Not The Right Time

"Staying at IBA is far more difficult than getting into it". This is a phrase we constantly heard during our first year and I assume most of the new entrants have heard it as well. The authenticity and correctness of this phrase should never be doubted, specially if you are in your first semester.

IBA has strict academic, disciplinary and grading policies, and hard work is demanded from whoever enters its premisis. First things first, the GPA of a 1st semester student is his main priority , "You do not wan't to end up out of IBA after the first semester once you've distributed sweets among your relatives for getting into it" said Dr.Khadija Bari, the economics professor during her first session. Unfortunatley it turned out to be that way for 3 of my classmates and 19 other students. The primary reason was prioritizing politics and keeping GPA the second concern.

This mistake proved out to be fatal and I can't help look back at the times I spent with those friends, we used to be there at soccer, go out for lunches, have gossip, and one of the person dropped out was the most popular student of the class, It was a real shock.

Involvement in politics is not evil, however this is not the right time, the first priority is staying at IBA, and for that one needs to concentrate on studies. There would be seniors approaching you from every corner of the campus, asking for their loyalty, and what not, but being apolitical, at least for the first year, would definitely be the wisest call.

All the 22 students who dropped out last year tried again this year around, and (as far as I know), only one of them got back, three of them were denied admission in the intervies & GD sections, which indicates that once you're out, IBA tries to make sure you don't get in again, they prefer to give a chance to other deserving candidates, so once out, the odds are stacked seriously against you to get in again.

The courses of the 1st semester are very demanding, and if luck isn't on your side , you may end up getting very "Unfriendly" teachers and a class average gpa of 2.7 ( This was the case with our class).

All of the freshies, I'm sure, have had a torrid six months preparing for IBA, and they ought to have another similar six months to ascertain their stay at IBA, this is the right way to go about things, the only feasable option...

What about the Campuses?

For the first time the IBA administration has decided to make a single student body, comprising of both the campuses. This has never happened before and is something debatable. The bright prospects of this decision can be more unity and less discrimination among students of the main and city campuses. I am a student of the city campus, I missed out the main campus by a single mark in the IQ section, and for the entire year I was mocked by friends for being a "CITY WALA".

This is the case with most of us, although there's no real difference between intelligence or aptitude levels of the students of both campuses. The fear or possible consequence of this decision can be insufficient representation of one of the campuses. The elections will be very transparent and fair, what if one campus comes out as the dominant one and wins all the positions up for grabs, this is a real possibility considering the perception of difference, although minor, students have about their compatriots in the opposite campus.

I am not exactly sure what might transpire if such events take place, perhaps my seniors can elaborate.... 

Why Commitment and not Cash is the call of the day.

With the approach of the election season , candidates turn to their cash safes for help.We see parties, movie nights, dinners and a lot more but should this be the prime reason why a candidate should win ?

Most of us experienced this last year. There were at least 3 to 4 events by competetors, each trying to outclass, almost literally in cash terms, the other. All of them aimed to get the new entrants on their side and, to be brutally honest, we felt for it. I won't like to comment on the amount of satisfaction, or dissatisfaction we felt after the results but one thing was for sure,Commitment and honesty didn't prove out to be the primary criterion for votes.

I hope things change this time around, and voters think twice before deciding anything.

ELECTIONS and d FRESHIES !!

1st August 2008, I walked through the shabby koridoor of IBA, after attending my class, looking for people to talk to, people who could guide me, people with whom I would feel at ease, and in came a couple of guys, volunteering help which I never asked for, Initially I thought of them as angels :P, unselfish people helping their juniors out,(perhaps that was their secondary purpose), but as it turned out they were helping themselves out, these were friends of a candidate for the student body elections...

I still, however, believe that the help they gave me, was really appreciable. It really gave an indication about the magnanimous ambiance that was IBA...

This September we'll witness a similar trend, only this time the needy will be the freshies... fresh faces will try to find out where they've reached, and just like that .. you'd be struck upon by people who'd LOVE to help u...

This is Election season, and the parties are on... We cant wait to have our share of MUFTA already... the candidates will give it their all... specially with the freshies... they'd be invited to dinners, events, movie nights and what not..

So any freshy reading out this post, be ready for a really good first month !!

Assesment Test

IBA has decided to take an assessment test of all new entrants... last year they had a similar sort of test as well... English and Maths were tested and people who failed to clear the cutoff had to take remedial courses of their respective courses.. I suppose the pattern is going to be the same this time around as well... 

