As the years pass it seems to me that the decision-making process that goes into choosing a b-school is getting more and more complicated. This might be the reason behind me getting messages and emails asking for help in choosing between the premier non-IIM b-schools such as FMS, XL-BM, MDI, SPJIMR, NITIE and others. This post will address this specific issue.
Firstly, to keep things simple, FMS and XL-BM do not go into this list, they go into the list with the old IIMs and I have handled that in this post.
For the love of god, please stop comparing XL-HR with mainstream programs
If there is one thing that really riles me up, it is aspirants bringing an HR program into comparison with general management programs. And all of us this only because the HR program in question is from XLRI!
Let me get one thing straight, an HR program is as different from a general management program as chalk and cheese in terms of subjects, job roles, salaries and career growth. So you are not comparing apples with apples.
So your first job is to read this post, decide between HR or non-HR programs, and then if you choose HR, don’t come back to this post, and if you don’t, come back.
Let’s look at the variables that you should consider
The most important thing in a decision-making process is to list down variables, rank order them and rate them.
I would say the most important things to look at for colleges in this list would be:
Specialization alignment
Will this college really maximise your chances of getting jobs in the specialization you are looking at. Two big ways in which this can happen —
a) the program itself is a specialised program such as XLRI-HR or SPJIMR-Ops or NITIE or
b) the location such as Delhi-NCR for Marketing (a huge chunk of the leading recruiters are headquartered in Gurgaon) and Mumbai for Finance (this comes into play only when comparing colleges of equal stature)
MBA Experience
One big part of the MBA experience is that the two years you spend should be transformational at some level, even if you do not realise it during or immediately after the program.
A big part of this has to do with the campus — the experience of a fully-residential program on a great campus away from the city will be leagues ahead of programs that are not fully residential.
Another important factor is whether the MBA program is the main reason why the institution, the infra, and the whole campus exists! So programs at IITs might be great, but you are part of just one small building on a sprawling campus where neither you nor the M.Techs, are the main item on the menu.
Both of these factors ensure that for 2 years you live in a self-contained universe, completely cut-off from the outside world, everything on campus is there for you — for you to study, for you to have fun, for you to learn more about people, for you to learn more about yourself. So colleges based in Bombay will rate lower on this factor since they are in the city and there is only so much space to spare.
So when you are comparing programs you have to take this factor into consideration otherwise you will do an MBA but might not fully become one.
Brand & Stature
One of the big ways in which you are going to find jobs over the course of your career is through your alumni network across industries and across the world. In this sense, the bigger the brand the, larger the alumni base, the larger the network.
Some of you might say, but what about batch size and RoI. Since we have removed FMS from the picture, RoI debate is not that huge. Look at the next 10-15 years, not 3-4 lakhs.
Similarly, batch size matters when you are talking about colleges in the next tier, say IMT, and not in this tier. Top-tier colleges should be able to place 500 students.
If I ignore specialisation then on the basis of MBA experience and brand, my personal order will be — MDI, SPJIMR, IIFT-D/NMIMS, IIT-D/B/NITIE, SIBM
If we consider specializations, then among the schools listed
Finance — SPJIMR, NMIMS, MDI/IIFT
Marketing — MDI, SPJIMR, IIFT, SIBM
Operations — SPJIMR, NITIE, MDI/IIFT
General Management — MDI, SPJIMR, NMIMS/IIFT
Those who are passionate about Finance should know one thing, the core Finance roles — I-Banking, Treasury, Trading at big brand firms — are available only at a few of the old IIMs (and those too are accessible only if you have a good CGPA, and relevant educational background or professional degrees such as CA or CFA), the rest of the colleges get you more BFSI roles — front-end wealth management, insurance etc.
MDI has an IM program, the placements for students who come back to India are along with the regular PGP-M batch, recruiters do not get to know whether candidates are from PGP-M or PGP-IM.
IIFT has foreign trade roles but these comprise only 10% of the placements. The roles typically involve commodity trading in Africa, where you travel around with a bodyguard, and in some cases get kidnapping insurance as well, so much for foreign trade. People end up taking these roles to make a quick buck in the first two years and get back but then these roles do not really great options later. The highest percentage of placements are in IT/ITes, followed by Marketing and BFSI.
