It was my 3rd attempt for CDS OTA SSCW NT, I went in with a bit of apprehension, because of screen out experience in previous attempt. Nevertheless, I knew I was better prepared not only for stage 1 but also stage 2 this time.
Screening process went on smoothly,
– had practiced for OIR well enough to do it effectively in time
– perceived the picture correctly, connected with myself to write a story
– practiced narration repeatedly till we were called for GD
– Ensured that I narrated main 5 actions of story crisply within 50 seconds
– Could participate actively in GD, when a candidate tried to cut-in, used the technique said by Vipul sir to complete my point with a smile
When the results were being announced, somewhere I knew I had to get in this time,
For the next 4 days,
Didn’t study anything new, in-fact didn’t study anything at all, Only kept myself updated of the news. ( which perhaps was most difficult thing to follow, kyuki sab candidates padh rahe the, round the clock, but I told myself, I’ll stick to what sir has told )
Day 2: Psychology Tests
TAT : 6 out of 11 pictures were of the themes that we had discussed in class, rest I could write by connecting with my experiences ( stories that I had prepared )
WAT : Could complete all 60 words comfortably, associating with self ( cheat-sheet😉 ke hissab se )
SRT : here I focused on placing myself in the situation to write a response, which took more time than usual, ended up writing responses only for 34
( was very apprehension about this, expected to be asked about this later, but reminded myself that it is overall assessment that matters and I must ensure to give my best further anyways )
SD : completed with a little time to spare, checked back on my TAT stories, WAT, SRT responses.
Day 3 & 4 : GTO
Group Discussion :
Topic 1 :
Which of the following legislations have helped empower women
– triple talaq
– uniform civil code
– women reservation bill ( assembly seats )
Topic 2 :
Which of the following class of society has mis-used their welfare legislations
– poor people
– hight class people ( businessmen )
– women
In both the topics, I was able to actively participate, make sure my point was heard,
As sir said, ensured that when I was putting forth my point , it was only me speaking in the group,
In fact for second topic, I stayed calm for first 5 mins, and when I spoke, everyone listened for much longer ( as I stayed calm for initial time, I spoke on a lead that was neglected by group till then )
GPE : I could understand and come up with solutions while reading the about the situation itself, Yet personally felt, that I could have written a more better solution after the task. Here in GD, no one was listening to the other person😂, it was a fish market situation, but when one was randomly nominated to narrate, we all agreed to the solution.
As a group we had good cooperation with each other ( all of us being repeaters )
For the tasks PGT HGT FGT,
– was not always in the beginning or the end, kept moving with the group as per the requirement,
– could engage actively, suggested ideas when I was able to and when I wasn’t, I did exchange places with someone who had an idea there ( as the main aim was to keep the group moving forward)
Command Task :
Got a simple task to cross with 3 different lines of structures to cross,
The concept as taught by sir, about the base and hinge helped me to to the task, also that I had first choose the path that was simplest of all and completed it,
As a subordinate I was called by 2 of the candidates
( again our group dynamics was good, we as a group ensured that each of us was called as a subordinate at-least once )
This cooperation was evident in our snake race, we did emerge to be first amongst the 4 groups )
Lecturette:
My GD topics were
1. India – Nepal ties, disturbed waters
2. ISRO
3. This I don’t remember ( it was weird 🙃😂)
4. Best experience of my life.
Against the usual convention for selecting 1 or 2nd topic,
I decided to speak about the best experience of my life although I could have spoken about ISRO aaram se, I chose otherwise, and was actually quiet happy sharing it 😀 ( spoke about my RDC, Rajpath experience)
Individual Obstacle
I could do 6 obstacles, fell down, doing the zig zag at end.
INTERVIEW :
My interview was held on day 3 after GTO,
It lasted for 25 – 30 minutes only,
Practiced deep breathing, made my self calm, reminded myself to be precise, to the point and smile before going in.
I was in my gap year ( question that I sort of dreaded before I gained insight from sir’s interview classes)
And this was the very first question my IO asked me 😂
I smiled and gave my answer,
He followed with basic CIQ questions, about family, education,
Future plan other than army,
NCC related personal questions about my experience and motivation to join NCC,
I’m a Psychology student, he questioned about how it helps in preparation, and a few scales that determine personality.
Questioned about why I preferred to join army specifically,
A brief conversation about gender equality in forces and how should one achieve it
Following this, asked me a srt : imagine yourself to a young officer posted in isolated areas of ladakh, you are to command men above the age of 40, how comfortable would you be doing the same ?
Following this, only 1 GK question I faced,
: what are the two major global issues that we are facing right now,
To which my answer was :
1. The food, fuel crisis deeply impacted by the ongoing Russia- Ukraine war
2. China’s global expansionist policy, causing trouble in terms of global peace
He further asked questions wrt to 2nd aspect, asked which of the nations( India- China) have more advanced military and the discussion went on around how India can defend itself in case of an extreme situation,
Overall, there were times, when I didn’t know the answer ( more than once or twice 😂😅) I politely conveyed the same.
IO did try put on pressure while talking about my NCC achievements implying that it could have been mere luck to have done the camp, I remained calm, just smiled and defended as required.
Coming out of the room, I really could not define, if it went well or not, I was happy because I knew I did better than my last interview, I was to the point this time.
Day 5 Conference:
They did take a little longer to call me in, while I went in, I was mentally prepared to answer properly, by taking time to think and then answer,
They had asked me only 1 question :
What are your 3 take aways from this SSB experience?
I gave it a thought for a 5 seconds,
1. Learnt a lot from north Indian friends I made here about the culture
2. I personally felt my performance improved from the last one, this reinstated my belief that when I keep working, I will make it one Day
While I said 2nd point, IO who had interviewed me, nodded looking at me and then looked at the president ( I froze here for a second, while I was processing 3rd point in mind )
Then the board president said, it’s okay, we got it.
While the results were being declared I was both nervous ( because of the head nod of IO, I didn’t know how to interpret it ) and excited ( because I knew I had performed better, performed the way sir guided us )
17 of us were recommended of 40 🤯😄
It was vibrant batch with amazing batch mates ! I would strongly suggest people to join SSBPsych 25 days live course, as these 25 days with him changes everything. It is a place where the officers are made.
