Fair Warning To IIM Aspirants From An IIM Alumnus

Neutral_Junta

Nicely written...Being from a non ABC IIM, I trully agree to what the author has said.

1 Mar 2013, 01.34 PM

Hari

I like few lines. 1) Again, even if you have managed to enter IIM due to various reasons 2)firm has no mandatory obligation to ‘fill seats from a particular category’.

1 Mar 2013, 02.03 PM

Student

if paycheck bothers you a lot and unfortunately you get into IIM L, only being part of the placement committee can save you

1 Mar 2013, 02.09 PM

2010_L_Passout

Please stop recommending everyone with 5+ years experience to do an 'executive MBA instead'. I had 5 years experience when I joined L in 2008 - I still am thankful that I didnt join ISB that year. L was much cheaper (around 6 lakh fees overall), and ISB had a huge problem placing people in 2009 - with many students having to take up jobs paying far less than what they were earning pre-ISB, after paying fees of around 15 lakhs then. In contrast, when we passed out in 2010, the market had slightly improved. What I want to say is that placements are also heavily market-driven, and the year you pass out matters as much as doing a 2 year or 'Executive' course. IIM L's own 1 year course at Noida is no great shakes either, the struggle for placements continues there as well...

1 Mar 2013, 02.34 PM

@AapChutiyeHain

Your repeated mentioning categories and affirmative action policies (in sections - people with poor acads, and with less than desirable communication skills) makes an otherwise insightful article look like something with an agenda, and makes you look like someone who looks down towards the socially disadvantaged. It's disappointing to see this in writing by someone who is representing a top institution of learning in the country.

1 Mar 2013, 02.43 PM

IIML Alumnus

Love how you branded the "category-walas" as being the ones who must have scored less in their previous educational institutes and are bumpkin who cannot speak English. </sarcasm> - A category wala IIML alumnus

1 Mar 2013, 02.44 PM

IIML Alumnus

Fuck...I meant "bumpkins". I proved you right, I cannot speak English for shit :/

1 Mar 2013, 02.46 PM

@AapChutiyeHain

*collosal facepalm*

1 Mar 2013, 02.48 PM

XYZ

What happens to people with more than 5 yrs of work exp in IT after this? Is there any future for such people??

1 Mar 2013, 04.20 PM

IIML junta

It is unfair to stereotype "category" with poor marks or communication skills. i know many general category junta with similar shortcomings. CAT selection process is not 'foolproof' for any category. Author may simply have written 'people with lower acads and comm skills' or something along the lines without referring to the backgrounds. otherwise the article is on the mark and reflects the ground reality at IIMs.situation is very very gloomy this year , even worse than 2009 due to higher batch size. economic slowdown is also a contributing factor and scenario may change when economy starts booming again, unlikely top happen in next 2 year.

1 Mar 2013, 04.21 PM

Aniket

I'm not a category wala at IIML, and I categorically disagree with what have been said about those who come through a reservation. I don't think anyone who is coming through a reservation needs to have any additional concern about their potential performance in IIM. Inside IIM, it's a different ball game from CAT or the admission procedure. This has been proven by this year's results, and I'm sure by previous years' results as well.

1 Mar 2013, 04.49 PM

Janta Ke Sewak

The real question here is the value for money...there was a time when an IIM education was supposed to be cheaper & placements were lucrative...but both of these factors are missing in present scenario...after investing 15 lakhs in your education, do you really want to end up in disappointment!!!

1 Mar 2013, 05.13 PM

Black

There was no need for the author to brand category walas as people with poor acads and communication skills. Besides CAT itself is not a great filter. Many general category people with high percentiles have messed up at the IIMs. Though the article is well balanced from other angles, the author's bigoted nature stands out though -by a category wala with a plush job

1 Mar 2013, 05.42 PM

Get over it

Please do not discount the valid points the author has made by focusing just on one aspect. The author has made a generalization. And like a respectable generalization it is true in many cases. There will no doubt be exceptions. The article is spot on, and it's a wonder that so many people realize all this after entering an IIM.