Another thing, this applies to people from Bombay especially, do not choose a college based on your personal preference for a city. I know Bombay is everything, so are the other major metropolises of the world — Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, London, New York — with the latter being the final destination may be.
When I was transferred to many different cities in the first few years of my professional life, I was a bit miffed, and I wrote to my favourite prof at L (who apart from Economics, taught classical music to me and a few others once a week). He just said that mobility in the early stages of your career is a blessing, embrace it.
Bombay is my favourite city without a doubt but I do really cherish the long stretches of time and experiences I gathered from other cities. Mumbaikars, you will always come back to Mumbai (the pace, the crowds, the spirit, the pollution, and the stench are an addiction) but take a few years out for other cities and places, let the rest of India in, you will be better off for it.
You will do yourself a favour by not giving your peers five options and asking them for a vote or putting up a random question on Quora. You will be better off speaking to alums, to students who are studying, and by studying the placement reports.
Once again, this is my opinion based on reports from various batches of students across the years and my take on what an MBA experience should be. You are free to make a completely different choice based on different parameters or suggestions from other mentors.
The CAT Writer 
Sir I have been selected at MDI Gurgaon PGPM and have a previous experience of 7 months in sales. Marketing seems to be the natural choice here but I also want to work for some time abroad and that as far as I have gathered from alums is only possible if you study finance or go for consulting in big firms. SInce I have nothing on my CV for finance and have average gpa and acads what would be a prudent decision in this case?
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Hi Abhishek,
All the choices we make must be aligned to our true goals and the more these goals are aligned to our core skills, the better the chances of them being achieved.
To be brutally honest, wanting to work abroad is not a goal on which you can base your choice at this stage.
If that was the case you should have spent a bomb and pursued an MBA abroad.
Since that is not the case, you cannot reverse engineer a specialisation chance that has nothing to do with your background.
Fin and Consulting are very niche fields that are determined by professional certifications (FIN) and academic pedigree and college brand. So at this stage, you cannot become a different person.
So go ahead and take up MDI and maximise your sales background to get roles in top FMCG firms. If you get into Nestle or P&G, you can get a posting abroad over the longer-term and if its P&G, they offer Singapore-based roles for Marketing on campus.
Let the ball come to you.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Thank you for the clarification, sir. But in case I develop an interest in finance or strategy consulting during my 2 years at B-School should I then take steps towards it or go for marketing since that is aligned with my previous experience. Also if you could suggest a few to do things before joining a B-School. Thanks in advance
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Hi Abhishek,
It can happen that you like a few subjects, say Economics, and say one or two introductory courses in Finance, but you need to be careful to make the leap from this is a good subject to learn to I want to build a career in this. Given that we rarely like any subject (studies always feel like a burden, or rather a means to an end) this feeling will be new and might lead you to feel that this is your calling. But that need not necessarily be the case, we might like a few things and areas and pursue them as an area of interest not necessarily build a career in them.
I took all Eco courses on campus, did very well in the two courses in the first year, and was contemplating further studies in Eco (and there was no Raghuram Rajan as well that time) and I approached my Eco prof. He said that further studies in Eco is not Eco but pure higher-level Maths and asked me to evaluate if I was up for it.
Similarly for you to make a shift to Fiance would entail retooling your entire resume, so it has to be a case where you are sure that your attitude, your personality traits, and your area of interest within Finance are aligned. If that is that case then you have to take the CFA, just an MBA finance will not make your resume stand out among all the CAs and B.Coms and CFA is not easy to clear while on campus for a non-Fin guy. So you have to plan for a longer-term beyond campus play at Finance.
Consulting yes, you can take a shot but a shortlist depends a lot on the brands you already have on your resume and the spike on it.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Plus, it will be a blessing to leave Mumbai right now for an MBA and come back and see that the metro work is completed!
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Haha, if they can get it up and running in two years nothing like it! But Mumbai (and even Bangalore) never feels construction free, it always feels like a work in progress.
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That’s true. Mumbai is certainly a city that never stops.
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Again thanks for the clarity you have given through the answer, I also wanted to ask what are a few preparatory courses and few things we should do before joining a B-school so that we can bring our A game to the table from the 1st day itself. Also how to ensure we get a decent summer placement in the case like mine where my profile is average in terms of academics and brands but have good extracurriculars. I know it is a very subjective question but if you could throw some light it would be great so that I know what to expect when I walk in through those gates. Thanks again!!
