Students from some of India's premier institutes such as IIM Calcutta (IIM-C), IIM Kozhikode (IIM-K), IIM Lucknow (IIM-L), IIT-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) and National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai have voluntarily undertaken to mentor hundreds of aspirants who cleared the written Common Admission Test (CAT) and IIT joint entrance examination (JEE) to cover the group discussion and personal interview, the final lap for a coveted IIM or IIT seat. The programme is a free, student-driven initiative and independent of the admission process but is backed by the administration of these institutes. The programme is managed through either the institute website or a separate purpose-built website that matches the profile of mentors and aspirants based on the background and discipline.
At IIM-C alone, about 200 students may act as mentors to over 1,000 aspirants this year. 'We have experience in facing the interview board and taking part in the group discussion,' said Rohan Mahajan, a student and representative of IIM-C's external relation cell. Aspirants need to register on the IIM-C website after which the mentors will contact with them. A supplementary website
