What it feels to say XL Meri Jaan!

The admission process had an aptitude test, for which the application had to be filled out on its site, with a cost of Rs. 2000. There wasn't any additional fee for registering for the college. The eligibility was a min of 50% throughout the academics. The applicants should have completed or be in the final year of their graduation. There are no reservation criteria for admission into XLRI. Furthermore, after the XAT exam, a cutoff of ranks is released, and candidates are shortlisted for GD/PI round based on their scores. All the processes are conducted smoothly, although online GD/PI can be problematic.

The Business Management course I selected gives you a chance to pursue the field of your choice by selecting your specialization in the 2nd year of the course. The course is well designed, based on the changes in the industry and XL focuses on the rigor of academics, so one has to study to pass the exams. Most of the faculties are alums of old IIMs, with a few who have been moved back from renowned foreign universities. The teaching methods are usually application based by using recent applications and cases to develop the business understanding. The Student-faculty ratio is around 30:1, which helps to create fewer barriers between professors and students relationship.

The Summer internship for XLRI for the batch of 2022-24 was again 100% placements just like other years, with the average stipend for the students being 1.54 Lakhs per month. The highest stipend was 3.5 lakh per month and 96% of the students got at least 1 lakh stipend per month. 47 of the students got their internships in MBB consulting roles, and the rest of the students also converted the prestigious company roles such as Amazon, Accenture Strategy, HUL, ITC, and Bajaj Auto. A total of 99 companies from domains such as Consulting, Finance, Marketing, ProdMan, Operations, HR, and GenMan offered roles to the 590 students taking part in the process.

The campus placements of XLRI have been one of the best across the country. The recently passed batch of 2022-24 had an average CTC of 30 lakhs, and the average package of the top 10% and 25% of the batch was 48 LPA and 43 LPA respectively. The offers were rolled out by 99 recruiters for the 427 students across both campuses, and 100% of the students were placed on Day 1. BCG, Bain, Accenture Strategy, Microsoft, Amazon, and ITC made the most offers among the regular recruiters. 40% of the students had already received the PPO from their internships. The consultant was the domain most offered were rolled from. After completing my degree I'm hoping to get into the most prestigious Operations or Marketing company.

The academic fee for the 2021-23 batch for the BM course is 23.9 Lakhs for the 2 years. The fee hike has been there in the past two years as for the upcoming batch of 2023-25 it is around 27.4 Lakhs. Although there are ample opportunities for scholarships for students who belong to low-income families. A lot of scholarships are provided, from corporates, alums, and admin which can be of financial assistance based on family income or performance. Also, one can easily avail of loans in order to finance his/her course as reputed banks like SBI, HDFC, and CBI reach out to give loans without any collateral. The Summer Internships are always good at XLRI, with the average stipend of the 2022-24 batch being about 1.5 lakhs per month with roles offered by all the renowned companies.

The campus life of XLRI is something no one can forget in his life, and it is something I am going to miss every day once it gets over. There are around 30 student-run committees and interest groups, which results in there always something happening. The annual fest EV happens every November, where a lot of B-schools come to compete in business & sports competitions. Along with it, there is the prestigious XL vs IIM-C sports meet that has been going on for decades. The infrastructure is really good, with one-sided motion allowed inside the hostels. The campus is full of greenery and a lot of eateries which helps students to have food available 24/7 for the students. The hostels are not Air conditioned, but the discussion rooms, library, mess, and lecture halls are. Overall, the campus life is amazing, especially as the 2023-25 batch will be getting hostels at the old hostel side, which is too beautiful.

In XLRI, staying inside the campus is mandatory. The hostel rooms are really spacious, such that you could easily have two beds inside your room. Also, there is a table, chair, and cupboard given to each student. The student-to-washroom ratio varies from 2:1 to 6:1 depending on the hostels. There is enough space in the hostel for each student to get a single occupancy room. The hostel charge is 1,65,000 for 2 years for the 21-23 batch. The food in the mess is good, and the menu is decided by the student-run committee which keeps changing from time to time. Apart from veg and non-veg food, there is also Jain food specially made for the students who want it. The mess charge is 6000 per month which is decent. If a student doesn't like the food, he can opt out of the mess and eat at the campus eateries or order from zomato/swiggy.

Yes, there was a PI round for me during my admission process. Usually, there is a Group discussion round also but, due to covid, it was scrapped that year. The interviews were spanned out from last Feb to the start of April, where one had to book his slot for an online interview. The interview panel consisted of 3 profs, and it lasted for about 20-25 minutes for me. The process was very smooth and the panelists were calm and of friendly nature. The questions were asked about my interest in pursuing an MBA, then about my favorite course. After listening to my answer as statistics, they gave me a stats-based case to solve, and then deep-dived into the case situation. I prepared for the PI round by myself and used to give PI interviewers to my friends for practice. Also, joining the telegram group where candidates used to share their interview experience, helped in my preparation.