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Hi Tony Sir,
I have converted IIM- Ranchi and Udaipur and I really confused between the two. From the limited information that I have, I want to go for finance. Ranchi not having a campus seems a big deal to me.
Also I am hoping positive results from trichy as well.
What is your opinion sir and which one would you suggest among the three?
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Hi,
There is little to choose from between the three. None of the three will give you core Finance roles (they might give you roles in the BFSI domain). So if you want to do Finance, you have to take the CFA and look for a job off-campus after you graduate.
Between the three there is little to choose from. I have had students going to each of them, look a the placement records and which one at least on paper has more Finance placements.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi Tony,
My profile- 97.2 CAT, X/XII/B.tech- 93/93/69
B.tech – Electronics and communication
Work ex- 2 years in an IT company(Infosys)
I have converted SCMHRD pune, waitlisted at DFS(maybe I will convert as per previous year trends), waiting for NEW IIMs results.
I am slightly inclined towards finance , but since I have no prior background in finance, will I get oppurtunities in finance roles.
Should I go for SCMHRD pune or DFS(DU) or wait for new IIMs (waitlist clearing)
The ROI factor and the finance specialisation and the improvement DFS has shown in last few years is inclining me towards DFS. But will I get the MBA Exposure at DFS?
Also DFS is a CFA affiliated college, this is also an advantage.
Can you please list out the order of preference of the above mentioned colleges?
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Hi,
Things are always easier if your specialization focus is clear.
If you want to look at a broader of firms and specializations then SCMHRD will be a better bet.
SCMHRD is also the bigger brand and hence over the longer-term, having the name SCMHRD on your resume will do more for you getting shortlisted or selected than DFS, which is virtually unknown but to a few.
Also, RoI is not purely a ratio of average salary to fee since the returns on the investment like the EMIs you will pay are spread out over time — the alumni network (size and quality of firms they are in) the growth in salary from one job to the other, the positive perception of the brand — all of these are things that go a long way in building a successful career over a period of time.
If you are really keen about Finance and looking at this low-cost degree as a way to get your foot into the world of Finance, take up a CFA and do a big brand MBA later in your career, take up DFS. Else, SCMHRD.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Thanks for such a detailed reply..
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Hi Tony,
Brilliant article! Could you shed some light on the 1 year MBA course(GMAT route) vs 2 year MBA?
Is the latter given more preference in the Indian market?
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Hi Armin,
It’s not about value but about profile. A 1-year MBA makes sense when you have 4 or more years of work-ex.
This is because you can’t afford to waste an extra year of pay and because firms go to 2-year programs to recruit freshers and people around the 2.5 year work-ex mark on average.
What does the market look at irrespective of 1-year or 2-year?
Your profile and brand of the school from where you did your MBA.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Sir,
My profile – 98 CAT, 10/12/B.Tech(ECE)- 88/65/69, Work Ex – 2.5 years(IT-Accenture).
I am inclined towards an MBA in marketing.
I have got converts from IIM Trichy, Udaipur, IIT Kharagpur, and baby IIMs.
Considering my profile and ROI, I am in a dilemma if I should go for an MBA from the options I have at the moment. Would an MBA from these new IIMs make a significant change in my career growth especially after taking a loan of approx 20 lakhs? Would my below average profile be a barrier to my placement even if I give my best in MBA and score well?
If it is worth, kindly suggest some courses that I should take up before joining the classes which can boost my chances of getting a good summer internship.
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Hi Vivek,
You would have seen the placement reports of these colleges and you will have an idea of the RoI, so you have to take a call if it is worth it. RoI will work out over a period of time and not with the first salary since it is a long-term investment.
If you only had baby IIMs and did not have Trichy, Udaipur and KGP, I would have asked you not to join.
You will get decent IT Consulting roles and IT Business Development roles, Trichy, Udaipur and KGP. Marketing with 2.5 years of work-ex I am not sure.
As far as building a profile for summers goes, do certification courses on Marketing or Business Analytics from good universities offered on Cursera.
All the best!
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Thanks you sir for the detailed response to my query. There is an update, I have converted NITIE & now I am confused if I should join NITIE considering my profile( 98 CAT, 10/12/B.Tech(ECE)- 88/65/69, Work Ex – 2.5 years(IT-Accenture) ). As of now I have no inclination towards Ops/Supply Chain.
