Dressed in shorts and a crumpled white t-shirt and sitting coyly in his apartment in Dombivali, on the outskirts of Mumbai, Shashank Prabhu looks more like the teenager next door who you’d see rushing to his tuition classes. But once he begins to speak, the confidence and command of a topper are quite evident. Prabhu topped the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) for management this year by scoring 179/200 and a 99.99 percentile. “I kind of knew I would top the exams. I believed in it,” he says as a matter of fact. Studying to become a doctor, Prabhu is working towards treading the unusual path of first becoming an MBA and then ‘managing’ his own medical business.
What was your reaction like when you realised that you had topped the CET?
Frankly, I was not too surprised. I kind of had the feeling I would top. The mock tests I undertook had gone very well, so I thought I could do it. I scored 168 to 170 in my mock tests so I knew that at least 170 was possible. After my papers were done, I found them rather easy and I knew somewhere in my mind that I would be among the top if not the very top. So getting a score of 179 finally was not so far-off really.
Do you suggest that those studying for management entrance exams take a lot of mock tests to enable themselves?
Not at all, it all depends on the exam one is sitting for. For the CET, one does not need to do too many mock tests. I did about 10 of them and ascertained where I stood. When I realised that I was confident, I was cool. I know some people who have done 50 to 60 mocks but I did not want to get bored with the CET. I did only enough tests to give me my confidence in the subject. I believe too many mock tests might even drive a student away from his subject, especially if it is the CET. I guess in the CAT one can do many more mock tests.
Would you call the CET paper as easy?
Yes, definitely. In fact, it was the easiest so far. I have sat for the CAT, IIFT, SNAP, XAT, FMS and finally CET. CET was the last of the series of exams and by far the easiest.
Did you attempt all the questions?
Yes and I finished the paper in just two hours though we are given two and a half hours to write it. That helped tremendously. Because I went with the flow and since I finished so early, I was confident of good marks. Finishing in two hours was my goal and I used to attempt that even while giving my mock exams. It’s good to finish early so that the extra time you have in hand can be used for something that comes up in the mind later. The last-minute rushing with a paper gives a lot of stress to students.
But doesn’t one reach some kind of a fatigue, say after an hour or so of attempting the paper?
Yes, which is why if you finish off the paper fast, you can avoid the fatigue. I know of people who finish off the first half of the paper in one-hour flat and then struggle with the rest of the paper for the next hour and a half. That is when the fatigue comes in. But since I kept a time-limit for myself, I felt fresh till the last question. In fact, I also attempted my mocks in two hours flat every time, which is why completing the final exam in two hours worked for me.
How did you study for the entrance exams?
I did not do anything special or extra. I just made sure that two and a half hours everyday I gave only to my studies. The two and a half hours slot I derived from the time given to complete the paper. These two and a half hours could be anytime of the day. I never studied deep into the night as it was not needed. A serious two and a half hours without any disturbance is far better than sitting with the books the whole day.
Did you do any cramming just before the exams?
None at all. In fact, the day before the CET I slept very very well and went a little easy a few days before. As I told you, I expected the exam to go well since my mocks went well so there was nothing to worry about.
How easy or difficult was studying for the CET after already having appeared for the CAT?
CAT covers the basics and much more while CET is basically just the basics. If you have the basics right, you are on the right track. But in the CET, unlike the CAT speed is very important and students should make sure their speed is good. The CET paper can actually be solved in three to three and a half hours but to solve it in two and a half hours is what is needed. Which is why I worked on my speed and made sure I solved the paper in two hours flat. And with speed one needs accuracy. Students must maintain an accuracy level of 80% to 85% which if coupled with speed can give super results.
Since you have pursued medicine before joining MBA, you would have been out of touch with math. How then did you manage the quantitative ability part?
I liked math and was pretty good at it when in school and college and for the CAT exam, the level of math is the same as that in class X or XII.
What distractions did you avoid during the studies?
None except for the GD call-letters that I got from XLRI Jamshedpur and FMS Delhi in the beginning of Feb which was the same month that the CET was held. I could have taken it easy with my studies but I did not. I also got a call from MDI Gurgaon and the Agri-Business Management course of IIM Ahmedabad which I did not want to take up.
