How Did a Product Manager Convert IIM Ahmedabad PGPX and IIM Kozhikode PGP-BL?
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
Vedant Kukreti, a product manager with 4 years of experience spanning infrastructure strategy at Cube Highways, a climatetech startup, and product management, shares his journey of converting both IIM Ahmedabad PGPX and IIM Kozhikode PGP-BL — scoring 324 on the GRE, discovering that AI tools produce "good generic answers" that prepare you less for interviews, and articulating a principle that every MBA applicant should hear: know exactly what you want from your consultant before you engage one.
Product managers occupy a distinctive position in the MBA applicant pool. Their work sits at the intersection of technology, business, and user experience — exactly the cross-functional thinking that B-schools value. But their applications face a specific challenge: product management is increasingly common in MBA cohorts, which means differentiation requires more than "I'm a PM." It requires demonstrating what kind of PM you are, what trajectory brought you there, and what the MBA enables that continued PM experience does not.
Vedant Kukreti differentiated through an unconventional trajectory. He never started in engineering despite his BTech in IT. He began in strategy at Cube Highways — an infrastructure company formed by American hedge funds and Japanese consortiums — moved through a climatetech startup, and then into product management. This strategy-first, infrastructure-to-tech career path gave him a profile that stood out in a cohort of PM applicants who mostly followed the standard engineering-to-PM pipeline.
Why Did He Choose GRE Over GMAT — and What Score Strategy Worked?
Vedant's test selection was grounded in self-awareness about his strengths.
"I chose to go ahead with GRE because one thing was that I was relatively familiar — in my BTech, a lot of my friends had taken GRE, so I had some familiarity. When I researched, I realized that GRE is widely accepted by all the top business schools."
"The verbal section which is more vocabulary-based is something I felt I'll be more comfortable with compared to the GMAT."
This vocabulary-versus-grammar distinction is critical for Indian applicants. GMAT verbal tests sentence correction, critical reasoning, and reading comprehension with a grammar emphasis. GRE verbal tests vocabulary depth, text completion, and sentence equivalence alongside reading comprehension. Applicants with strong vocabulary and reading habits tend to find GRE verbal more natural. Applicants with strong grammar and logical reasoning skills may prefer GMAT verbal.
Vedant scored 324 on the GRE — a strong score that placed him well above the cohort average for IIMA PGPX. Combined with his distinctive career trajectory, the score created a competitive application.
For GRE preparation, GMAT vs GRE comparison, and understanding test acceptance at IIMs, explore the GOALisB resources.
What Makes the MBA Application Fundamentally Different from the GRE?
Vedant articulates a distinction that many applicants fail to appreciate until they are deep in the process.
"Both are challenging in their own ways. When you're taking an exam like the GRE or GMAT, you exactly know what needs to be done — it's just discipline and putting in the hours. The challenge is from a discipline point of view."
"For the application, there's no set pattern or set template. The application strategy can be very different. How you would want to present your profile and the story — why you want to choose this school, why you want to pursue MBA — that was more challenging for me."
The GRE is a convergent challenge — there is a defined syllabus, a fixed format, and measurable progress. The application is a divergent challenge — there are infinite ways to frame your story, no objectively "correct" answer, and quality is determined by how the admissions committee subjectively responds to your narrative. Engineers and product managers, accustomed to convergent problem-solving, find this divergent challenge particularly unsettling.
"That's where your help actually came very handy — where I had to strategize how I can apply in these schools, working on the essays and SOPs, and planning about what generally can be accepted and what is right and wrong."
For understanding the IIMA PGPX application process, MBA essay strategy, and how to get into IIM executive MBA, explore the GOALisB resources.
Why Do AI Tools Prepare You Less for Interviews?
Vedant's perspective on AI in essay writing goes beyond the standard "don't use ChatGPT" advice — he explains the specific downstream cost.
"If you use any AI tool, it will give you a good generic answer with some verbose sentences. It will not be very genuine — it will be easy to identify that you're just trying to fill up sentences and paragraphs with words which are not genuine to you."
But the deeper problem is interview preparation: "Using the tool might give you a good answer, but in the longer term it will prepare you lesser for the interviews. It will not let you go in depth as much as you possibly would if you did everything on your own."
