My College Review

I had applied for B-schools based on their rankings, so top 10-12. SPJIMR is one of them. There was no quota here and the application was purely merit and CAT score based. There were two ways of getting calls for interviews – profile-based (Exceptional all-around profile) and the usual CAT score based. Though in all cases the min criteria were 85%tile overall and 75%tile in each QA, LRDI, VARC for the call to be valid. SPJIMR has this unique admission process comprising a writing ability test and psychometric test followed by two rounds of group interviews.

I chose it, due to my relevant work-ex and my willingness to build on my business acumen on top of the technical knowledge I had gained. The faculty: student ratio was a healthy one I’d say and all the faculty members were either highly academicians or industry stalwarts who moved into academics later on. They have a unique value-based approach to imparting learning that helps an all-around development of an MBA professional. Exams were spaced out with a lot of assignments and quizzes every now and then. Easy to pass as concepts were tested rather than mugged up knowledge.

Just like placements, internship opportunities were great as well even during the peak COVID chaos. Our college has an autumns internship that happens during Sep-Oct contrary to Summers in other B-schools. And the internship is tightly linked and part of the entire academic curriculum. The companies and roles offered mirrors the ones I have mentioned for final placements.

Awesome placement opportunities here, being a top-10 B-school helps as well as being situated at Mumbai, the financial hub of the country. A few names of companies I have mentioned earlier, detailed placement stats available online everywhere. The highest package goes above 40 LPA while the minimum hovers around 16-18 LPA, and the average goes around 25-26 LPA. The profiles vary from consulting, FMCG roles, IT, product management, etc. The entire batch got placed as it happens each year. My plans – leveraging the learnings I have gained and apply them real-time in practical business use cases to help my organization.

Fees structure at par with top B-schools and IIMs in India. Scholarships and financial assistance options present for the ones who are eligible as per policies. As of the companies visiting the campus for placements, top-notch companies, likes of Bain, BCG as well as top FMCG firms like P&G, Unilever, e-comm firms like Amazon and many more.

Campus life was amazing, fast-paced MBA learnings with timely breaks for various fests like sports fest, cultural fest, annual student-driven play added volumes of fun element. The campus had an excellent library stocked with a huge never-ending collection of books and journals. Classrooms were modern and top-notch as well. The campus is located as a part of the larger Bhavan’s campus and so there were plenty of opportunities for sports activities like cricket, basketball, tennis as well as other indoor games. The Andheri Sports Complex is also at a stone’s throw away distance. N number of groups and clubs managed by students alone as the emphasis here is very high on learning by doing.

Yes, GD was not there but there were two rounds of group interviews. One tested the technical knowledge, why MBA and such, while the second focusing more on the role fitment and understanding the values and approach. Written ability test was there that gave us to write a short essay followed by a psychometric test both combined lasted for 20 mins. So, the entire thing was a kind of rapid-fire round. Psychometric never requires any prep, for the essay bit, I had practised writing short structured essays before my CAT interviews so that helped.