My MBA life at IIM Bangalore

The admission process for IIM B is very simple. For an international student to get admission, they must have a GMAT score and Indian students must have attempted CAT and have the score from the same. The process happens in two phases. For part 1- the candidate is shortlisted based on their CAT scores and the cutoff the college releases. In Part 2 - the college conducts a WAT/PI. A cumulative score is taken based on assigned ratings in order to arrive at the final list of students getting admission to IIM B. A common application form needs to be filled for getting admission to the college. The overall fees is somewhere around 23 lakhs and there are reservations avaiilable for the different sets of people in our country. IIM B also wants its candidates to submit 2 letter of recommendation to gain further info on the candidates credibility. The same is supposed to be confidential in this case.

The course curriculum at IIM B consists of elements from all over the industry. In the initial year, focus is more on holistic growth of the student with no particular concentration on a said field. Students are given a choice to opt for electives in their second year. The college curriculum also consists of simulation activities where the students are exposed to real world scenarios under which they have to operate a given business. The ideal faculty-to-student ratio is 1:10 and majority of the faculty come with an experience of 15-20 years in the industry. This helps the students in connecting what they learn with the real world in a better manner.

Each student at IIM B has to compulsorily opt for a 8 week long internship in between their 1st and 2nd year. This is usually held in the summer break of April-May after the end of Year 1. The given time helps the student in getting updated with any prior knowledge required to get to work. The average package offered during my year was Rs. 4.5 lakhs for the entire duration of the internship. I worked as a Brand Management Intern at P&G. The internship process starts during October-November and goes on till December-January till when 100% of the students are placed in the various different industries that come to campus.

Having been ranked as No. 1 as per the NIRF ranking of 2019, the college further pulled in a lot of big brands with each of them offering an average package of 26.54 lakhs. These big brands could be named as P&G, EY, BCG, Microsoft, Amazon, McKinsey, etc. Each candidate got placed into top companies in less than a week because of their diverse background and them having the previous workex, which is always welcome in any management college. A total of 130-150 companies visit the campus from different industries such as IT services, consulting, marketing, BFSI, etc.

The fees as IIM B is usually hiked by 10% every year, but as a student you easily get loans for the same from any of the partner banks. The average salary during placement goes upto around Rs. 25.5 lakhs giving the student a good ROI. IIM B is a brand and one of the top 3 IIMs makes it very attractive for students as well as corporates. The college prefers people that come from a workex background. This is why the average workex of students at IIMB is 2 years approximately

Having taken admission during the pandemic, I didnt get to experience campus life for the initial 1 year. However, the moment things started opening up, we were called to college in the month of October. The campus as we all know is a state of the art equipped with all basic facilities one could ask for. The library consists of more than 15000 resources from all different backgrounds. The college also promotes culture and creativity through its annual fest Aarambh, Unmaad, etc. Even after being established back in 1973, the campus is great as new and has also featured in many movies.

The hostel is divided into two sections for the boys and girls to live comfortably. Each room either comes with 3 sharing, 2 sharing or single occupancy. One can opt for the same as per preference and the rooms are allocated based on first come first serve. The hostel has common bathrooms with 1 bathroom being available to every 5 students for ease of usage. The hostel is cleaned and well maintained on a regular basis with the menu at mess being revised in a timely manner.

After the candidate is shortlisted through their CAT scores, they are called in for a WAT/PI round by the college. The WAT constitutes 10-15% of weightage for the entire admission process. The WAT topics are from diverse categories, so in order to score well, a candidate must be well equipped with their knowledge of Business, Economics, Finance, etc. Some of the common topics asked are GST, Yearly Budget of India, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao etc. The PIs at IIM B are very different than the norm. They are given a weightage of approximately 25-30% and anything starting from information about your birthplace to the international relations of our country could be asked in the PI. The candidate must be updated with all recent events and showcase a vigilant and spontaneous mind frame in order to stand out.