Rather than asking which is better IIMA or FMS you should be asking what is better for you.
My friend is an IIM Ahmedabad pass out. She had got offers from IIM Calcutta, Lucknow, and FMS as well. Yet she chose IIMA because it was her dream college. One year into IIMA she realized some major shortcomings.
The only significant feature here is its excellent placement. This is also the reason why it attracts so much crowd. But this fantasy is also short-lived. As soon as you land a job, you have to start paying back the excessive loan for years. For instance, you land a package with CTC 20 LPA. The in-hand salary would be around 1 lakh and the EMI standing at the end of every month would be 50000. After reducing EMI and personal expenses you get little for yourself for several years despite your hard work. Despite graduating you will be stuck in the same life for years.
Now considering FMS it has the following merits that make it a tad bit better than IIM Ahmedabad
Your batchmates from FMS will be enjoying life, and fulfilling their dreams and you will be still stuck in the same circle of paying back loans. So the brand value is just not enough. I don’t think spending 20 lakhs on any Indian B School is worth it.
The GD-PI round will not be easy irrespective of whether it’s for IIM A or any other college. There are certain non-negotiables in every GD-PI. These non-negotiables usually depend on the objective of the program and the values of the college. If you fulfill these criteria, the GD-PI round will not be that difficult.
Here are some things that can help you perform well in the GD-PI round.
The two most common questions asked during the GD-PI round are ‘Tell me something about yourself.’ and ‘Why MBA?”. So, prepare for these questions.
The admission to IIM Ahmedabad or IIM Bangalore depends on a lot of factors other than just class 12th marks. The tables below will give a breakup of the weightage used by both these institutes during the initial shortlisting and final admission for the batch of 2021-23. You can visit the official websites of both institutes for better clarity.
Shortlisting | ||
Categories | IIM Ahmedabad | IIM Bangalore |
CAT Score | 65% | 40% |
Academic Profile | 30% | 50% |
Work Experience | 5% | 8% |
Gender Diversity | - | 2% |
Final Admission | ||
Categories | IIM Ahmedabad | IIM Bangalore |
CAT Score | 25% | 25% |
Academics | 15% | 25% |
Personal Interview (PI) | 50% | 30% |
Academic Writing Test (AWT) / Writing Ability Test (WAT) | 10% | 10% |
Work Experience | - | 10% |
As you can see, it depends on a lot of factors, and just because you have only 78.75% in 12th does not mean that you are out of the race. Your class 10th score, graduation score, CAT score along with your performance in PI and AWT/WAT will decide if you will be selected for them or not. It is also seen that IIM Bangalore gives more emphasis on work experience than IIM Ahmedabad.
Do not lose hope and prepare well for the CAT, PI, and AWT/WAT.
IIM Ahmedabad easily ensures a high salary. One of my cousin's brothers was an IIM Ahmedabad pass out. Today he is working abroad for Amazon and earns around 1.8 crore.
Another friend, an IIM Ahmedabad pass out, is making 26 LPA. He was nowhere near 20% or 30% of the batch, neither in academics nor in terms of campus replacement figures.
So we can safely assume that even without much shifting of jobs, an IIM Ahmedabad passout would reach the 1 crore easily.
Life at IIM Ahmedabad depends on your course, which year or term you are in, and your personal goals.
Until Summer placement:
After Summer Placements:
During this time, you will be considerably relaxed. You can concentrate on your academics and other activities since you will be placed.
2nd Year:
Irrespective of the choices you make, life on IIM A campus will be enriching.
This is certainly not the case. Rohan Jain and Aviral Bhatnagar are some of the most followed writers on various social media platforms.
My cousin is a student from this institute. He once told me a story that was told to all the students by one of the professors. It's about Prof. Nanda, Director at IIM Ahmedabad, speaking at Harvard University. He said that the brightest of students go to Harvard Law School and end up at Harvard Business School. He didn’t say anything about the writing skills but mentioned that not all at HBS are bright students. Similarly, not all the students at HBS would have exceptional writing skills.
The same can be assumed about IIM Ahmedabad. According to the professor, IIM Ahmedabad students are capable of-
IIMA graduates are known for their caliber and talent. But here the emphasis is on the diligence that is exercised in academics at IIMA.
Some of the graduates from IIM A and IIM B were once told to write a reflection paper on three important learnings in their life. This was a test for them to be selected for Ph.D. under a professor. None of the students produced any satisfactory answers. All of them wrote in a very descriptive way without being critical and analytical. The professor here is high opinionated but very good in articulation and his writing style.
Not everyone has writing skills like Rohan Jain and Aviral Bhatnagar. A student can definitely improve his/her structuring and writing skills while being a part of the IIMA journey. The journey has always been transformative for the students.
Your selection should be based on your profile, such as your work experience, industry, and, most importantly, what you hope to gain from the program. If you have 4-5 years of work experience, you can look at EPGP because they have gone through ISB and have capped the work experience of the candidates they accept.
The age range for IIMA is 5-20 years, so the learning will be unparalleled in terms of class discussions and peer group learning. If I recall correctly, IIM Calcutta has a lower batch strength, and the batch is slightly on the higher side of work experience.
Placements are good at all institutes, and your previous industry experience is important. This is something you cannot change and should accept, but you can look at how candidates in that sector have performed over time.
In terms of learning, you'll not find the variety you'll find at PGPX anywhere else. Make contact with both alumni and current students. Make an informed decision based on your motivation for enrolling in the program.
Having known some students of both IIM Indore and Ahmedabad, I can say that both are excellent and well-reputed colleges. Your answer can be segregated into four different categories ranging from peers, academics, faculty and finally, the one everyone is highly interested in – placements:
Your peers:
Academics:
Faculty:
Placements:
Categories | IIM Indore | IIM Ahmedabad |
Course Fee | 15.01 lakh | 23 LPA |
Highest CTC | 44 LPA | 50-60 LPA |
Average CTC | 22 LPA | 24 LPA |
Recruiting Companies | KPMG, Nerolac, ICICI Bank, Aditya Birla Group, etc. | Mindtree, Loreal, Mercedes, HSBC, etc. |
This comparison is slightly unfair as IIM A has better ROI and is comparable to world B-schools whereas IIM Indore is a good business school in central India.
Students at IIM-A are similar to those at SP Jain, NMIMS, FMS, and JBIMS. Aptitude and intelligence are roughly comparable. IIM-A students do not have to compete as hard for placements, so they are less concerned, whereas students from other colleges are constantly concerned about placements.
You'll notice that students from other colleges perform better in competitions than IIM-A because they are generally more hardworking during MBA because the struggle is greater for them. However, because of the brand name, IIM-A students receive far more exposure than students from any other college in India, which benefits students greatly in their personal development.