Which one would be a good fit for my profile , IIM Trichy/other new IIMs or NITIE considering my intrest in Marketing.
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If you have no interest towards Ops then join IIM-Trichy or IIM-Udaipur.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
Profile : 85.5 / 74 / 74
General Engineer Male
CAT 2018 : 95.7 (This was third sincere CAT attempt)
17 months IT work ex till now.
Please help me in deciding what should I do.
I am inclined to give a shot at one of three IIM (sambalpur, sirmaur, bodhgaya). But many people are suggesting me not to join them.
What can I expect from the above three IIMS in terms of placements and learning? Is it worth doing MBA from these IIMS? Or will I regret my decision later in my life?
Are these IIMS comparable to new iims like raipur, kashipur, etc? And is it worth taking a drop for new iims like raipur, kashipur, etc (given my profile top 15 institutes are unlikely to give me a call)
One of my relatives suggested me drop the idea of MBA altogether because of the hefty fees. Is it worth paying 12-15 lakhs for above mentioned IIMS?
I know I should not be asking such type of questions, at least after appearing for CAT thrice. But I am unable to get the answers of above questions. The more I read about them on quora, the more I get confused. Advice from you would be really helpful.
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Hi Manas,
There is no point in joining the baby IIMs, absolutely none as of today, since they neither have the infra nor the placements.
When they will become worth joining only God knows. And even the new ones are not any better, Trichy, Udaipur, and Ranchi are decent but the rest are not very far ahead of the baby IIMs.
You only have 17 months of experience, give it another shot, apply to the good private colleges as well.
You took 3 attempts why not one more since you have time on your side.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Thank you sir for your advice.
Can you please tell some good private colleges to aim for?
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MDI, SPJIMR, NMIMS-Mumbai, SIBM, SCMHRD
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Hi Sir,
My profile is 10/12/Engg : 91.2/90.8/81.9 , i have 2.9 years work ex with infosys.
I have converted NITIE, MDI – IM(according to admission office i can convert PGPM also but only in late JUNE after the course starts) , IIM Kashipur/Raipur. Which college should i join ?
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Hi,
If you want Ops very badly then NITIE, else MDI-IM, since the placements are common with PGPM.
New IIMs are way behind these two.
All the best!
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I also wanted to know my chances of getting core finance jobs through MDI-IM considering i have an IT background and also an engineer. I do not have an inclination towards marketing nor the core IT sector. My criteria for B-school selection is inclined for the type of sector i will start in post MBA. Is Finance sector accessible through MDI-IM?
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Hi Aditya,
While it is admirable that you want to choose your b-school based on prospects for a particular specialization, one thing you fail to consider is your profile for the same.
Even if you get into IIM-C, which has the best Finance jobs in the country, your profile will not stand a chance of a shortlist. Since everyone interested in Finance will take a Fin specialization and get good marks, so what makes one candidate more suitable for a particular specialization is the profile match. For Finance the big profile requirements are relevant educational background or professional certifications — Commerce/Eco, CA/CFA or all of them.
This is the reason why engineers from elite colleges (who know this) are taking up a CFA. IIM-C has almost 80 engineers with a CFA – Level 1.
So at this stage, it does not matter if MDI-IM is good for Finance or not as far as placement goes. If you are serious about Sin, you should get a specialization in Finance and clear the CFA(two levels) as well, and you will then can get Fin jobs after you graduate, which is what happened to a student mine with a 9-9-9 profile at IIM-A (he got a Fin Tech job on campus and core Fin Job after he did his CFA L1 and L2).
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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If you really want Operations then NITIE, if you want to keep your options open then MDI-IM, definitely not Kashipur or Raipur.
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Thank you Tony, now things seem to be clearing up a bit.
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Sir ,
My profile is: 10/12/grad-90+/90+/80+
fresher
cat percentile-98.94
I have been selected for MDI Gurgaon and IIFT DELHI. Waitlisted for IIM I and K although the chances are very slim for selection. Should I repeat or take college this year. Also, between IIFT and MDI which college is a better bet,
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Hi Akshay,
Between MDI and IIFT, I would say MDI for the overall experience.
