The Himalayan IIM unfiltered

I ran my social startup and always wanted to understand things from the basics. Getting formal management education from a top B-School would help me immensely. Thus I opted for the MBA core program of IIM Sirmaur. The faculty-student ratio is quite good at IIM Sirmaur, the ratio is around 1:5. The faculties are relatively new. There are two professors and several associate professors at IIM Sirmaur. But the quality of professors is at par with any other baby IIM. Many of the faculty and staff are also brought in from institutes like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Trichy, MDI Gurgaon, etc. The exam schedule is circulated at the start of the year, but the level of difficulty was high. Passing exams and scoring well is a very challenging task at IIM Sirmaur.

There are a lot of companies that offer job roles at IIM Sirmaur. The companies include E&Y, HDFC, ICICI, Accenture, Mahindra, DCM Shriram, etc. There are projects for every subject in every term. These projects emphasized the application of the learnings in the course. Most of the projects are in the ppt presentation format. But some projects are also report-type or simulation-type.

Placements are decent at IIM Sirmaur. The average package of the 2020-22 batch was somewhere around 13.75 lakh which is expected to increase by around a lakh for the 2021-23 batch. Students become eligible to sit for campus placements after the completion of the first year i.e. after term 3.

As IIM Sirmaur is still operating from its temporary campus its cost to study is relatively higher. But hopefully, at the end of 2023, the new campus will be operational and the cost to study will become the best amongst all IIM despite the fees hike. I got an internship opportunity with HDFC Bank as a wealth Relationship Manager with a stipend at par with the other IIMS.

Campus life is good. The campus is always buzzing with something or the other. Being from the cultural committee, we are always keen on organizing some or other events for students. Our annual fest is Sierra and every year it is organized in the initial months of the year. In Sierra 2023 more than 7000 students across the country participated and the pro night was performed by Aastha Gill. The library is relatively good and the availability of books there is decent. The classroom also has ample amenities such as projectors, microphones, AC, and other necessary amenities. Sports activities are also organized year-round. Football, Cricket, volleyball, Chess, Foosball, Table Tennis, Badminton, and other sporting events are organized throughout the year.

The hostels are decent. There are in total 6 hostels on the temporary campus of IIM Sirmaur. 2 hostels are for the juniors and 4 for seniors. These hostels are decent, with mess service, housekeeping, and Wi-Fi services available.

The admission process involves three steps, first the CAT (Common Admission Test), secondly the form filling of various colleges, and lastly the GDPI. I applied for CAT 2020 and 2021 through the CAT portal and applied for all the top B-Schools while filling out the form. The fees for CAT 2021 were somewhere around 2300 Rs. The last date to fill out the form is somewhere in late August and the exam is conducted on the last Saturday of November. IN CAT 2022 I scored a good percentile and got calls for some of the top B-schools including IIM Sirmaur. The GDPI process for IIM Sirmaur and the other 8 IIMs is conducted jointly through CAP (Common Admission Process). I cleared the CAP interview and I received the offer letter for IIM Sirmaur.

Group discussion was not conducted for the CAP process of IIM Sirmaur. Still PI was relatively decent. The interview question mostly revolved around my experience and my interests. The interviewers seemed articulate and the questions were tough. Apart from GDPI, there is a CAT cutoff. Also, in different B-Schools, different criteria are there for 10th, 12th, and Bachelor. These criteria keep on changing every year.