NIFT Toppers Interview 2020

Q: – Hi How’s your day going on?

Vartika- I am having a pretty normal day the one which you have in lockdown.

Q: – Congrats for securing AIR 2 in NIFT 2020. So how are you feeling after scoring such a good rank?

Vartika- Thank you so much I am very thrilled but and at the same time shocked as I didn’t expect
such a good rank. But I am very happy about it.

Q: – So Vartika talking about this NIFT 2020 Exam how was the paper was it easy, difficult lengthy?

Vartika- It was CAT paper the creative ability test paper was lengthy but that depends upon how much you want to do because if you want to color and use all the techniques it will be a time consuming process but general ability test paper was completed within the allotted time and the time allotted was enough .If we talk about the difficulty level, I found some parts difficult but all in all the paper was not easy but was not that difficult too.

Q: – Some student came up saying that CAT was really lengthy.

Vartika- Yes, they did not specify generally in the questions they specify that don’t color it or color it but this time it was not specified in the questions so our first approach was to colour them all, so it got the paper lengthy.

Q: – Coming up to the creativity section, so were you good at creativity from the start or you nurtured it?

Vartika- I was able to copy things like when I saw some artists works, I was able to copy it to some extent like 50-60% but I didn’t have my own ideas and I was not aware of the technique and color that should be used together. Thats where Pahal comes in what I had in mind I was not able to draw from memory or whatever I wanted to draw I always needed a reference that’s what they taught me that how to do that.

Q: – Now if we talk about the GAT section, what subjects or section were time consuming?

Vartika- Most time consuming one would definitely be English, the comprehension were really tough I would say because you know as a ICSE student we are expected to be very good English but it was very tough because I have to read it all again and again to mark the words and studied a lot because sir told me that English is very high level but I did not expected to be like this as it was time consuming too but that increased my marks I was able to attempt all the comprehensions and most of them were right but it took a lot of time doing comprehensions. The maths sections, it takes time because you have to do the calculation but it was not very hard if you have studied nicely in 10th and you remember the tricks you would be able to do it easily.

Q: – What about the GK section? How did you prepare for GK?

Vartika- Sir took a GK class every week and gave us a lot of notes and pdfs were there with us I thoroughly went through then I tried to remember everything that sir gave us but I am not good in general knowledge things and don’t read the newspaper but sir told me do so I did. The fashion related GK had some part but static GK came more this time about history of India & usual things which were going on. Some questions were easy but some questions I have not heard about it ever. We should pay more attention so the things for sure like in Maths, English, Reasoning we can still predict what can come but in GK one is not sure what can come.

Q: – Through that coming to the negative marking which was implemented this year how did you cope up with it?

Vartika- I first did all the questions which I was sure that I will get them correct and after that I attempt the questions which I was doubtful about. Sir told me to attempt questions in a way that even if I suffer with negative marking it is balanced from the marks you get from the questions which were correct or through guess work guess in a way that it does not cost you anything and it favors you so I did the questions in a way that even I got the negative marking it did not affect me to that extent because I was not going to attempt those questions any way. So I actually got favour from it.

Q: – So students should attempt only those questions which they know are 100% correct?

Vartika- First of all, we should attempt questions about which they are 100% sure about so because we don’t want to miss anything at least one is able to complete what they know. I was able to attempt everything but what you are good at If you implement it, It will help you so the teachers were amazing as they always helped us and If I was not able to attend the classes on weekend then he used to change slots, so the teachers were one who helped me manage it all.

Q: – Talking about the school studies the school studied are on subjective side and the entrance exam is conceptual based so how did Pahal helped you in seeking the level of success?

Vartika- I believe that in whatever stream you are it will benefit you in some way or the other like Arts students had leverage over me in the creative section but then I had leverage over them in the aptitude part because I know how things work because of my science background. So, Pahal motivated me to take advantage of being a science student by showing them that how things will work .so that actually helped me.

Q: – Great to hear that! What tips and suggestions you would like to give to the NIFT aspirants so that they can score well?