Is there anything one must not do while studying for the exams?
Yes, people should kept their concentration going while studying so that when on exam day, that concentration helps. I have noticed that people really lose their concentration while studying and then it becomes difficult for them to get it back.
Which coaching class did you attend?
I went to T.I.M.E. and that helped to an extent, but finally one has to work hard as well.
Does it help to study alone or does the classroom atmosphere work better?
It’s always better to be alone while studying. It gives you a better grasp. But yes, studying in a group gives you a competitive edge and makes you confident as well.
So which B-school will you join this year?
I have almost got through to JBIMS Mumbai but I have not decided as yet.
What are you waiting for?
I might appear for the CAT exam again next year and then try to get through the IIMs. I would love to do my MBA in an IIM.
Is it worth waiting an entire year for it?
Yes it is. An IIM is something else. Or I might take up JBIMS and continue studying for the CAT and then take a shift, depending on my scores. I have not really decided what to do at this point. Or I might just pursue my MBBS till the CAT exam.
What made you want to discontinue studying medicine and take the MBA entrance exams?
Medicine is what made me look at MBA. I realised that the medicine scene is very badly managed in our country. In fact, there is no management sense in our country at all in the medical field. Having studied in Grant Medical College and then interned with the JJ Hospital, I found out that while the medical (knowledge) bit of it is very good, there is no applied business sense to it. How many hospitals and medical institutions are run by non-medical people? Very few. While you certainly need medical expertise, you also need a manager to run medical establishments and that too an efficient manager.
Can you explain this specifically?
There are lots of little examples which make me feel the need for better planning in the medical field. Take small instances such as the time we used to collect blood during blood camps. We had to collect the blood, store it and take it to its destination. Basically we (doctors) had to handle everything. I think if there is some thinking to how this works, people can be better utilised. Even when we had to be on duty round the clock during my internship, most doctors were overworked. All this was not because there was a shortage of personnel but because no one really thinks about planning processes better. Better thinking would ensure that doctors on 24×7 duty are fresh and in a better frame of mind to attend to their patients.
But in India, isn’t being a doctor far more glamorous than holding an MBA degree?
Yes, but it’s changing nowadays. I was not happy being a doctor. I was not enjoying myself only because the profession is run very badly. There is no proper planning. I’d like to go back to to medicine but only if I can plan it better. I love biology so I took up the medical field. I would not recommend the medical profession to anyone unless one is very serious about it. At least not in the present conditions. It needs vast improvements.
Did you voice your concerns to your senior professors or doctors at the hospitals in which you worked?
Not really. The system is such that even my professors and senior doctors are overworked. They were all very good in their jobs and gave me good training but I realised that that is not all to being a doctor. You need that something more to run a good hospital.
So then why did you not apply to a b-school abroad, which have highly evolved courses designed on healthcare management?
Yes, they do but they also need much more work-experience which I did not want to put in. Applying abroad meant that I had to practice somewhere for two years at least and I was sure I did not want to do that.
But in Indian b-schools, at the most you will find one elective dealing with healthcare administration, so how will that help?
In India, FMS Delhi and IIHMR, Jaipur have courses such as hospital administration but these cover issues about social medicine and medical jurisprudence. And I feel then there is little difference in courses such as these and any other MBA. They still do not cover what exactly I have in mind.
Is your family okay with you shifting from the medicine to do an MBA?
I only have my mother who has been more than supportive to my decision. In fact, she has encouraged me all the way.
Being the only son, don’t you feel the need to start working as early as possible and supporting the household?
Yes, but life has balanced out well for me and I am planning to merge both my medical as well as business acumen to do much better in life.
Where do you see yourself 5-10 years down the line?
I will be having my hospital which I will run efficiently because of my MBA degree.
What advice do you have for other MBA aspirants?
Don’t overdo the studying especially if it is the CET. Study till you are confident. One can actually get bored of studying for the exams. Sit for the mocks as they give a clear indication of the student’s capability.