Should you repeat or not, is a personal choice, please read this post to help you take a call — https://thecatwriter.com/2019/02/19/to-re-take-or-not-to-re-take-the-cat-2/
Hope this will help you take a call,
All the best!
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I want to go for marketing. How to build my profile(any exams or courses)?
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There are no exams that will help you build your profile for Marketing (unlike is the case with Finance(CFA), some certifications might give you an added talking point, you read more about profile-building here — https://thecatwriter.com/2018/04/09/how-to-build-your-profile-for-an-mba/
And some more information about specializations in general — https://thecatwriter.com/2017/04/22/preparing-for-an-mba-and-not-just-the-cat/
All the best!
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Sir,
My profile-10/12/grad-95/96/83
Cat %-98.94
I have converted both MDI Gurgaon and IIFT Delhi. Also, waitlisted for IIM I and K although chances are very slim. Should I take a drop or take college this year. Are IIM I and K comparable with MDI and IIFT. Also, between MDI and IIFT which is a better bet.
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Sir,
I want to go for marketing. How should I build my profile(any exams or courses)?
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Sir,
I have converted few baby IIMs like iim amritsar, bodh gaya, kashipur and i have also converted SCMHRD Pune. Since there is a perception that out of these three baby IIMs , amritsar is doing pretty well due to its location.So , I am confused between amritsar and SCMHRD. SCMHRD will give me a good alumni network (it is a 25 year old institution). On the other hand,amritsar has the IIM tag and maybe in next 5 years , it might surpass SCMHRD.
So, please help me resolve this confusion?
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Hi,
It will be a long time before any of the baby IIMs surpass established private schools. It’s been 10 years since Shillong was established it has not exactly gone ahead of an NMIMS in terms of placements.
So I would say SCMHRD.
If it was the new IIMs then may atleast worth considering but baby IIMs not at this point.
All the best!
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How does JBIMS Mumbai compare to the other colleges on your list? I’m curious as it is a well-known college in Maharashtra, but you haven’t mentioned it anywhere.
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Hi,
JBIMS is very similar to FMS in that its placements will be comparable to the old IIMs but infra and the experience of a fully residential b-school environment will be way below what you will get an old IIM.
So as I mentioned in this post — https://thecatwriter.com/2019/04/15/iims-versus-fms-xl-mdi-and-other-top-schools-2/ — my personal choice will always be the old IIMs.
So I would suggest an old IIM, if you have an admit from one, over JB, else JB.
The reason I did not mention JB is that finally, only 10 students from outside of Maharashtra can get an admit into JB, and those who crack CET and get into JB usually have no doubts about joining it!
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi Tony Sir,
I know its a bit late for the post, but atleast I would get to know your point of view.
My Profile:
10/12/ B Tech Mechanical: 9.8/93/8.6
2 Years Work ex at Infosys as of Today
CAT 18: 88%tile; XAT 19: 90 %tile
Converts: XIMB BM; IMT Hyd, Nagpur
IMT H, N are not worth joining but I gave a miss to XIMB BM (and I will be skeptical about this decision till next year)
I will have 3 years work ex by this time of the year in 2020.
Should I have joined XIMB BM considering my profile or 3 years workex is won’t hurt if I make it to a better college next year.
TIA
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Hi Ashish,
There is no reward without risk and you have taken a call so no point thinking about the decision you took regarding XIM-B. Is it good or bad purely depends upon your potential; you understand that a student with a stellar profile who leaves IIM-L for another shot at A-B-C will also go through the same doubts (and I know people who have).
So the only question is about work-ex; 36 months at the time of joining will not be a problem at all and will not in any way hamper your chances.
All the best!
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Don’t you think with Sjmsom offering equal package as MDI and IIFT and having lower fees,is a better college to join???
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Hi Akshay,
For me two colleges are comparable based on salary and fees if and only if – the programs, the infra, batch size (a batch size less than 180 again would mean a much smaller network and learning experience) and the MBA experience (where the MBA is not a department but the main and only stream that the college offers).
My students at IIT-M said that they were not given access to a the much larger auditorium saying that it was a b-tech auditorium. At colleges founded for MBA, the whole campus and admin is focussed on the MBA students.
As I said these are parameters that I consider important since an MBA is a one-time experience and maybe the last time you will be in a campus environment. You can choose to ignore it completely and use only a salary fee ratio to take a call.
All the best!
