At IIMs, there is a diverse range of people who come for
different purposes. So, a preface to the readers of this article, if one of
those purposes is learning, then only should you proceed with reading this article
or you may not find it useful.
Director’s Merit List or DML as they all say is nothing but
a way of an institute to appreciate your outstanding academic performance
vis-à-vis your fellow batch mates. Nothing less, nothing more. Kudos! Achieving
this is of course a moment of joy, but remember not to get it in your head.
This article discusses the steps one can take to reach that position. Some may be motivational, some practical. But in the end, all of this matters.
- Give due importance to prep courses –
The best way to finish something well is to
start it well. Normally, before a full-fledged MBA course starts, the institute
shares or recommends a few courses that one is expected to have read before the
classes start. One should not take them lightly, especially if you do not have
a background in those subjects and more importantly, because these form the
base of the upcoming studies in the course.
These prep courses also change the mode of
learning from being teacher-taught to self-learning. It is an important aspect
that one needs to imbibe in their inherent nature since now you are
transitioning from under-graduation to post-graduation and from here on, there
is no coming back?
2.
Focus on learning –Part 1–
This is one aspect that most students do
not take seriously and consciously. Students think that learning comes
automatically with the class teachings. But, one needs to understand that a
single class taught by the same professor gives different lengths and depths of
learnings to different students.
You need to be a diligent listener to grasp
as much learning as possible from a class. Pay most of your attention to listening
and comprehending vis-à-vis to scrapping facts in your notebook.
A pro-tip to the readers: Do your pre-reads
before class. Even when you have had a tiring, busy day, do put in 20-30
minutes of doing the pre-reads or else the 90 minutes of your next day of class
go to waste.
3.
Focus on learning – Part 2–
Another and a major component of your
learning comes from your peers via project activities. Normally, the project’s
objective is broadly-defined. Choose the project topic of your interest and put
in the hard work! There is no short cut to this one. The structure, depth, and
width of your project define your learning from the project. Do not hesitate
to take guidance from professors whenever needed.
When given liberty, choose your
academic projects’ group members wisely. Be an active member and be well-read
about the project’s background and confident enough in discussing your opinions
in the group meetings. Also, try to keep a tab on time during these meetings as
they may take a lot of time with sometimes no outcomes at the end. Try to list
and prioritize the agenda for the meeting in your Whatsapp group a day or two
before the meeting. Taking this initiative will bring clarity and hence save
time for all.
4.
Be consistent –
This is something that is very important
because grading systems for MBA test students on a consistent basis. No more do
we see an 80/20 grading pattern, it is more like a 10-20-30-10-30 pattern. Try
to perform well in all of the quizzes, case study submissions, simulations, exams,
etc. For this, you will need to be constantly aware of articles and cases
discussed in the classroom and the relevant textbook materials. In short,
consistent hard work is the key!
Despite following all the above, there is no guarantee that
you will get a DML. This is because DML is a way of an institute to appreciate
your outstanding academic performance vis-à-vis your fellow batch mates. Postgraduate degrees typically have a GPA
grading system and the performance of the batch hugely defines your GPA. So, if
all your fellow batch mates are performing more or less like you, there is a
scant chance of you getting a DML. You have to perform better academically in order to reach the top 5% of your batch.
Even after writing all of the above myself, my personal
opinion is that the focus should always be on learning and other things will automatically
fall in place. Remember that DML is just a milestone in your journey, and the
journey has just started.
AUTHOR’S BIO
Vaishali Chandani (DML, IIM Visakhapatnam 2019-21)
Vaishali is currently an MBA student at IIM Visakhapatnam.
She is a fresher and a rank-holder in B.Com Hons. at NMIMS, Mumbai (2015-18).
She is also CFA level 1 holder and has completed her summer internship at
CRISIL Ltd. She is a persistent achiever and a thriving individual with
interests and aspirations in finance.
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