While many might have drawn several general comparisons between the institutes, my answer will target only one aspect which is your work experience.
Fresher
Freshers can refer to the following preference order.
MDI Gurgaon>Great Lakes (2-year course) >IIT Madras
Experienced
If you are someone with enough work experience,va I will suggest the following preference order
MDI Gurgaon>Great Lakes (1-year course) > IIT Madras
To secure admission to top MBA institutes in India, you should aim for CAT percentiles from 85 onwards. Here's the order of the institutes you should target in descending order - IIM K with 97+ percentile, MDI with 96+, IMT Ghaziabad with 90+, SPJain with 85+, and NITIE with as high as possible sectional-wise.
Even though SPJain is a premier institute, it gives a call from the 85 percentile onward, since they focus on overall values that an individual possesses and want students with more values in them. They have 2 group interviews, so they follow a rejection procedure.
NITIE has a sectional cutoff, so it's advisable to have as high as possible sectional-wise, as many people with an overall CAT percentile in the range of 97-98 were not selected in either of their 2 programs(PGDM and PGDIESM) in 2016.
IIM K also has a sectional cutoff of 90+, so it's important to score well in each section.
It's worth noting that these institutes do not have a sectional cutoff, but it's always advisable to have a 90+ sectional percentile to be on the safer side. Aim for high percentile and sectional scores to improve your chances of securing a seat in these prestigious institutes.
The following table shows a comparison of the mentioned colleges:
Factor |
IIFT Delhi |
MDI Gurgaon |
NIRF Ranking |
29th |
10th |
Accreditation |
NAAC ‘A’ Grade |
NBA, AACSB |
Courses |
MBA (IB), Executive MBA |
PGPM, PGPM-HRM, PGP-IM, EPGPM |
Selection Criteria |
IIFT exam |
CAT, GMAT |
Campus |
6 acres |
37 acres |
Fees |
21.7 lakhs |
23.47 Lakhs |
Average Placement |
25.16 LPA |
27.67 LPA |
Top Recruiters |
Amazon, HUL, Nestle, P&G, Goldman Sachs, |
Deloitte, KPMG, Amazon, EY, BCG, PwC |
Hope this comparison helps!
You, as an MDI student, are known as a 'ManDevIan'.
If you are already earning a salary as high as INR 71 LPA, I don’t think an MBA from MDI Gurgaon will do you any good. If you have decided on going for an MBA nevertheless, target the top B Schools like IIM A, IIM B, IIM C, XLRI, FMS, or IIM L. Choosing MDI for MBA is recommended only if you have offers from average B Schools like new IIMs, SPJIMR, NITIE, etc.
So first you need to get maximum calls from the top B Schools only then can you make a wise and informed decision.
MDI Gurgaon will send you a call if you score above the sectional cutoff and 95+ percentile overall in the CAT exam. However, for the final selection, past academics are also considered. If your past academics are not strong, it may decrease your composite score. But, if you get a good percentile in CAT, that can compensate for your past academic performance and increase your chances of converting the call.
Additionally, it is crucial to smartly justify the reason for your average academic performance during the interview. If you were active in extracurricular activities, won competitions, or had any other significant achievements, these will act as positive points for you and help you stand out.
The interview process, which includes Personal Interview (PI), Written Ability Test (WAT), and Group Discussion (GD), has a 30% weightage in the final selection process. Past academics and other factors are given a 15% weightage. CAT percentile has the most significant weightage of 55%.
In summary, you may receive the call at the mentioned percentile, but to convert it, you must prepare well for the interview and present yourself in the best possible way, highlighting your strengths and addressing any weaknesses.
MDI Gurgaon is a great choice for an executive MBA program and is at par with other top-tier schools like IIM A, B, C, L, IIFT, FMS, XLRI, and IIT Delhi DMS. The 3-year executive MBA program for working professionals is extremely good, with the same course and faculty as that of the full-time one-year executive MBA and two-year full-time residential MBA program. It's an excellent institute and is even better than some of the newer IIMs.
However, it's important to note that the fees for the 3-year executive MBA program at MDI Gurgaon have increased enormously over the last few years and are almost 10 lakhs. If you're looking for other options, IIM Lucknow's Noida campus also offers a similar 3-year executive MBA program with fees of Rs 10 lakhs, and classes are held on weekends and weekdays.
IIFT Delhi is another option that offers a similar 3-year executive MBA program with fees of Rs 6.5 lakhs and classes on weekends. IIT Delhi also offers a similar 3-year executive MBA program with fees of Rs 4.10 lakhs, with classes on weekdays. FMS Executive MBA has fees of Rs 1 lakh only.
It's important to choose your education loan wisely, especially when considering the high fees for some of these programs. Make sure to do your research and compare the options before making a decision.
The final decision will be yours. The parameters of comparison are:
To start with, around 2,00,000 candidates appeared for the CAT exam. This means that for every percentile, there are about 2000 people.
Now, let's say that your percentile is 95, which implies that the 5 percentile is more than yours. In other words, approximately 10000 candidates have scored better than you in the CAT exam.
Suppose that 2000 candidates did not apply for MDI, which leaves us with 8000 candidates. Looking at your good scores in 10th, 12th, and graduation, you are better than at least 4000 candidates out of the remaining 8000.
So, the number of candidates left now is 4000. In comparison, IIMs and private/government colleges like SP Jain, FMS, etc., there are around 1500 and 1000 seats available, respectively, in the general category, taking BLACKIS seats into consideration.
Assuming that they all choose colleges other than MDI, the probable candidates left for MDI with profiles better than yours would be 4000-(1500+1000) = 1500. Now, the number of seats available in MDI is approximately 350.
Considering the average GDPI, the probability of your selection in MDI would be 350/1500 = .23333. So, you have a 23.3% chance of getting selected for MDI.
All three of the institutions, MDI, IIFT, and IIM Indore, are comparable, so admission shouldn't be based solely on the IIM moniker. Both IIFT and MDI have excellent lists of recruiters visiting campuses and smaller batch sizes. The IIFT is the best of the three if one is interested in trading or is fine working in general management roles in emerging economies. MDI is the best of the three for consulting-related jobs and a great campus life. Unfortunately, due to its enormous batch size, IIM Indore is no longer regarded as being in the same league as other old IIMs. At all three institutions, the faculty and teaching methods are comparable.
It would be MDI>IIFT>IIM I if you took into account things like placements, faculty, brand value, campus life, and location.