Vartika- Firstly, I feel that students take NIFT lightly thinking that if we study for one or two months, we can do it but it’s not like that! One has to study from the very beginning because if you thing you can cover all the creative part in a month you are wrong. It can take a lifetime as there is so much to the theories and practical. So you should practice from very beginning and you should create a schedule like sometimes, 12th Pursuing find it hard to take out time. I used to reduce the sleep time and study in the night woke up early. Don’t forget to rest I make a personal time table that I have to complete the topics. To be honest, we had 8 months to prepare, in which one can cover the syllabus provided. Some students complain that they are not good at drawing and I was that student but what matters the most is how creative you are and how you are able to present it. Even if you are good in drawing and not able convey exactly what you wanted to write there it is on your mind as examiner will also see whatever you are able to convey the thought and creativity. My only advice is that be focused don’t think that it is a fashion institute you will be able to get there easily. Ask from the rank holders that how much they have to work hard for! If you work hard you will get it!

Q: – Coming to the end of the session Vartika, you shared really good tips with the aspirants so I want to ask again the magical tips you want to give to the aspirants so that they can crack NIFT with a rank?

Vartika- First, it would be to join Pahal because they are actually are the ones who are behind it all. I was not filling up the form for NIFT but sir asked to fill it so I filled it and here I am. I will suggest that do comprehensions a lot try to increase the vocabulary as the English which comes in the paper is not like the usual English which we speak we can all speak English and good at it but you need to be extra good in English because in fashion line English will be used to communicate the most & I am going for fashion communication and my line is only communication so they take into consideration your English very much. I can say half of the GAT paper consisted of English and holds the maximum marks. Even if you are not very good at it they don’t ask you words out of the universe but if you read books as I love reading books. Pick up simple books that have easy language as sometimes in CAT also they ask you to write a paragraph this time also they asked you to fill the details and write what you want to convey so I wrote every sort of English I have in me. So, I feel one must work every day. Secondly, improve your English and thirdly, even if you are not good at art try to enhance your creative mind, I did that through teachers. There were workshops of creative abilities and they ask us to watch movies that will help us. I followed a lots of artist pages on Instagram and see how they work. Don’t follow the artist who just creative something by just seeing rather follow those who create abnormal things which you don’t usually see and invokes the feelings inside like I never thought like that. The art pages will help you looking at things in different way. Expand your creative mind as much as you can and that’s the easiest thing you can do among all the things like you can watch movies,you can read books or draw as every design aspirant loves to draw as that’s a necessity in an aspirant. Go through the past papers you will know what you will know what I am talking about because the English you have to be very good at it like if they say you should know what they mean, the antonyms, synonyms etc. One more thing, colour theory each colour conveys something and if you know the color theory I believe you will be able to attempt the question atleast half of the questions brilliantly because if you know the colors you will create something which are appealing to the eyes and that what I feel examiner look for, As this year among the questions, color questions went good than the shading questions because color doesn’t smudge and shading smudges and it looks very untidy. I tried making it tidy and first impression should be extraordinary to get a good rank.

Q: – Thank you so much Vartika wish you all the best for your career.

Vartika- Thank you mam.

Radhika Ahuja secured Rank 2 in NIFT Entrance Exam 2020 for Masters in Fashion Management (MFM) course admissions. Radhika shared that she would like to join NIFT Delhi for MFM course. A English (Hons) appearing student from Hindu College, University of Delhi Radhika also writes blog on Fashion, Style and Trend and the blog name is FashionFervour which provides you with everything you need to know to make a bold statement that speaks for you.

Radhika’s father and mother both are doctors and she is from Sonepat. Radhika shared that she pursues countless hobbies like “reading books, Fashion Articles and magazines, Fashion Market, writing blogs on Fashion Articles and Participated in lot of Fashion curriculum activities in college for example she was a costume designer at Nakshtra in Hindu College and on professional front she did her internship as a fashion content editor and fashion forecaster at apparel resources.

Pahal Design spoke at lengths with Radhika Ahuja to find out her prep strategy and PI experience in NIFT Entrance Exam 2020 as well as her future plans. Go through the detailed interview below for more insights.

Q. Congratulations! Did you expect to be the topper?

RADHIKA: Thank you so much this is very overwhelming and without Pahal Design this was not possible without guidance of everyone. I didn’t expect to be topper but I did prepare to get a nice rank because I always wanted to be NIFT Delhi and for that you need to get top 10 to 20 Rank in order to be in NIFT Delhi and I was also hoping that I will get a NIFT Delhi but I didn’t expect that I will get All India Rank 2 and that was really big surprise for me.

