Recommended By 2 AFSB Mysore [AFCAT 1 2015]. Hello, everyone. My name is Akshay kaushik, an engineering graduate living in Hyderabad. It was after 4 years I was about to appear for the  ssb interview. In my previous attempt, for TES army, I was recommended from 14 ssb Allahabad. The day AFCAT 1 2015 results were declared, I chose the first date at 2 AFSB Mysore to appear for the interview.

Day 1 :

I arrived at the mysore railway station at 4 AM, used the retiring room which was actually very nice, got dressed in a formal attire and went to the boarding point where the Airforce buses were already waiting.

Put my luggage in a truck and went and sat into the bus. At sharp 6.45 AM the bus departed from the station for the AFSB.

Upon arriving at the airforce station our luggage was checked and we were taken to a shed outside the examination hall. We were asked to submit our phones and any electronic gadgets we were carrying with us.

After that we were taken inside the testing hall for documents verification, yes this time they verified documents before screening, we were assigned numbers as well. Then we filled a few forms, submitted, and came down in the shed, there were only 80 of us, as it was the first batch.

OIR – once again we were taken into the examination hall for the OIR test.

This test is quite simple, if you could Crack afcat then this shouldn’t bother you much.

PPDT : Then came the deciding test for the day, PPDT.

We were shown a hazy picture, with two men standing ( a few people could see a woman to, but that again depends on the perception), you’ll be briefed before every exam and will be asked to clarify your doubts if any, so if you have something to ask better get it cleared before hand.

After the PPDT we were divided in 9 groups and taken down stairs for the discussion.

TIPS:

1. If you could not complete your story within the given time, do not worry, you can go down and Complete it, unless you’re in the first batch for discussion.
2. Do not discuss your story with others, it will only confuse you and you might get nervous.
3. During narration be confident and loud enough so that officers do not have to strain their ears to listen to you.
4. After the last person Completes his narration the discussion starts and no matter what, it is going to be a fish market, be it a freshers batch or a repeaters batch. Hold your nerves at that time, you’ll get a lapse of 1-2 seconds where no one would be speaking, grab this chance to put forward your thoughts. The officers might split the group into two halves, this would be a great chance for you.

Again a few things should be kept in mind like be polite while speaking, don’t use harsh words and phrases for any group member, etiquette and manners basically.

After PPDT we went for lunch in the candidates mess called TRUPTI.

Again we came back to the shed for the results.

After a while officers came out and announced the results.

36 out of 80 were screened in and given new numbers.

And I was the last chest number, 36.

Then we went to the examination hall where we were required to fill 3 copies of PIQ

Tips for PIQ :

1. As everyone says, be genuine while filling your PIQ, because your interview would only depend on your responses in PIQ, any lie in the PIQ would be caught in the interview.
2. Find out the population of your village, town and district as it is required to be filled in the form.

After filling the form, we went to the dorms and kept our luggage in the rooms allotted, the dorm is called AASHIYANA.

Everyone was relieved after a hectic day.

Then we went to the cafeteria to make phone calls, there are 3 phones which can be used to make calls and 4 computers to surf the Internet.

The day ended with dinner and a tight sleep coz everyone was tired.

Day 2 : CPSS and PABT

We reported near the examination hall at 7 am in the morning and we were told that we’ll be having cpss and pabt today.

We went to the cpss building, and I tell you, it was amazing.

We were briefed about the test and told that from out batch the results of cpss will be taken into account.

CPSS is an online exam, an advanced version of PABT.

It has 5 online exams followed by a battery of simulation test in a cockpit.

The whole day was dedicated to CPSS and PABT.

We came back at around 5 in the evening and were free to go out and roam.

We went out, exploring the streets of mysore. We had to come back by 8 pm,  at 8.15 the duty selection officer comes for an inspection, we are to fall in, in front of the dorm. He asks about the stay, facilities, health conditions of the candidates and briefs about the procedure for the next day.

There is a TV room with TV, carrom and chess.

The *lights off* time is 10 pm.

People who are habituated to their phones and Internet and all might find it difficult to adjust for the first two days, but once you make friends you’ll start having fun.

Day 3 : PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS.

We reported at 8am near the examination hall, we were taken upstairs for the testing.

TAT : In TAT 12 pictures are flashed on a screen and you are required to write stories on the pictures.

Again you’ll be briefed about the test and clear the doubts if any.

The last picture would be a blank one and you can write any story.

I would suggest you to write a story which you have actually experienced.

TIPS FOR TAT :

1. The stories you write should be practical, remember you’re not a super human.
2. The protagonist of the story should reveal OLQs you have, this is must.
3. The story should include past, present and future, it should be complete in every sense.
4. Use different names for the protagonist, from different religions if possible.

WAT : In WAT,  60 words are flashed and you’ve to make sentences on those words.

Again you would be briefed about the test.

TIPS FOR WAT :

1. It is not necessary that you should use only that particular word, you can also use the other forms.
2. It is not compulsory to use the word in the sentence.
3. If you do not get any idea, write the word and move to the second word. You can complete that response when you get the time to turn the page.Another tip will be mentioned in self description for this.
4. There will be correlated words, make sure your responses do not contradict.

For example: goal and dream.

SRT : You’ll be given a booklet with 60 situations and You have to write the response, how would you react to those situations.

This is purely psychological, you can’t just follow tips from online sites and respond, what worked for others might not work for you.

SELF DESCRIPTION TEST :

In this test you have to write

1. What your parents think about you.
2. What your teachers think about you
3. What your friends think about you.
4. What do you think about yourself.
5. What kind of person you would like to be.

These things can be practiced at home, make sure you include your qualities in the responses.

TIPS :

1. Keep your SD short and crisp.
2. Save time in SD to complete the sentences you left in WAT.

This was it for the psychological tests, it ended at around 12pm and we were free to go out after lunch.

