XLRI Jamshedpur review

XLRI is among the Top 5 B-Schools of India and is the Oldest B-School as well. It boasts of a premier brand value and hence one gets access to the best companies, roles and opportunities. XLRI has admissions only on merit and there is no quota or relaxation mechanism in the selection process. The admission process is similar to that of other B-Schools and includes an exam, GD, PI etc. As XAT is conducted in January after most of the main exams are done, one gets the chance to focus more and also gauge how hard one has to push for results in this exam since some results of other exams are usually out by this time. I referred to the website of various coaching classes and also talked to past alumni and MBA graduates. Since Jamshedpur is a small city, it has not been possible for us to reach campus due to multiple reasons including that XLRI is a private institute among others.

PGDBM is the 'regular MBA' program that lets one learn about multiple aspects. I wanted to shift from Biological Sciences and Research to Business and hence this course best suits me. Faculties are well qualified with both teaching and industry experience and hold PhDs and other higher degrees. The online mode is totally different from the in-class experience and significant changes should have been made in teaching and pedagogy. XLRI has a trimester system and term exams take place roughly every 3 months. It is not difficult to pass in most courses due to various components such as quizzes, assignments etc but the overall academic workload is tough to keep pace with and requires a lot of work.

All top companies in various domains such as Consulting, Finance, FMCG etc. visit campus and since XLRI is a premier institute, certain roles offered here are not offered in most other B-Schools. Roles include Product Manager to Consultant to Marketing, practically all functions and domains.

First-year students sit for Summer Placements at the end of the first semester. About 90 companies visit and more than 180 offers are made in all. The average package for summer placements is about INR 1.2 lakh a month. There is 100% placement and all students are placed.

The fees are about INR 1 lakh a month each for 24 months. This is similar to the fees for MBA colleges of decent repute. The fees are hiked by 10% every year but it was not hiked due to the pandemic for the current batch. There are many merit-based and needs-based scholarships offered both in house and by external organisations. XLRI has an excellent track record of campus placements for both summer and final placements.

I am yet to go to campus but XLRI has a vibrant and amazing campus life. There is always something that happens in terms of events, club meets, talks etc. The main fest in Ensemble-Valhalla and there are various fests conducted by different clubs as well. We have been provided with books to be used from home since we have not reached campus.

I am yet to reach campus but all facilities and amenities are top-notch. The hostel and mess fees are on the higher side. I have not been charged for these since I have not reached campus. There is a compulsory on-campus stay.

XAT is different from other MBA exams as it has a DM section and the overall exam is more language heavy. There is also a GK section that is not part of the percentile calculation but is used for filtering at later stages. The GD topics range from current affairs to abstract. Interview questions typically include standard questions about you and your profile. The interviewers mostly then build the interview based on your answers and content. There was a pre-process online video-based interview. There were also 4 questions to be answered. I used the coaching material provided by IMS and also referred to past experiences and latest topics.