Home away from home!

Once you are an IRMAn, you will forever be an IRMAn. The longing to go back to the campus, enjoying those two years all over again will never go back. The serene campus, the walks in the greenery, the AMUL-taste of India, the nearby places(accessibility to everything), the amazing food and the forever friends you make, will never fade as a memory in your mind.

We were the last batch who gave the exclusive IRMA entrance test, in the year 2013. I scored 95 percentile in the exam. However, there were sectional cut-offs as well, which means there are chances that you may not qualify even if you score 99 percentile if one of the sections' cutoff is not clear. However, now IRMA accepts CAT/XAT scores, followed by a Social Concern test (only the ones who qualify the cutoff of CAT/XAT are eligible to appear for this test). The CAT/XAT cutoffs vary every year depending on the each year's performance.

The course curriculum includes subjects which are common with the other B-schools. Apart from that, there are subjects on Rural society, Rural Development, Rural Marketing, Managing cooperatives etc. These subjects are to build the base for the participants for the program me they have enrolled for.

The institute is able to provide 100% placement, in fact, lot of organisations that are not able to make it on the first few days have to go back empty-handed. The opportunities are ample. To name a few organisations that come for placements : GCMMF, NDDB, HDFC, ICICI,Pidilite,Janalakshmi,ESAF Microfinance, Dharma Life, NPCI,CSPC,Pradan, Sambodhi,RRLM,NRLM,CMS,CDD,BRLF,SBI,Intellegrow,IndusInd bank, Fullerton,Jaipur Rugs, Godrej Agrovet,Colgate Palmolive, Vistaar Financial Services, Coconut Development Board, IWMI etc. The median salary every year has increased drastically due to more focus towards rural sector by various organisations and IRMA holding the topmost position for being the best school for rural management in the country.

Well, when it comes to events, IRMA will keep you on your toes and a forever high all the time. To add to your surprise, there are two fresher parties for you within 2- 3 months of college starting. Right after that, is followed by a grand Independence day celebration. Other than that, you have a inter-batch sports competition, inter-hostel competition involving customized events. This will gel you up with your batch mates, seniors and everybody. Not to miss, in between, all the festivals are celebrated with equal favor (to name a few : Onam, Janmashtmi, Diwali, Ganesh Pooja, Navratri, Christmas and anything or everything you want to include : take an initiative and go ahead! ). An annual grand alumni meet is organised for 2-3 consecutive days including a marathon. This will take away your sleep for days! Then before you could rest, you have to arrange for a farewell for your seniors , oh but wait! we play Holi with the seniors first, thanksgiving party is due from their side after you have waived them goodbye!

The fees structure is very nominal compared to other B-schools of the country. The payment process is also participant-friendly. The details could be checked on the website as certain modifications might be there every year due to regulatory or any other policy-related aspects.

There are no scholarships given as the fees is already nominal. However, there are several banks like SBI, CBI which are near to the campus and provide the students with education loans.

There is always an effort to keep the gender ratio equal however that also depends on the applicants' gender rati There are several workshops conducted in the institute which anybody can attend. Being an institute of rural managers and understanding these topics like gender, caste, economic status in a sensitive manner at the village level, also imbibes in the participants the importance of equality in the campus. In fact, on the contrary, it might take away all the stereotypes you ever had in your life because the person you might like the most is the farthermost part of the country. The environment is very convivial, however, there is no stopping to having constructive debates over any issues bubbling in our society.

There is no sharing of rooms! Being a residential program each participant is accommodated in the campus. After all, what's the fun without being together all the time. The blocks for males and females are separate. The charges are included in the fee structure however, there is a nominal mess fee every month to be paid by cheque. The only place where you can have food inside the campus is the mess, that's how you learn cooperative management no after all. But trust me, after two years, mess is the place that you would miss, best hangout in the campus. You get dessert every evening! There is tea/coffee available twice a day. Milk can be given on request. There is an Amul outlet in the campus, for your sweet cravings!

The alumni network of IRMA, I would say is one of the strongest. Anywhere outside the institute, you meet a person from your institute you will bond naturally without an effort. The bonding is personal, professional and on societal outlooks as well. There is an alumni group on Yahoo groups which will keep you posted about any new developments in the campus, any new job opportunities in the sector. Also, every year there are alumni meets across the country, on the same date preferable at different locations just to catch up, know your alumni, share your experiences.

There will be surprise quizzes but that is an embedded part of any postgraduate program. They are just based on what you have studied in the class so doesn't freak you out. Other than that, there will be mid-terms and end-terms in each term. One term generally lasts for three months. IRMA will give you enough scope to do things you like, read what you like and organised as many events as you may want. There is no bounding your creativity. The exams are not very hectic as you would have already studied everything in the classroom, thanks to the amazing faculty, hence you just need to brush through your books. The course material is customized every year and in itself is so interesting that you don't need to pick up the books during the exam time because you would have already read everything(out of interest) by then.

The application date usually closes before you appear for CAT/XAT which means you can't wait for the results to buy the form. After the results are declared for these, you get a call letter from IRMA(if you have qualified based on the cutoffs) for the further process. The process then involves a GA-GD-PI. This process is conducted at the campus(accommodation for the candidate is provided). Based on your GA-GD-PI score you get the final call. The overall process takes approx a month. The offer letter is usually sent across in the month of March, after which you need to send an acceptance letter along with the first installment(as DD preferably).