POINT TO BE NOTED :

YOUR ADMISSION WILL NOT BE UNDER JEOPARDY ... 

So Any Misgivings should be cleared... Do prepare for the test by the way..cuz if you fail you may end up having only 3 courses in the first semester and two in the summers... so you won't be able to take advance courses...

and if you fail in enlgish.. Obviously you won't be able to take english grammar and composition, which is a prerequisite for SPEECH COMMUNICATION, a course of the 2nd semester..

Best of Luck...

TED- The Inspirationals

When I started this blog I wanted to come across something interesting,something inspiring, not just superflous talks , over and over again... TED was perhaps the perfect place to look for something creative, I know it all may seem common sense in retrospect, simple thoughts, presented in artistic ways can be really stirring...

We are not in a utopia, oh no... IBAians have to go through tough times after graduation, and the better we prepare for it , the more helpful it would be,... a senior was telling me that this year a significant % of IBAians (Batch 09) is actually jobless, and most of them are coming back for MBA, how draining can that be...

Here I'd post links to a few videos ... which I'm sure most of you looking for motivation would fine really helpful...

The 8 Success word: Richrd D. John

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6bbMQXQ180&feature=channel

http://www.ted.com/talks/john_wooden_on_the_difference_between_winning_and_success.html

These are just a couple of videos.. you can always check into TED's website for more...I'll keep on posting interesting stuff

Cheers...

Sick of the traditional shopping? IBA brings teachers for Sale...

Yes you heard it right, for the first time in its "celebrated" history, IBA brings teacher shopping( no you wont be allowed to take the teachers home :P )....

As rumor says, students will have the choice of teachers, although the social sciences department has been denying this rumor, "reliable sources" say that this policy will be implemented to provide choices to the students... a good measure ehh ? ...

While everyone will be eager to choose the easiest teacher, in the quest for As classes will be disintegrated... this may well end up being a sorry state of affairs..

This however, is not official yet...

IBA-Destro-Construction

IBA, The premier business school of the country is going through serious torrid times, or so it seems by the looks of things, the IBA main campus is completely destroyed, the lobby the classes, the basketball court, everything... In what seems like an attempt to make landmarks, the students will have to suffer... !!

Current students may probably be acquainted with the grim environment of IBA, this however will be a shock for them, as for the freshies, GOD ... they'd be really shocked at their choice of career :P .. maybe..

Well I and my friends, batch of 012, kind of, know it that construction will be finished by the end of our tenure, so we'd have to study in sand and dust for the next 3 years.. !! crap man..

While we hope k things get right ASAP... the images, of the main campus, posted on FB, were really horrific..

If things don't go right, i.e protracted construction, problems, etc, IBA may be on a standstill for quite some time..

But perhaps it was about time the administration took some risks, with rising competition... It will be really interesting to see what the rest of you are thinking...

Why Traditionalism , Nerdism and Lack of Creativity are Perils !!

You seek out the journals, search the internet, read newspapers, and you'd hardly, if ever find a self made millioniare with a CGPA of 4.00.... Bill gates, & Mark_Zuckerberg were drop outs... but they were creative !! they defied traditionalism and believed in creativity, I know its a Cliche, and even those who promote creativity are pretty flaccid and, sometimes, superflous and repetetive themselves, but the importance of their words should never be underestimated...

Unfortunately, todays systematic education is the result of industrialization process and is meant to create university professors, if corrective and creative steps are not taken... the students have to be the first ones to realize this...

I'm posting a link to a worthwile video... 20 mins..but worth each second of it...

this specially applies to freshies, don't aim for 4.0 gpa ( that doesn't mean don't study at all, infact for the first semester, JUST STUDY)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

The Admission Scene

Its that time of the year again... heartbeats racing along, everyone wanting to get in, while perhaps it is too late to give tips on fighting your way into IBA, its always the right time to talk about what happened, what will happen, and , and what could have been.....

Most of the boiiz and the gals would be crying over what could have been ryt now, kia yaar ek mcq sahi hojata toh mai b IBA mai parhta, .... but don't loose hope guys... IBA is, definitely, and I repeat, definitely, not the end of the world.... Try hard.. get in next time , or choose a better alternative...

As for those who are waiting for their interviews ...best of luck for them... n yea.. do go formally, be confident... and ... aah u know better...