XLRI Jamshedpur has a great culture, the college hosts students from various parts of the country. Food plays a major role in binding the culture at XL, they celebrate all the festivals and prepare foods according to that. Food is offered from various part of the country like, Daal Baati from Rajasthan, Biryani from Hyderabad, Lucknow style chicken dishes, and many variety from South India like Dosa, Idli, and Uttapam. People at XL believe in sharing the food.

One of my friends is an XLRI alumnus and here is what he had to say about this. Irrespective of any degree, your academic future will be a function of the following.

• Guideline of a great academic network that would work along with very realistic expectations.
• Regular research publications (and)
• An articulation that is crystal clear and expressive.

As far as a difference in your FPM and Ph.D. degree is concerned, it doesn't really matter as of now.

Concerning your curiosity about the FPM program at XLRI, it is a subjective approach of each individual. Hope this helps.

“Getting into your dream B-school is just stupid luck”, these words might sound like they are directed to scare you off but trust me, you will always find students who will tell you tales about how their interview went horribly wrong and still they made it into their dream college. 

Scoring marks in your MBA entrance and getting into the right B-school are two different things. If you’re someone with a gap year, I’d personally suggest you stop looking for justifications for the gap years and, rather focus on the things that define you as a person and as an ideal candidate for that particular institution. 

Times are different now, and your gap year will matter to a certain extent. If you’re asked for clarification, you could follow two paths; either start with the original story (a bit polished ) or start telling how the gap year affected you personally and your learnings.

In my experience, I have yet to come across anyone who has had trouble only because of their gap year. Again, it is somewhat subjective and will also depend on the number of years you were “idle”.

Having friends at XLRI, I can only suggest you keep in mind these few facts if you're passionate about getting into any high-quality B-School. 

• Understand that people at B-Schools care about your marks very seriously.
• The competition level at any B-School would be so intense that the panel would not just consider people with a great academic background. They would take a month/year's work experience into consideration, too.

The status that XLRI or any great B-School carries would not be put at risk by admitting candidates who do not have a quality academic background. You have to at least maintain a minimum of the criteria that these institutes demand. 

• Recruiters that approach these reputed B-Schools for placements belong to different firms. For instance- Finance (Citibank, SoftBank, Goldman Sachs Group); Consulting (PWC, BCG, McKenzie); Marketing (P&G, Nestlé, HUL), and others. 
• These companies check the candidate's academic background. 
• The minimum percentage level they take into consideration for shortlisting is 60% at the graduation level. If your score is beyond that and you have been a university topper, it would be a plus.

Because of the reputation factor, FMS/XLRI/SPJIMR, etc. would not put their reputation at stake by admitting students with a poor academic background. Therefore, instead of focusing on that, it will be wise to focus and perform well in other exams like - MICAT, NMAT, SNAP, IIFT, CAT, XAT so that you can get a call from any one of the top 20 B-Schools of India. 

Despite a 50% score in your graduation, you still think about getting into a reputed institute like XLRI. This shows how much faith you carry in yourself.