We went out after lunch to the “mall of mysore”  and watched fast and furious 7.

Came back to the dorms, our DSO came and enquired, there were a few health issues with candidates, they were given medical aid.

Day 4 GTO : The whole batch was divided into 4 groups A, B, C, D.

First two batches were of freshers and last two were of repeaters.

Mine was a very very experienced batch, there were guys attending ssb for 11th time, guys recommended in other entries, and one guy who was already training at OTA, we used to call him OTA bhaiyya and he used to tell how his experiences at OTA.

Ours was a one day GTO, that means everything would be completed in one day.

To start with we had group discussions.

The GTO asks if you have any topic to discuss on, if you don’t, he would give you the topic.

There were two GDs, one of our choice, second of the GTOs choice.

The same mannerism is be followed here what you’d follow in PPDT.

Don’t be in a hurry, let others too speak.

It is not that if you speak more you’ll get extra marks, the quality matters.

After GDs we had GROUP PLANNING EXERSCISE.

In GPE a model with different situations will be explained to you, and you have to write a solution to all the problems.

TIPS FOR GPE :

1. Listen to the explanation properly, a handout will be given to you, read it properly and clarify your doubts.
2. We are living in 21st century, so you can include things like phones, vehicles and all in your solutions, unless your gto asks you not use these.

After the GPE we were taken to the GTO ground for group tasks.

In the group tasks, you are required to cross the obstacles and reach from the start line to finish line, carrying a delicate item called the load.

The instructions will be given by the GTO, the color coding will be explained.

You’ll be introduced to the helping materials as well.

PGT,  COMMAND TASK, HALF GROUP TASK, FINAL GROUP TASKS

TIPS FOR GROUP TASKS :

1. These tasks are kind of on the spot things, so preconceived ideas might not work.
2. Don’t be in a hurry to start, analyze the obstacles, make a plan and then start.
3. If you’re not able to suggest any ideas, don’t fret, just help the other group members.
4. If you’re called first or last in the command task it doesn’t mean GTO likes or dislikes you, he has his own reasons behind this.

INDIVIDUAL OBSTACLES : The only tiresome task in the whole ssb interview is the individual obstacles.

You’re required to overcome 10 obstacles in 3 mins.

And unless you build up a little stamina it would be difficult to do 10 obstacles.

In my batch average was 7.

If you Complete all you can repeat the obstacles.

TIPS :

1. Go for the most difficult obstacle first, as it has highest marks assigned to it.
2. If you start an obstacle, don’t leave it, don’t give up, Complete it and then go for the next obstacle.

The GTO ended and everyone was super tired, we went to our rooms and slept hard after the lunch.

A few people had interviews in the evening.

Day 5 :

The freshers batches had their conference, called the mini conference, one day before the actual conference

I had my interview scheduled at 10 AM

INTERVIEW : The most important part of the ssb, I feel is the interview.

I went to the waiting room, a peon came and took my file to the interviewing officer, they go through your academics and extracurricular profile.

After 10 mins I was called inside.

I went inside wished the lady officer, she asked me to sit.

Don’t sit until the officer asks you to, ot goes against you.

The interview started on a friendly note, remember, do not get over friendly with the IO.

To begin with, She asked me what does society thinks of me, what do I think of the society.

No rapid fire as you see in 99% of the interview.

Most of my interview was based on my PIQ, my hobbies, interests, about SCOUTS, NCC, parade and all.

She asked about my family background, when she got to know that my father serves in the INDIAN AIRFORCE, she asked a lot about it :p

Plus a few general awareness questions were asked.

The interview lasted for more than an hour.

My interview I would say went on very well.

TIPS FOR THE INTERVIEW :

You’ll find a lot of stuff on the Internet for the interview which you can go through.

Apart from that keep the following points in mind

1. Never lie in the interview, you will be caught, there is no doubt

If you can cover up your lie then that’s okay, or else you’ll be drilled.

2. If you do not know any answer, politely tell the IO, sorry sir I do not know the answer, but I’ll find it out.
3. Get detailed info about the games you’ve played, written on the PIQ, you’ll surely be asked questions on that.
4. The most important thing, be confident, even if you’re giving a wrong answer.

There’s this motto in armed forces

“shoot shit with confidence”

Day 6 –  Conference

The final day was the conference for the repeaters batches.

We were called inside the conference hall, where all the officers were sitting, fully dressed, you might get nervous after seeing them dressed.

One by one everyone went inside and came back to the waiting area.

The conference generally lasts for about a minute.

I went inside the hall, there will be Indian flag kept in front of the officer who will be taking to you.

He asked me why I did not join the Indian army.

As I told him the reason, everyone in hall laughed and he wished me all the best and asked to leave.

After my conference got over we were asked to go to the hall and wait for the results.

Everyone was like really tensed.

We went and sat inside the hall. No one spoke anything.

Except me and my friend Amit, chest number 34, we were singing songs. 😉

As the DSO came to the hall there was utter silence in the hall, I could listen to my heart beating.

He started announcing the results

Started with with chest number 20

Two other chest numbers were announced.

Then he took a pause, and we were like shit!!

Then after a minute of pause he told ” chest numbers 34, 35 and 36″.

We were like oh my god!

3 candidate in a line got recommended!

We were indeed very happy 🙂

I was the happiest Coz I and Amit, both got recommended.

After that there was a form filling session of 7 hours.

Then we were dropped to the bus stops to go back home 6 longs days.

Our medicals were scheduled on 6th July at Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Bangalore.

Recently I cleared the medicals, and now waiting for the merit list.

It was indeed a beautiful experience.

I would say everyone should experience ssb once in their life, after all

Ssb is a lifetime experience.