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Thanks for replying. I completely agree with you. I just wanted to know whether sjmsom is focused on operations only or has a good general management program. Also,does IIFT have placements mostly in IT only.
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Not just IIFT, IT will comprise at the least 25% of recruitments at all schools. Take a look at their website for the latest split in terms of sectors.
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Hey Tony,
My Profile: 10/12/grad- 95/93/85(Fresher with engineering background)
CAT 2019 Expected% (According to IMS) – 96.47
Can you help me out with colleges that I have a good chance at converting? Is MDI Gurgaon a long shot or still in reach. How should I prepare for WAT and PI (An article on this would be extremely helpful)? Is it wise to give CAT’20 a shot?
Thanking you in advance.
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Hi Pranav,
MDI will be a bit of a stretch at 96.47, any way you still need to get the actual percentile before you can be sure of the calls.
To start with for WAT-GD-PI just read the newspaper end to end (barring the local crime news, pages 3 and 4) most interviews these days revolve around current affairs and WAT is anyway based on them. Also, issues of recency are more likely to turn up. If you are an IMS student, you can also start watching the 24 in-depth videos we have made for GD-PI prep and will be available on your myIMS depending on the product you have enrolled for.
Since you are a fresher and have scored 96.7 in your first attempt, you should give the CAT another shot for sure, the IIMs worth it and you have time on your side.
All the best!
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Hello sir,
My Profile:
Mechanical Engineer, 40 Months of Exp as Strategic Sourcing Specialist.
I have converted NITIE PGDIM and now I have nearly One month of time before my course starts. Please suggest to develop new skills and any additional course which is very important going forward and which can help me to stay ahead of the crowd.
I am interested in ops and SCM.
Thanks in advance
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Hi Kishore,
There are two things that can make you competitive during placements — your resume, your actual performance during the interviews.
1. Resume — I doubt if there are any 1-month courses that can give you a big advantage over your peers, but if you know the kind of roles you are looking for within Operations and do certification courses from Coursera that are relevant to the same, it will be helpful.
2. Interviews — All big schools just get the firms to their campus, the heavy lifting has to be done by you. A secret to succeeding in placements is having a clear focus on the kind of firms and roles you are looking, research about the same so that you know more about those firms and what they are up to, and do well in the interviews. So working on making this list of firms and roles, researching them and most importantly working on your interviewing skills. The best focus and best research cannot substitute for poor interviewing skills, so if you need to work on those skills then work on them.
From now on everything is going to revolve around what you bring to the table (externals like a course and stuff are going to matter lesser and lesser unless the course is a big professional degree such as a CFA), everything will have to fit into your vision for your career.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I am an electrical engineering from NITK, with 1 year work experience in Tata Motors. I quit my job last year and have secured admit from NMIMS this year. Now, I have been waitlisted by Trichy and Ranchi. I am inclined towards finance but am not adamant about core finance roles. I would be happy with roles in the finance or analytics space or even general management.
What do you think should be my order of preference?
Thanks
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Hi Madhur,
For both Gen Mgt. and Finance, NM will give you better options that new and baby IIMs.
Given that you will be graduating into a almost recovering economy, you are better off graduating from a known brand that has attracted a certain segment of recruiters from a long time and also located in a major city.
I would say NM, Trichy, Ranchi.
All the best!
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Hello sir,
I am an Engineer with almost 2 years experience in IT. I have converted NMIMS Mumbai and have been waitlisted for a few baby IIMs.
I am currently unable to decide between Marketing and Finance as specialization, as neither is related to my previous work experience. What factors should I consider to make a decision, considering no substantial points on my resume related to them. OR will pursuing General Management from NM be a better option.?
What should be my preferences for specialization.?
Thanks in advance!!
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Hi Shruthi,
Even in a normal year, this question — NMIMS versus baby IIMs — is a no brainer in favour of NM since the baby IIMs are a long way away from giving you the same outcomes as NMIMS.
And since you will be graduating into a post-COVID, recovering economy, placement at baby IIMs will be way more vulnerable than those at NMIMS since the latter has been a trusted place for recruiters for a longer period of time. In tough times, the older the relationships between campuses and companies, the more durable they are; like in COVID babies will be most vulnerable.