1 Mar 2013, 05.53 PM

Guest

Its not about looking down towards the reserved category students. The fact remains that institute does grant a certain concession to category students, but unfortunately companies treat everyone likewise. Thus when a recruiter puts an excel filter of >90% on 10th standard marks, almost 90% of the category students get filtered out. Perhaps that's the tragedy of our reservation policies, howsoever we may try to rectify it, people find ways around it to do the discrimination against the underprivileged people. Having said that, it is totally wrong to say that reserved category people possess less than desirable communication skills. In fact to my experience, some of the brilliant students from the top notch engineering colleges end up getting shortlist after shortlist but don't get placed because even though they are good at number and analysis, they just don't speak be it in GD or an interview.

1 Mar 2013, 05.59 PM

Raj Sanghani

The comments section would have you believe that this articleis on reservations which it is not. The author has made some excellent points and most of these points are accurate. I'd encourage all aspirants to read this before even preparing for entrance exams.

1 Mar 2013, 06.14 PM

shikha

Upper cast overtone to the whole article really brings about the true chauvenistic mind set of writer

1 Mar 2013, 06.42 PM

Kaushik

Very well written article, strikes a cord...Every aspirant should go through this article and shape their expectation before joining an MBA course...Needs a small correction...Instead of 5+ years of workex, males with 3+ years of workex should look for an executive MBA

1 Mar 2013, 06.55 PM

Anupam

The author has chosen to be politically incorrect and hence he is being criticized for being an upper-caste chauvinist. However the fact remains; an average general category student scores better on various parameters (including placements) than an average reserved category student does.

1 Mar 2013, 09.20 PM

advencharas

The IIMs exist not to provide placements..but to impart education..dont blame the high fees or the large batch size..if u join coz of placements then its up2 u..faculty has no role in placements..its purely driven by students and alums..the IIMs have all the rights to increase seat if there is demand and they can maintain quality of education (however good/bad it maybe)...neither is it the placecom's (who are students) job to place whoever the govt. thinks is fit to study in an IIM..the govt. shud take care of them in that case..

1 Mar 2013, 09.41 PM

Sonu

Kudos t the author & InsideIIM for coming up with an honest account of the Indian MBA space. Wonder what's with people making this an article about reservations. Let's face it - most of India's top B Schools (Including the very best) are finding it difficult to place everyone given the humongous batch sizes. A cursory glance at the list of people unplaced (or those with sub-10 figures) will tell you that the author is right in making the generalization that he made. That's not to say there aren't exceptions. I have a few friends who got in through quota but have cracked the best of jobs (read 20+ LPA) while I also know people scoring insane percentiles like 99.5+ and landing up with 5.5 LPA salary. But does that negate the general trend - Nope. To talk about CAT not being fool-proof & all sounds a logical argument but that again does not take away from the fact that a significant majority of the top percentile scorers are brilliant. I guess people need to take this in the right spirit!! P.S. I'm a placecommer of a top b school for the 2013 batch.

1 Mar 2013, 09.46 PM

Dave

Nice article. However, I feel even in non ABC IIMs IITians have a hard time getting good positions of their choice, whether in summers or mains. What I realised after seeing placements is luck plays a very big part and its very much random(This is my opinion, I might be wrong)

1 Mar 2013, 10.03 PM

Vidyut

I find management training for the most part to be pompous and impractical leading to a mass production of entitled souls. So, all management graduates I ever met except for two will disqualify on that point alone. Disclaimer: I have an extreme hatred for how we go about education.

