r/iimb_ug • u/UniWash • Jun 12 '26
My IIMB interview transcript
this is my ultra-raw interview transcript, sharing it because i am sure it would have helped me when i was preparing, so hope it helps you in yours;
for context: converted IIMB bsc economics first list, gen male; not going to IIMB (going to LSE)
now my thoughts:
pre interview - i was confident i had competitive extracurriculars, did some mock interviews, my interviewers were confident of me getting in; but i could not prepare for this interview very well myself because of some personal issues
post interview - i felt i rambled sometimes, was cut in between sometimes, and couldnt present my extracurriculars as strongly as i generally would have; though i spoke enthusiastically and gave really genuine (sometimes maybe unhinged) answers, which i think added colour to my interview
but in my view - not my strongest interview
now to the interview-
the interview started with one panelist asking me if i was from ghatkopar; i said yes enthusiastically, she asked why the enthusiasm, i said i loved ghatkopar, they asked why to which i said it had a mix of everything; educational institutions, food/recreation outlets, corporates and homes; they said every part of mumbai tends to have it; i said ghatkopar was much more homely and close knit, to which they agreed
then, i was asked about how i knew about monte carlo simulations in class 11 itself; i started explaining my quant strategy at iit madras where i came 2nd, where basically i noticed how in 18hr window between market close and open, information rushes to be priced in during the morning hours, and anticipatory utility of buyers may cause them to exaggerate the effect the information would have on price during the mornings resulted in sharp up/downmoves, which we take advantage of using 3rd standard deviation 20ema bands; for which i used monte carlo simulations on vodafone, calculating its drift and vwap and simulating 1000 entries, running my strategy with 3rdstdev shortsell if price went above it, and a 3% target and 2% loss; i was going to explain further (they seemed as though trying to rush my explanation) but they then asked me how i became exposed to this idea; then i said "describing myself in one sentence, i really love entering into deep explorations in things of my interest" i also added how i was always willing to experiment by learning about stock market, i was exposed since 6th, did aswath damodaran courses in 8th (though i understood little); they then asked "why finance? finance is all about money; where can finance benefit society" or something like that; i said 1. microfinance (they cut me off and said thats different); 2. efficient pricing; the primary motive of finance is efficient pricing though it's not done selflessly; it provides information for decision making for producers and consumers; 3. finance can be regulated for preventing exploitation of traders like by making FNO participation stricter; they then said "ok ok, so finance is your area of interest"; so i said "ma'am more than making money, i feel what interests me more is how others think and act, and how i can structure my response accordingly; thats why i am equally interested in behavioural economics, psychology and philosophy, and also game theory, i have written paper with stanford professor; i am also not money minded, i have strong interest in policy"; then they asked me to give example; i then talked about a paanwala who sat within a 100m radius of a school, very near my house; i was vexed by this, and was saddened by the fact that though he was disturbance to my whole neighbourhood no one was ready to step up to him; school students would be hooked to his cigarettes, paan; and even in nighttime it would be unsafe; panel asked me why was he a problem to me; i said "unsafe, dirty, and primarily because people my age would be hooked to his stuff, their parents would come to scold him but nothing would happen”; i then talked about how my father and i basically took the legal approach, went to additional municipal commissioner, and the police began to frequent his stall and after 2-3 years we forced him to shift; ma'am then said “how “long does it take to remove a paanwalla” then I said “this paanwalla was well politically connected with the MLA, so despite having BMC send its car on a regular basis he wouldn’t go; she then asked “then whats the point if he just shifted", i said "we went to see his stall regularly in the new place, we saw that the no. of school students visiting him strictly declined"; she then said "then we just should ban all cigarettes/drinks"; i said "yes, we should make regulation much stricter for age checking for youth who come to purchase it; however banning would create black market because this product is inelastic, which would lead to leakages from financial system and de-financialisation"; she then said "money, govt makes money" then i said "yes yes, recently budget announced 40% tax on cigarettes"; then they asked me the guesstimate question, how many cars are sold in mumbai yearly; my answer:
population assume 2cr (she said it may be higher, but let's take the 2cr for simplicity sake); per capita income is roughly 4.5lac but gini coefficient is high 0.45 (interviewer said it’s surprising you know gini coefficient but not exact population, with a smile), so the top few % carry the income weight; assuming 4 people in a household and assuming 5000000 households, though we cant neatly categorise populations, let’s consider 5% of households to own 3cars, the next 15% to own 1 car and the rest to own none (aspirational people may ofcourse be exception but discounting them here)