What should be your specialization is a question that you should have answered by now 🙂 The answer to that questions is a 2-hour session that I conduct, will do it in the coming weeks.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
I’m a graduate from NIT Calicut, with 2.5 yrs of work ex in the manufacturing sector. I am confused between SIBM Pune and IIM Trichy, as I have converted both. I’m going into the program with an open mind and am not steadfast about choosing any specialization (not very keen on finance though).
According to you, which one should I choose? Does the IIM tag of Trichy have some weightage over Symbiosis?
Thanks in advance!
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Hi Arvind,
Since you are already from an NIT, the IIM Trichy tag will be a good addition to your resume — the brand of the institution your do your PG from should at least be as big as the brand of the institution you did your graduation from.
In a normal year, I would have said IIM-Trichy without any caveats but since you will be graduating into a recovering economy placements ar Trichy might be more vulnerable than those at SIBM since the latter has been a trusted place for recruiters for a longer period of time. In tough times, the older the relationships between campuses and companies, the more durable they are.
If you are okay with handling a bit of (not major) pressure during placements then go ahead with Trichy.
All the best!
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hello sir,
how do you rate new IIMs against SCMHRD if i am interested in finance? specifically talking about udaipur, raipur, trichy and ranchi
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Hi Mohit,
Core Finance roles will be few in number in all the colleges you are talking about. If you have a Commerce or a CA/CFA background then you can get those roles off-campus.
Given that you will be graduating into a recovering economy, it is better to stick to campuses have attracted recruiters for a long time. So placement-wise MDI will definitely be the safer bet. If you have a decent risk appetite then choose the baby IIMs.
So placement-wise SCMHRD will definitely be the safer bet. If you have a professional degree CA/CFA then choose the baby IIMs.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi,
How would you compare IIT B to IIM Shillong. Also, does IIT B offer only ops roles? What is the split like?
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Hi Arvind,
Given that you will be graduating into a recovering economy, it is better to stick to campuses have attracted recruiters for a long time.
So placement-wise IIT-B will definitely be the safer bet. If you have a decent risk appetite then choose IIM-Sh.
IIT-B gets good Ops roles, I will not have the exact spilt, you have to look at the placement reports but attracts good recruiters for Ops along with NITIE and SP Ops.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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I got selected for SPJIMR Operations but I am interested in Marketing, What should I do ?
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Hi,
I suppose you have got a GI call for SPJIMR Ops.
There is nothing you can do, except go through the interview process, do as well as you can, and get the admit.
Once you have a final admit you can decide.
Even if you hate Ops, you should not pass up a chance to give an interview and gain confidence from cracking an admit.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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I got the admit, Now how do I decide ? Hope for MDI convert ?
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Hi Bala,
Yes, that is the only thing you can do right now.
All the best!
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Hello Sir
I am a 2020 B.Sc Finance graduate and from ASMSOC, NMIMS. I also have cleared CFA Level 1.
What would be a better choice amongst NMIMS, Mumbai, IIM Rohtak, Udaipur, Ranchi and Trichy specifically for Finance?
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Hi Gaurvi,
Purely from a placement perspective in terms of the number of firms visiting and stuff, NMIMS will offer a much wider range of Fin firms and roles when compared to the new IIMs. But this does not mean that your decision should be completely based on this one factor alone. Given that you have a CFA-L1 and are likely to finish L-2 at some point, you will easily get roles off-campus. In fact, the CFA along with an MBA is a bigger predictor of getting top Fin jobs both on and off-campus rather than a bigger brand without CFA.
My students despite being in the Top 50 at IIM-A did not get the big Fin shortlists since did not have a CFA, he had to settle for a FinTech role; the moment he finished his CFA after his MBA, he got a lot of shortlists and offers.
To sum things up, if you want to be absolutely safe then join NMIMS but otherwise, you can join any one of the new IIMs — the one with a better reputation and placement record for Fin — add the IIM Tag and rest assured that you will get your dream Fin role sooner or later once you finish CFA L2
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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Hello sir,
I am a 2018 CSE graduate with 2 years of work experience as a software developer. My profile is 9/8/7 and I have converted NMIMS and SCMHRD as of now. I want to pursue marketing. Would selecting SCMHRD over NMIMS be a bad decision? SCMHRD has a residential program and the batch size is also smaller, so I’m sort of tilting in favor of it. What would you recommend? Thanks in advance.
