Years ago when someone first told me of Pagalguy, I was curious. What a name! Is this forum really worth it? Or is it for people who are idiots, as the name suggested.
When I first registered here, I was overwhelmed with the amount of information here. It seemed whoever had MBA, anywhere in their mind, was already here.
The first thing anyone would do is seek a profile evaluation. I am so and so..Engineer from so and so college..My college CGPA/GMAT is … I have this work experience.. Can I make it to X/Y/Z college? How are my chances?
Then, the discussions moved on to essays. Someone was seeking clarification on the essay topic, others were asking for a review, still others were seeking feedback on the importance of essays, breakup of final evaluation between acads, essays and interviews..
The groups would become inactive till the interview calls started pouring in. After which, everyone was out there, posting interview schedules, asking if anyone else was around at the same centre, how to prepare, sample questions, discussing current affairs and stuff. It seemed no one wanted to post their own interview questions but know all from others. Even when someone posted his interview questions, people would doubt. And then the long wait started..
2 years ago, around this time of the year, I was checking Pagalguy almost every minute. The results for IIM-Calcutta PGPEX program were awaited. I hoped to be on the list. But no one can really predict the future. Every post update from Pagalguy made me skip a heartbeat. Same was happening with many others like me. People were posting all sorts of stuff. Some were asking for a profile evaluation, some had got dinged from other institutes and were damn depressed. Some others were busy posting rumors like results would come in next 2 hours, 4 hours and so on. Everyone was sharing their interview experiences, on how the interviewer had literally screwed it up. Inside of everyone’s heart was a hope, a dream.. of making it to one of India’s most coveted B-school.
When the results finally came, there was joy all over the forum. Within an hour, a group was created connecting all the admits. The next big questions were loans, comparisons with other B-schools, campus life, what to study before hand and of course the favorite topic of placements. Within days, each city organized its own student meet and people started bonding.
Thank you Pagalguy for our companion in such an important phase of our lives. Today, when I am back on Pagalguy (not as a student but as an author), I still remember the days of frenzy, posts, updates.
Yup, Pagalguy is indeed about mad people, people who are crazy about their MBA dreams!
(Disha, the author of this article is an alumni of IIM-Calcutta PGPEX and also the author of the first book on one-year MBAs in India : My Beloved’s MBA Plans)