1 Mar 2013, 10.57 PM

Raju

Dear Maheswaran, while i agree with all ur points n really appreciate ur efforts in painting a true picture, I think we shud refrain ourselves from publicizing our placement issues in public while the process is still on. I request you/ insideiim team to remove the article as it has specific mention of IIM L We shud discuss n debate this issue in public for the benefit of aspirants later... regards your batchmate (hostel mate) at L

2 Mar 2013, 01.33 AM

MadeinHelL

There are few things we are missing here, - This situation is present only in current market situation, where only 50% of the batch at IIMI and IIMK is placed. New IIMs have reached only 20% placements. The situation is not the same every year. So will agree to the points but only for next 3 years. The points are correct and true in today's time and will agree to that but picture isn't that rosy in A, B or C itself. So have patience and take decision keeping long term in view, after all that's the first lesson you learn in MBA :) Cheers, MadeInHelL

2 Mar 2013, 01.37 AM

Anonymous

I feel people should now especially graduates from IIM have courage to own and accept how bad place these education centres are for bright students. I personally feel that IIMs provide very little value addition into someone's career and eventually it makes life difficult for its graduates. Reason for all this is that they have been over hyped and almost 70 percent about IIM being published and discussed in media is false. I think education system should be left to rot and only the best one should survive and grow. IIMs are there today only because of huge government grant and false publicity by its graduates.

2 Mar 2013, 01.49 AM

Anonymous

I don't understand why people are taking for granted that students who make it to IIMs via reservation are poor in academics or soft-skills. Is it just on the basis of a poor CAT score, an exam which has a duration of 6 hours? Even Australians were defeated by Bangladesh on their bad day. One exam of 6 hours DO NOT determine the merit of any person. And that is why I applaud the IIMs specifically stressing on past academic scores for admission. Look at their academic record in the campus and then judge their capability and skills. There are a lot of "such" students for whom you wont recognize their so called category if you happen to know them in the campus. On another note, why would someone even try to get a 99%ile CAT score when they know a 90%ile score is enough for a convert/call. It is all about optimization and reducing wastage of energy and time.

2 Mar 2013, 04.17 AM

Raju

Dear Maheswaran, while i agree with all ur points n really appreciate ur efforts in painting a true picture, I think we shud refrain ourselves from publicizing our placement issues in public while the process is still on. I request you/ insideiim team to remove the article as it has specific mention of IIM L

2 Mar 2013, 08.25 AM

non-freerider

Commend the author for coming up with genuine points. Being in an IIM, i find that it is generally the category people who are at the bottom. However there are category people in the top as well(though few in number when compared to the bottom lot). I also find that there are SC/ST people who are genuinely disadvantaged unlike the OBC people, who, inspite of being well off contend that they need reservation. They are people who have work-ex in companies like IBM consulting, Headstrong consulting, Barclays, Titan, etc and are from well-off families as well. I really wonder why is it that they don't feel shameful for grabbing away the seats of genuinely poor and dis-advantaged OBCs. And of course there is the batch of people who have faked their way into IIMs, in the sense that they got fake caste certificates and made it to IIMs. In this context i hope that in future, IMs consider these facts when giving out admissions. Hope they select the genuinely disadvantaged instead of free riders..

2 Mar 2013, 08.34 AM

xxxx

Ahh... Indians fighting over caste...lol. you guys will all remain backward forever!

2 Mar 2013, 10.02 AM

Be sensitive

Good article. But here are a few pointers it could be factually true that category people fare worse than others, simply because they needed lesser percentiles and lesser acads to reach an IIM. But having said that it is not right in the spirit, for they are not complacent and still work their ass off like anyone else. Now whether they deserve a seat or not is a different question which requires a deeper understanding of the socio-economic situation in the country. There was no need for the author to be biased (and indirectly suggest that they don't deserve a seat). Quite a few people from category have fared way better than the others and vice versa. There is no need to stereotype anyone- the best of the best the author refers to- ppl from IITs with 99.9 in CAT need not be necessarily be good at english or people skills. The author, I feel could have left out that innuendo about reserved category people. Not a healthy attitude to have. PS- People keep suggestions about using income for reservation and not caste- . The fact still remains that people from backward classes are still at a very significant disadvantage- (till reservation was made mandatory at IIMs and IITs, people from forward caste constituted about 90% of the batch while they represented less than 20% of the country). Now you can call it a simple coincidence- but that has happened for more than 50 years without fail. How do you explain that. Besides income based res is impossible and impractical and would assume that social equality has been achieved which is not the case. There are people who misuse this system to get in here, but there are also people who are genuinely disadvantaged and this intervention was their only chance. Lets be sensitive to them and not get carried away by our prejudices. Pls

