A Postcard from Nikita · IIT KGP → IIM A → BCG

A Postcard from Nikita IIT Kharagpur → IIM Ahmedabad → Consultant at BCG

Hi,

Let me tell you what my life looks like today — because when I was in Class 10, no one ever told me this kind of life was even possible.

This week, I'm in Mumbai. Last week, Bangalore. Next month, maybe Jakarta or Dubai — my company pays for all of it. I'm 24. I work at BCG, one of the most respected consulting firms in the world. My job is to help the biggest companies in India and abroad solve their hardest problems.

Imagine this: the CEO of a huge company — someone who runs a business of thousands of crores — sits across from me and asks, "Nikita, should we launch this product? Should we enter this country?" And my team and I spend weeks figuring out the answer.

I earn more in a year than my parents earned in ten. I work hard — sometimes very hard — but I'm learning things every day that most people don't learn in a lifetime.

And here's the wild part — five years ago, I was a student just like you.

Let me tell you how I got here.

1. Engineering at IIT Kharagpur. I studied Electronics — but loved math more than circuits. I joined a club that helped small businesses solve problems. Slowly I figured out: I didn't just want to build things, I wanted to decide what should be built and why.

2. The CAT decision. In my final year, while friends applied for coding jobs, I prepared for CAT — the entrance exam for IIMs. Just like JEE opens IITs, CAT opens IIMs.

3. Two years at IIM Ahmedabad. The hardest two years of my life. Cases at midnight. Classmates so sharp they made me question myself daily. I came out clearer, more confident, knowing what I wanted next.

4. Joining BCG. Starting salary higher than most engineers earn after 10 years of work. But more than the money — the work was the dream. Travel, big problems, smart people, real impact.

Here's what I want you to know: this entire road starts with what you choose after Class 10. Pick science with math. Take the entrance exams seriously. Get into a good engineering college — doesn't have to be IIT; NITs, BITS and good state colleges lead here too. Somewhere in those 4 years, you'll discover what excites you.

I came from a normal middle-class family. No one in my family had done an MBA before me. If I could walk this path — you can too.

"Dream a little bigger. The road is wider than your school is telling you."

— Nikita · IIT Kharagpur, 2021 · IIM Ahmedabad, 2023 · Consultant at BCG

Here's how to walk the MBA road — starting from Class 10

For anyone curious about strategy, business, or consulting. Practical, in the same voice as the letter above.

Now → Class 11–12

Pick what you'll love studying

Don't pick commerce just because you've heard MBAs need it. Top MBA students come from every stream — engineering, commerce, economics, even arts. Pick what genuinely interests you.

If math excites you — PCM (widest options later)
If business / numbers do — Commerce with Economics
If reading / society do — Humanities with Economics + Math

Undergrad

Your foundation matters more than the ‘MBA prep’

Engineering (B.Tech) — the most common feeder to top IIMs. Any branch works.
Economics / Commerce at SRCC, Ashoka, Krea, ISI Kolkata, St. Stephen's
Pure sciences — less common but absolutely possible
CA / CFA route — different path, similar finance destinations

The MBA entrance exams

How you get into a top program

CAT — the big one. Held every November. Top scores → IIM A/B/C interviews.
XAT — XLRI Jamshedpur
GMAT — for foreign MBAs (and ISB Hyderabad)
SNAP, NMAT, CMAT — second-tier MBA exams

When to take the MBA

Three honest timings

Straight after college — like I did. Tougher to get in but possible.
After 2–3 years of work — most common. Work experience makes your application stronger and your MBA more useful.
After 5–7 years — usually for top foreign MBAs (HBS, Stanford, Wharton)

Where to do it

Top programs in India and abroad

India top tier — IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta · ISB Hyderabad · FMS Delhi · XLRI Jamshedpur
India next tier — IIM Kozhikode, Lucknow, Indore · MDI Gurgaon · IIFT · SP Jain
USA — HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, MIT Sloan
UK / Europe — LBS, Oxford Saïd, INSEAD, HEC Paris
Asia — NUS, NTU, CEIBS

After MBA

Four main roads

Consulting — BCG, McKinsey, Bain (what I do)
Product Management — Google, Flipkart, Amazon, Microsoft
Finance / Investment Banking — Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMC
Marketing / Sales leadership — HUL, Nestlé, ITC, Tata

You don't need to plan all of this at 15. Pick a stream you'll actually enjoy, work hard, and stay curious about how businesses really work. The road is wider than your school knows. — Nikita