"When you write those answers yourself, you're able to express it in your own style. You actually learn more about yourself — you might find something you are missing out on. You are preparing for an interview as well, because you're constantly thinking about different things you can mention, and these can be the things that could be asked in the interview."
This is the most sophisticated articulation of the anti-AI argument in this series. The essay-writing process is not just about producing a document — it is a self-discovery and interview-preparation exercise. Every hour you spend wrestling with how to express your career story in 250 words is an hour of interview preparation. AI removes this preparation layer while producing a superficially acceptable output.
For MBA essay authenticity and the ISB essay writing guide, explore the GOALisB resources.
What Was the IIMA PGPX Interview Experience Like?
"Interviews are pretty challenging because one does not know what the professors or the interview panel can throw at you. One has to be very clear and sure — what you'll answer in terms of your profile, work experience, and why you want to pursue the programme."
"IIM Ahmedabad has an extempore section where they give you a random topic and you need to talk about that by picking a side — for or against — and lay down your thought process. It was very challenging because the nerves are very high."
"Being calm, genuine, and natural is the only way you can excel in that."
His practical preparation approach: "I prepared very hard and did lots of mock interviews with you, and then practiced on my own to understand and anticipate what can be possibly asked."
For mastering the IIMA PGPX interview, IIM interview questions, and what is asked in IIM interviews, explore the GOALisB resources.
Watch the full conversation on the GOALisB YouTube channel: Vedant Kukreti — Product Management to IIMA PGPX
What Should You Know Before Engaging an MBA Admissions Consultant?
Vedant offers the most precise consultant-engagement framework in this series.
"Two things have to be clear. You need to know exactly what you want from the consultant — which area you want to focus on. Do you want them to identify different schools? Do you want them to help with your story? Do you want somebody you can connect with instantly to resolve your queries?"
"Once that is clear, then you'll be able to gauge — this person might be able to add value for me."
"I was looking for someone to help me in the application process, which I had not done and was not very clear on. That's why it worked very well when I got in touch with you — because I knew you would be able to help me in this area."
The principle: define your needs before evaluating consultants. Applicants who approach consultants without clarity about what they need end up either over-paying for services they do not require or under-utilising services that could transform their application.
Explore GOALisB's services, charges, and reviews.
What Advice Does He Have for Future Applicants?
Start early and apply in Round 1. "I started relatively early. I was not lagging behind. Having that breathing space is very important — otherwise, if you're too crammed, you don't have time to refine your essays and your thought process."
Understand what MBA offers beyond career transition. "MBA is more than just making a transition in your career or switching industry."
Write essays yourself — AI undermines interview preparation. The essay-writing process is where you discover your story. Outsourcing it to AI removes that discovery.
Be clear about what you want from a consultant. Define your needs before your first call. The engagement will be productive only if both sides know what success looks like.
Be calm, genuine, and natural in interviews. Preparation builds confidence. Confidence enables naturalness. Naturalness is what the panel responds to.
Key Takeaways for Product Managers Targeting IIMA PGPX
An unconventional PM trajectory (strategy → climatetech → product) differentiates more than a standard engineering-to-PM path. Make your distinctive journey visible.
GRE's vocabulary-based verbal suits applicants with strong reading habits. Take diagnostic mocks of both GRE and GMAT before committing.
The application is a divergent challenge — fundamentally different from the convergent GRE. Expect it to be harder in a different way.
AI tools produce acceptable essays but undermine interview preparation. The self-discovery that happens during writing is irreplaceable.
The IIMA extempore tests composure under pressure. Being calm and genuine matters more than having the "right" answer.
Define what you need from a consultant before engaging one. Clarity about your needs drives productive engagement.
This admit story is part of the GOALisB Admit Stories series, featuring real journeys of professionals who secured admits to IIM Ahmedabad PGPX, IIM Kozhikode PGP-BL, and other top one-year MBA programmes.
GOALisB Higher Education Consulting works with product management, technology, and strategy professionals to build compelling applications for IIM executive MBA programmes and ISB PGP. Connect with GOALisB to discuss your profile and IIMA PGPX strategy.