Q: What is fashion for you?

 RADHIKA: Fashion functions as a powerful mode of self-expression through your freedom to dress up and conquer the world.

Q: What is your score in NIFT admissions 2020?

RADHIKA: I have scored overall 80 out of 100. My common merit rank is 2, whereas my category rank (general) is 2.

Q: How was your NIFT written exam?

RADHIKA: Written exam was quite interesting, though a bit lengthy. It was more of a logical sort than a technical one. 

Q: Did you join any coaching? 

RADHIKA: Yes, I joined Pahal Design for coaching which really helped me in terms of study material, Mock GD, PI and time management.

Q: What as per you are the mistakes one should avoid while preparing for the exam?

RADHIKA:  Start early for the NIFT Written exam, at least 3 to 4 months before your written exam to cover the entire syllabus easily and you will not get stressed and feel pressurized before the written exam. If you have time during exams you can do more mock tests practice during written exams and Poor time management is a blunder. Manage your time well and practice as much as possible, be it for the written exam or for the group discussion.

Q: How did you prepare for your GD/PI? 

RADHIKA: I was taking online classes from PAHAL DESIGN and I gave a lot of mock interviews and mock GD and PI and I was also studying current affairs of the fashion industry and current coronavirus was a hot topic and reading that also helped to develop my knowledge about it and to give me the confidence to speak about it.

Q: Any tips for aspirants on how they should prepare for the NIFT MFM?

RADHIKA:  You have to give your own efforts, self-study, dedication, and time management with the right guidance is very important. We have a lot of case studies in written exams and which required a lot of dedication something I didn’t do before and Being an English Honours vocabulary was my plus point during the written exam and that really helped me a lot for scoring marks.

Q: What are your future plans? 

 RADHIKA: I aspire to become a fashion editor as well as wardrobe stylist or curator.

With a score of 56.30, Durga Chaurasia secured common merit rank 10 and General Category Rank 6 in NIFT Entrance Exam 2020 conducted for Master of Fashion Technology (MFTech) course admissions.

In a candid interview with Pahal Design, NIFT 2020 MFTech topper, Durga Chaurasia shared her prep strategy, GD/PI experience, success mantras, future plans, and a lot more. Go through the detailed interview below:

Q. – Hi! Durga How are you?

Durga – All good. How about you.

Q. – All good. After seeing your smiling faces and the position you have secured has made us Proud. Congratulations, so did you expect to be a topper?

Durga – Thank you so much for the topper 2 didn’t expect to be a topper but yes deep down in my heart I was just feeling that my hard work will really pay off and I will get some good rank and get admission into NIFT. I was really happy about it.

Q. – What was your score in NIFT?

Durga – In the written exam my score was 56.30 out of 100 I scored AIR 6.

Q. – How did you prepare for written exam?

Durga – For the written examination, I prepared it on my own because the time was less. it was like 4-5 months left and I had my college assignment, college projects & exams as well so I just mutually prepared myself and I studied about like 3-4 hours a day along with my college stuff and I just wanted my admission into NIFT and I somehow did it.

Q. – Tell us about your journey, how did you prepare for it?

Durga – Yes, this year this entrance exam was full of surprises like that entry of negative marking and online scenario. If I say online it is the present demand so it can be fulfilled and it is necessary so you just need to be friendly with your phone and the person you are talking to and I was bit aware of negative marking in my graduation also so I was not really scared of  the negative marking but I was prepared only to put points on those questions which I am confirmed so yes it all want good up and down.

Q. – How was your GDPI preparation. How did you go ahead with it?

Durga – For the GDPI sessions I was new to all of these things and I didn’t face anything like that before so for that I joined a crash course, joined it by Pahal Institute. One of my teachers is in front of me and taking my interview. It really helped me a lot I was personally an anxious person but now I have that sense of confidence that I can speak in front of strange people and have that coverage of a wide variety of topics, subjects, the pdfs, lectures, the day to day updation and everything were so in practice and inflow that I gave my best at the point when I needed it. So it was all because of you all.

Q. – It was your hard work as well Durga so what mistakes you did and you want the future aspirants to avoid it.

Durga – So, mistakes I used to get blank at some point of time, and you get blank because you do not know about the content that you have been asked for so for that work on your content part, work on your subject part, work on your basics so it is not a very rocket science kind of a thing that you have to need to focus on small basics part and second thing is that the aspirants should practice a lot.  practice makes a man perfect so you just need to focus on what you need to do.