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Hi Rajat,
Both schools are more or less equal when it comes to Marketing placements so I would not worry much about losing out; NM rates much higher on Finance and, maybe, Consulting placements.
So you would not be making a mistake by choosing SCMHRD over NMIMS given that the residential nature of the former is huge plus.
As due diligence do check the firms visiting both campuses and see if there are firms that visit NM and not SCMHRD (only for Marketing). If that gap is not too big then go ahead and join SCMHRD.
All the best!
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Hi sir,
I had finalized SCMHRD, but now I have the option of MDI PGDM-IB. I am interested in pursuing marketing. Considering the fact that I won’t be able to sit for the summer internship process, I might miss out on the major S&M roles that are offered through PPOs. Would it still be a better choice?
TIA!
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How would you rate NMIMS Mumbai for HR, compared IIM Ranchi HR and IIT KgP MHRM program?
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Hi Sandeep,
I am not too knowledgeable about these programs vis-a-vis each other. You have to rely on the placement reports and speak to students who are currently doing the program.
All the best!
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Hi Tony Sir,
I have convert from NITIE and waitlisted for SPJIMR (Ops and SCM) & IIML SM, both of which I mostly will convert when waitlist moves. I graduated in Mechanical from BITS Pilani in 2019 and currently have 35 months work ex at IOCL Ops. I am interested in Product Management & also like to work on different projects. I particularly do not like work with machines. Looking at my options and my work ex., I do not think, appearing for CAT again would make more sense. Can you help me in selecting the college considering brand value and placement? Also, I am finding the B-school fee to be too high which is making it more difficult for me to take a decision. Leaving a high paying job is creating a dilemma.
Thanks in advance.
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Hi Dheeraj,
Given that you already 3 years of good Ops work-ex, you will get great roles in Ops and Ops consulting from either NITIE or SPJIMR (it will boil down to which campus to like better) than at an IIM.
The only reason to retake the CAT will be to move away from Ops and explore different domains that also align with your profile.
The fee part is just the conservative government employee inside you talking!
The return and opportunities of an MBA over the medium & long term will outstrip the fee and the benefits of the current job by a mile.
Stay and you know your future with limited comforts, move and you can know yourself and what the larger unknown holds for you.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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Thanks a lot for the response.
There is one news which I have heard from may students of NITIE about it becoming the IIM Mumbai next year. Should I take this in consideration while choosing the college as I think it might increase the brand value of NITIE?
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Yep, you should give it weight for sure, it will increase it over a period of time.
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Hi Tony sir, i have converted IIT Madras, IIM BG, Sambalpur and others are waitlisted as of now
My profile: engg-7/6/8, 3.5 years of work ex in manufacturing sector
Baby iims are mostly fresher dominated and marketing roles are more offered
Did manufacturing exp holders get IT domain jobs ?
Sir what should i choose based on my profile? Im bit confused now
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Hi Santanu,
Given your profile, I definitely feel you will be a better fit at IIT-M. There are no upsides to you joining a baby IIM.
If it were Trichy or Udaipur, you would have need to give it more thought but not in the case of the baby IIMs.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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Hi Tony sir,
I have converted IIT Madras, IIM BG, Sambalpur and others are waitlisted as of now
My profile: engg-7/6/8, 3.5 years of work ex in manufacturing sector
Baby iims are mostly fresher dominated and marketing roles are more offered
Did manufacturing exp holders get IT domain jobs ?
Sir what should i choose based on my profile? Im bit confused now
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Hello Tony Sir,
Can you shed some light on whether it is a good time to join BITSoM right now? In a few years I have heard that it will be one of the premier institutes but how good is it right now?
I am inclined towards finance specialization and am looking for roles in finance or consulting.
Please advice. Thank you!
My quals : BCOM , 88.9 / 88.9 / 92.2. Fresher
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Hi Rahul,
You will get a 15-20 LPA package from BITSoM. If you have scored around 93-95 then I would suggest a retake.
All the best!
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Hello Tony Sir
Which of these college is good for finance
IMI Delhi, SCMHRD Pune, IMT G and BITSOM, Got PI calls from all these
What would be a better choice amongst these for Finance
BCom Fresher, Profile 90/90/91
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Hi Felix,
Honestly all of these are not really known for Finance. I would suggest joining the college with the biggest legacy (old and good placements) among these.
All the best!
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