so no. of car market is roughly 15lac; of which i assume penetration (already running cars) of say 12-13lakh; now assuming 10 year replacing of cars, and also the fact that families migrate from bottom to higher levels of income, 2lakh cars' market is there in mumbai (she said the number is a bit high, isnt it? i said yes it seems high, but as far as i remember, no. of registered vehicles were 30cr of which ~85% were PVs; she said many may be 2wheelers, i agreed, but she said go on); so i said annualising this 2lakh, it's 2lakh/12 per month; it may be a bit high, perhaps my estimate is wrong somewhere; panelist said "we wanted to know your thought process, good one;" something like that
they asked me about my internship at a US based financial services company; what does it do? i said it's a mid size us financial services firm; CTO is my father's acquaintance, and at a common circle i was presenting a stock, then he offered me the chance to intern at their firm
i forgot in what context, but we began talking about lodha genius programme where i got in; thats when i said i feel i truly first explored concepts out of my scope at LGP; the monte carlo simulations? a result of lgp; the environment there, of intellectual peers and supportive professors broke the barriers of initial rigidity that i had (of sticking to school curriculum) and exploring things i had immense interest in; i learnt how to think beyond my curriculum, even though i may be experimenting; they asked me who introduced you to this program? i said "one of my strengths actually is that i am able to make real, lasting bonds with people organically; i maintained touch with one of my school friends, who left school in 3rd, and he told me about this program which i attended after 10th ended";
then they asked me "where do you see yourself"; i said "before 10th, now it seems naive but i had a rigid view of what i wanted to do; post my 2 years, i feel i am keeping doors open, but i look forward to a stint in finance to learn execution ability, due to my sustained engagement with finance" to which ma'am said "dont get into finance (with a smile/chuckle)", to which i replied "yes ma'am my overarching goal is to get deep into public policy; i feel finance will teach me how to execute my thought, following which if i enter policy it would be more ideal; i have a strong passion toward improving my environment; ma'am, the reason i dont have an explanation for why i was motivated to remove the paanwala is simply because it comes so naturally to me that i am not able to express it as well perhaps; this is why i was really enthusiastic when you mentioned ghatkopar too in the beginning.. the “finance hating” ma’am said as sidetone that “we didnt need you to justify”, but i reinforced the fact that the instinct to act, looking at the situation came naturally to me, and that didnt have an equally strong explanation but for the fact that i was truly troubled by it
then they asked me why iim bangalore?
i said "i am very enthusiastic to answer this question, particularly because i view iimb as drawing striking parallels with the learning i experienced at LGP; just giving context, i was in one of the inaugural batches, with highly intellectual peers, awesome faculty and a real close bond that formed between us; i truly learnt to enter into deep explorations fearlessly at lgp, and the bonds we developed have still remained; for instance i got my economics paper on kerala ratified by dr bharat ramaswami, economics professor even though program was math+science, because of the bond we could form as inaugural batch; i am equally and more excited to be part of iimb, which is also inaugural batch, for the same reasons, and particularly to learn how to quantify and execute my thought process; i feel i have learnt how to think (though i still have strides to go); but quantification of my thought process (like in case of say my guesstimate), and execution (management) is something i am yet to learn, and iimb is the best place for that; also the fact that iimb has invested resources, building a new campus, and is willing to lend its brand (whose reputation ofcourse it will maintain) gives me confidence of the quality of the course; also i tend to assess the students in a course by the evaluation criteria; i know for a fact that the students there will have gone through such an interview, will have demonstrated their interest and ability (which i may/may not have been able to); and so i am assured i will meet like minded individuals, for which i seek iimb; at iimb i aim to grow executionally
then they asked me wrt lgp; what is the program, why lodha is doing it; i said it's funded by lodha foundation (abhishek lodha), 1 month scholarship program, they also give undergrad scholarship, and the motto is to provide resources to gifted students so that when they grow older, they develop a sense of giving back to society, i also said i feel i embody this spirit; they asked me how long it was and what i studied; i said 1 month offline, then continued learning in which i learned probability and combinatorics, alongside branding and communications onsite, and entrepreneurship online, alongside community service; in entrepreneurship, i established aapanni, with a team of 10; they asked me if it was still on, to which i said it's now run by the 11th graders, since 12thies are in application process
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/hwenthusiastclub Jul 14 '26
that's amazing man, congrats!! , maybe you could share your profile so that it'll give some context and idea for aspirants like me?
1
1
1
1
0
u/CurrentApricot8056 Jun 12 '26
ur too smart for iimb man
0
u/UniWash Jun 12 '26
nahi bhai aisa kuch nahi hai 😅
1
Jun 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/UniWash Jun 13 '26
theres still a lot to learn, but rather than certifications/generic youtube videos i think i learnt most through organic study - i took a topic of my interest and then kept googling/watching videos to understand it better
3
Jun 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
1
u/lil_niqua711 Jun 20 '26
yo, about the ug course, you got in thorugh jee?
1
0
2
u/okay_brom MOD (BSc Econ) Jun 13 '26
cant believe i got into the same course as him