Ashish Shah's Review On MICA, Ahmedabad

The College Management supports the students and is always on the lookout to make life more interesting on campus.

After taking CAT in 2011 and getting the required cut-off for MICA, I applied for MICAT. MICAT is a combination of Aptitude & Creativity tests, which included Groups Exercises, Personal Interviews and more. I scored more than 90 percentile in CAT and did well in MICAT to get on the Day long process for admission, post which I was offered a seat in the prestigious PGDM Course. I chose the PGDM Course over other MBA offers from Bschools because MICA was the only school which had courses ranging from Advertising to World Cinema.

The course curriculum is what drew me to MICA to begin with. From Market Research and Data Crunching to Film Analysis and Culture Studies, MICA has a well-balanced and unique blend of practical and theoretical knowledge, along with special industry sessions for students to be Work Ready as soon as they leave the comfort of the campus.

MICA has an elaborate process for student internships with students offered opportunities to intern across the country with companies from various fields such as Media, Advertising, FMCG, Banking, E-Commerce and more. With a Placement Committee dedicated to meet the expectations of the students and looking out for their interests, MICA has a transparent and fair process to ensure that 100% of the students get Summer Internships of their choice. Companies like Sony Pictures, Citibank, L'Oreal, Leo Burnett & Amazon are regulars on the MICA campus.

MICA has a record for 100% placements for the last 15 years. More than 100+ companies visit annual to offer jobs to almost 160 passing students every year. While Salaries vary from industry to industry, an average placement salary of 8-9 LPA has been witnessed, with salaries going up to 20 LPA for certain jobs.

MICA has an active cultural committee dedicated to celebrate every festival on campus - from Diwali & Eid to Pongal & Christmas. The Mess cooks some delicious food for students on these days to spread the festive spirit, apart from the campus being decked up for the same. MICA has a number of Festivals - From Theatre Festivals [SANKALP] to Sports Meets [SAMAR] as well as an Annual Festival [MICAnvas] to Alumni Meets on Campus, every event is lavish in nature and is eagerly participated in by prestigious colleges from across the country.

The Fee structure for MICA is quite reasonable and rates quite favorably as compared to other A-Grade B-Schools in the Country like the IIMs, XLRIs and so on. The annual fees for MICA between 2011-2013 was about 13Lakhs for the 2 year course, which included boarding, lodging, tuition as well as Mess Fees for the students.

Scholarship loans are provided for MICA by every major bank as MICAns are known to generate great jobs and are recognised as the best in their fields. SBI, HDFC & AXIS even hold camps for students and provide loans easily.

MICA has the most happening life outside its classrooms - with an almost 50:50 Gender Ratio, and Diversity in the form of Students coming from all parts of the Country and all possible education backgrounds such as Commerce, Science and Politics, MICA offers its students the ability to see different sides of each argument. With a WiFi Enabled Campus, Great Sports facilities, a Library that is state of the art and Classrooms which double up as Amphitheatres, MICA truly provides a great opportunity for growth in every direction.

The Hostels are fantastic in terms of facilities provided - from WiFi to Washing Machines, Neat Cupboards, Spacious and Clean Housecleaning Facilities and more. The Mess is probably one of the best in the country with variety, hygiene and quality maintained in a rigorous manner.

MICA has a strong alumni base which lets its current students enjoy the best insights into the Media and Advertising Space by interacting with the Who's Who in the business world.

The Exam structure in MICA is devised in a way that the focus for a student is on learning and not recreating text book answers on a piece of paper. For that very reason, MICA has a unique approach to student appraisal and varies from subject to subject, with regular tests and innovative ways to impart learning to students.

After scoring more than 90 percentile in CAT 2011, I applied for MICAT 2011, which is a written test along the lines of CAT but with a twist as it has qualitative filters to test the creativity of the applicants. After I cleared MICAT, I was invited for a day long admission process on campus which included group activities, personal interviews and an induction in the college culture, post which the final list of names were announced at the end of the day.

MICA has some of the best teachers in the industry. From courses ranging from Advertising, Account Planning, Brand Management, Digital Marketing, Social Media, Media Planning to Indian Cinema, Sociology and Culture and Communication, MICA sources the Industry's best to teach the Industry's future. Apart from regular courses, a number of visiting faculty from the industry visit the campus on a regular basis to interact with the students and share insights and real time lessons with the students.