An Honest Review of Indian Institute of Management, Sirmaur: Pros, Cons, and Everything in Between

My father was a marketing manager, so from a very young age, I heard a lot about marketing and sales, this was the beginning of my interest in the business sector. As I grew old this interest only increased, so it was only natural to pursue MBA. IIMs are known for their quality of education, they offer world-class management education programs with a focus on rigorous academic coursework, case studies, and experiential learning. IIM Sirmaur is no exception. The faculty at IIM Sirmaur are experts in their respective fields and have extensive industry experience. The teaching style is more focused on an application-based approach. The professors always keep us in a tricky situation, forcing us to think out of the box and solve the problem in front of us. The weightage of end-term exams is not more than 40%, the rest is for projects, presentations, class participation, etc. As the weightage is distributed throughout the term, we are required to focus on all and not just end-term exams

Companies like ICICI, Accenture, HDFC, TRD studios, and Collegedunia have offered internships to students. Depending upon the role offered, the projects range from hardcore sales projects to HR projects.

IIM Sirmaur has a 100% placement record. Students are eligible to sit in the placement process from the 4th term. The participating companies like Aditya Birla, EY, Infosys, Accenture, HDFC, ICICI, etc. The highest package offered was 64LPA, and the average package was 14LPA.

The two-year fee was INR 13,75,000, excluding mess fees for the 2022-2024 batch. Banks will be willing to give a loan without any collateral or co-guarantor, including a mess fee, laptop, etc. The whole loan process can be completed in two days. The loan can be cleared off in 5-6 years with the job we get in our final placements.

We are currently living on the temporary campus and will soon be shifting to the permanent campus. The temporary campus has the necessary facilities like a library, gym, auditorium, etc. All the classrooms are air-conditioned digital classrooms. Sierra is our annual management, sports, and cultural fest, which is conducted in March. Institutes from all over India compete against each other in various events. Every month there is a sports competition like volleyball, cricket, chess, football, etc. There are many committees and clubs which the students run.

The hostel we are living in is outside the campus, as it is a temporary campus. A bus is provided for picking up and dropping from the campus to the hostel. The hostel has facilities like a gym, washing machines, and mess. The rooms are double sharing and are spacious enough with a book rack, almirah, study table, and chair. The mess is on the ground floor, and the menu is prepared to account for the taste of all the states.

To enter into IIM, you need to take the Common Admission Test (CAT), which is a national-level entrance exam conducted by the IIM itself. The application process for CAT starts in August, and the exam is held in November. The criteria for appearing for the CAT exam is that the candidate is either appearing in the final year exam or must have a Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD). The general process for applying is: We need to visit the official CAT website and then click on "Registration for New User" and then we need to enter our basic details like name and DOB. After registering, we need to fill in the application form by entering our personal and academic details and also we need to select the IIMs and programs we wish to apply for We must upload scanned copies of our documents. The application fee for general and NC-OBC is INR 2000, and for SC/ST/Pwd it is INR 1000.

I gave my interview in 2022, and due to Covid, it was an online interview process without any GD or WAT. A joining link with the joining date and time will be sent to our registered mail. On the day of the interview, I had to wait for 1 hour before my turn, the interview panel consisted of two panelists. The process started with me being asked to introduce myself, and then follow-up questions based on my educational background. I prepared for the interview by revising my undergrad subjects and also by keeping up to date with current affairs.