XIMB - An inside journey

XIMB is one of the best tier 2 B-Schools. It is better than most new IIMs and all baby IIMs.Average salary for the 2020 passout batch was 15lpa, while the median stood at 15.4lpa. Marketing is really strong in our college. But at the same time, operations and finance faculties are also great.Admission is taken through CAT/XAT/XGMT(conducted by XIMB)/NMAT(only for HRM program). The exam is followed by a GD and PI. There is a 50% domicile quota. People from Odisha have lower cutoffs than people from other states. Also, the huge batch size results in a bit of a delay in the placement process. But ultimately, 100% placement occurs every year. In 2020, due to COVID, 7 people had their offers revoked, but they were helped by our alumni as well as the faculty and are successfully placed thereafter.Cutoffs vary every year. In 2020, cutoff for XGMT for non-domicile engineering male students was 91%ile. For CAT and XAT, it was 88%ile. Female candidates and non-engineers have much lower cutoffs. Level of difficulty of the exams every year plays a significant role in determining the cutoffs.

The Business Management course is a comprehensive one where we can opt for more than one major (e.g. dual majors in both Marketing and Finance etc.) which is a big plus. The faculty to student ratio is 1:12. Most of our faculties have completed their PhDs. The course is extremely rigorous involving 70hours/week of study time including classes, assignments, projects, case studies and much more. This prepares us well for the upcoming challenges in our lives when we graduate and teaches us excellent time management skills.The subjects (average of 8 subjects every term) are a good mix of core and general management courses with an all encompassing approach to build our business acumen.The exams are conducted at appropriate and exact time as mentioned at the beginning of the term. Exams are moderately difficult but with good preparation one can perform well.

Our average stipend is 50,000 per month for summer internship of 2 months. Deloitte, PwC, HSBC, NatWest, ICICI Bank, SBI Capital Markets, L'Oreal, Godrej, Coca-Cola, Tata Steel, TCS, Capegemini, Cognizant, Infosys etc. are some of the top recruiters.Roles include management trainees in marketing, finance, operations, systems etc. domains mostly.I have got an internship in SBI Capital with a monthly stipend of 30000.

In case of summer internships, placements start from the first term and continues till the end of the third term. The final placement starts from the middle of second term (5th term) of the second year and continues till the end of the course.Deloitte, PwC, HSBC, NatWest, ICICI Bank, SBI Capital Markets, L'Oreal, Godrej, Coca-Cola, Tata Steel, TCS, Capegemini, Cognizant, Infosys etc. are some of the top recruiters.Average Package: 15lpaMedian Package: 15.4lpaHighest Package: 22lpaLowest Package: 10lpa.For details regarding the roles, the placement report can be viewed from the official XIMB page on LinkedIn.My plan is to work as an analyst in Equity Research at a good company immediately after this course.

We have one of the biggest fests in Eastern India, the famous Xpressions. The campus infrastructure is good and it has improved significantly after COVID as classes are being conducted online now. We have 19 committees in total and a Student Executive Council (SEC).Out if them there are 4 core committees, 5 functional committees and 10 interest committees with a diverse range of activities. In short, there is a committee for everyone and for every interest on our campus.

The fees is quite high at 22lakhs for two years (including books, hostel and mess charges). Central Bank of India and the State Bank of India offer student loans at low interest rates (as low as 6.5% in case of central bank) covering the overall expenses.

It is a full-time on campus course. We are not allowed to hire separate flats or apartments. The hostel fees for single room is 52000 per annual without mess fees. Mess fees of additional 5000 is required per month. We also have twin sharing and triple sharing rooms at much lesser prices. Facilities are basic, a bed, table, chair and wardrobes. No air-conditioning is there. Twin sharing rooms have attached toilets which single and multi sharing rooms have common toilet facilities.Food is of good quality and the menu has a diverse range.

As mentioned earlier there was only GD and PI. GD topics were simple. They judge candidates on the basis of their communication skills, basic hygiene, ability to articulate their thoughts etc.I had no prior preparation as such. Staying updated with current affairs is good enough for this round. Also, one should have a general idea about the subjects from graduation.