different topic and we had no idea what

the topic was

when we entered the ge room there were

two professors and they gave us a cheat

like i remember that it was like this

long everyone got one and the topic was

written there our topic was

make a poster showcasing the ukraine and

russia crisis and how the different

countries are playing their role so we

had to make a poster and after making

the poster one of us had to act like the

un general and the remaining of us had

to take the poster and explain to the un

general how the situation is like it was

basically like

a map or a something like that sorts and

we had to act as if we are actually

explaining the crisis to the un general

the professor said that we would be

getting 30 minutes the professors will

not be interrupting us

will not be taking part in the

interaction they will be just standing

afar and observing our body language how

we work as a team and evaluating us and

we will not be able to talk

or take any kind of permission or

basically speak or tell anything to them

whatever we have to do whether we are

facing a problem or not we need to solve

that among six of us we were giving

chart papers pen pencil everything was

provided there so thank god to that and

we

had to basically

do everything within 30 minutes the

making of poster as well as the

enactment so i was the only painter in

the group and everybody was jotting

their ideas and we decided that after

all the ideas were jotted i will be the

one who will be drawing the entire thing

because none of them were you know

confident enough

whatever it was we did it and one of us

became the un general and the five of us

actually explained to it and we were

able to finish it exactly at the 30

minute mark teacher said that we can we

may leave and yeah it was the end of the

interview so yeah this was the entire

process and i thoroughly enjoyed it

because i am a person who looks into

different unique things and this was

really unlike any other interviews which

i have given because it because of the

psychometric test the story writing uh

test the interview the exercise

everything was so different creativity

and storytelling is something which

really interests me so i think that if

you are like me then you will find this

very interesting and if you are not like

me you don't like these things then i

would suggest you to skip micah because

micah is not everybody's cup of tea it

is very different

and

if you are genuinely interested start

preparing for my cat exam because

believe me the syllabus is unlike any

other exam which you have given and if

in case you need that one-to-one

mentoring session do reach out to me and

that is it for today subscribe to my

channel for all the productivity videos

as long the cat tips everything you need

will be posted and i also will be

announcing a huge thing on my channel so

be patient for that and till then

bye

[Music]