Q. – How much time should every aspirant contribute or dedicate in a day?

Durga – First thing I would say is that it fully depends on an individual’s ability and how dedicated you are to your goal. During my written exam, I used to study for like 3-4 hours a day honestly. I am not studious, not at all, but to get that opportunity of being fully flourished. I just studied and prepared anyway to make my dream come true. I remember the time when I used to stand in front of the mirror daily and tell myself daily that I have to do it & you will do it, and this thing motivated me to do it in spite of making me anxious.

Q. – How was your PI?

Durga – Yes, if I talk about the present scenario, in this Covid-19 situation it was all lockdown and I had ample of time to prepare. It was a good opportunity and good time to get prepared for all of the Interviews so I was not very confident about GD and interview  I used to prepare for 4-5 hours like not doing 5-6 hours straight but like 2 hours after that taking break and then after 1 hour just like that.

Q. – What was the reaction of your family when you told them that you want to be in fashion industry.

Durga – I would say that I am lucky in this case my parents are really convincing and they are always supportive and at the same time encouraging me every time to do whatever I want, I remember I told them that I want to pursue a degree in master of fashion technology then my father and mother just smiled and they just said that you really want it you will get it your mom and dad are always by your side you just don’t worry you just work hard and put your efforts and we are always there so it was not that difficult for me to convince them.

Q. – Is there anything else you would want to share or any tip you want to give to the future aspirant who is preparing for M.F.Tech?

Durga – I would give my tip which I inculcated into myself very strongly and very strictly I would say that there are 3 things that need to be mentioned that needs to be in your head forever and ever – First thing is practice second thing is the determination and in simple words, I would say stubbornness your eagerness your excitement for the thing that you want and the third thing is your dedication like dedication is the one thing like if you are not doing it for the one time trial for the second time it is like that nothing is impossible you can achieve it if you want it.

A Commerce graduate from Delhi University, Anushka Kapoor secured Rank 13 in NIFT Entrance Exam with an overall score of 72.58. “Though I’ve not secured the First position, even being a part of the top 15 was beyond my expectations but definitely within my aspirations”, she was quoted as saying.

Pahal Design spoke to Anushka about her prep strategy for the NIFT Entrance Exam for the Master of Design (MDes) course. Read the complete interview to know her experience of appearing for the NIFT written exam as well as the GD/PI round.

1. Congratulations! How are you feeling? What is your score?

The feeling is very overwhelming and my rank is 13, in General Category, and AIR 17 in Common Merit Rank with Marks 72.58.

2. What is your Academic Background?

In the year 2018, I completed my graduation in Commerce from Delhi University, and post-dated I was working as an auditor for 8 months.

3. Did u join any coaching for NIFT M.Des Preparation?

Yes, I joined Pahal Design South Ex center for the 1-year course and that really helped me score this rank. Thanks to the Pahal Design team for their efforts and guidance.

4. When did u realise to get into Design field?

Since, my school time I had a very keen interest in Art, Design, and creative fields and for graduation, I appeared for NIFT but couldn’t get through NIFT Delhi for B.Des Programme but due to some reasons, my parents didn’t allow me to go outside of Delhi so I dropped and Joined Delhi University. During my job I realized the kind of work look forward to doing only be after Designing So, I decided to quit my job and gave myself 1 year for Preparation for the NIFT M.Des 2020 Exam.

5. How did you actually prepare for CAT and GAT?

For the CAT part I am really thankful to Deepak Sir, a Senior Faculty at Pahal Design Delhi South Ex, One thing I make sure that I followed each and every tip he gave, he always guided and encouraged me to work in the direction of the examination and work on the basics and Deepak Sir played an integral part in my preparation of the CAT. For GK monthly updates given by Pahal Design helped me a lot which helped me score good marks.

6. How did you Prepare for GD and PI and any suggestions would like to give to NIFT M.Des aspirants?

Be prepared for curved balls to come your way that is you can’t expect everything flat and straight coz every year they keep on changing the pattern and syllabus so you will have to be ready for that. You have to be very confident about yourself and circumstances will not change your confidence at any cost.