2 Mar 2013, 12.07 PM

2013_L_Passout

Do not blame the Institute and the history it has been proving since years, just because of 1 bad event you had to come across. The Institute is at the top of the pyramid. If the condition appears a little bad at the top and then imagine how would have been the situation at other institutes ranked lesser in the pyramid. The entire market is down, stop this stupid blame game.

2 Mar 2013, 02.43 PM

guestfromtheplacetoB

This is not warning but just spreading. pessimism and being utterly cynical(may be the author didn't succeed in a great placement). IIMs opens up a world of opportunities! if you make it to IIMs and work hard to create an unique identity no matter who you are you can succeed and go places. dont be bogged down by these stories of cynicism and failures. IIMs make you fighter, thats what B did to me. If you are a "give up " pay heed to this article and GIVE UP

2 Mar 2013, 07.30 PM

IrritatedSingh

Most of the points in this short sighted article are indeed true. But the fact is they are institute independent. Across the board the placements take a hit when the economy goes for a downturn (yes for ABC too). You combine this with global pessimism, you'll get a near zero demand for B-School grads simply because they charge higher. You really should not be blaming an institute for poor operating environment. Given that you spent two years garnering "inside view" of placements, you should know that in 2006-2007 (and before that) people indeed got kickass front end jobs. Across the board investment banks are shutting down businesses so don't blame the placements/institutes for it. Most importantly, the goal of an IIM is not to get you placed. Please get that right and you would not walk away with a heart burn. It is an amazing place to build strong fundamentals in the domain you want to pursue for the rest of you life. If one were to pursue your line of argument then one should not go to an IIT either. The "inside view" of placements at IITs is similar if not poorer. But you would still go, isn't it? Why? A different league? Class? Long term value? Thanks for reducing quality education to shit value with a mediocre article. PS: It would be a nice exercise on your part to gather alumni (5+ yr) opinion on whether an IIM did good or bad to them.

2 Mar 2013, 09.58 PM

Gaurav

TRUE!! Every bit of it and it is not limited to IIM's only. It is with B schools across India with variations depending on their "perceived value" amongst aspirants and the Marketing skills of the B School.

2 Mar 2013, 10.48 PM

ankit

Hi All I am from Bangalore campus , I agree with most of the points mentioned in the article We had a few people from reserved category, went to crack the best jobs (conslulting Mck etc and Big I banks ) .All of them are not 80%ilers , many of them are 99%ilers as well and you can file RTI and get the same details . Reservation is highly debatable issue , BUT one BIG POINT we educated class never THINK , we want to remove reservation but we never want to remove CASTE DISCRIMINATION ,so many agitation against reservation but NONE against Caste Discrimination ,,,, whose responsibility is to remove Caste Discrimination ??? Just remove caste discrimination and we can do it if we really want to get rid of this . Reservation will die its own death , I support SC/ST reservation but not OBC because of obvious reason we all know .My best friend is an SC student , he is one of the brightest in the campus , but when other guys come to know about this , he hardly gets any respect or fair treatment from so called intellectual/best brain of India even though he is IIT Kanpur topper . He says that do not give me any admission or reservation ,just give me fair and just treatment like any other person .He says, give 100% reservation to all general people and treat them like oppressed class . People will not be ready for that .So any IIM degree or Harvard's etc is not even an iota of self respect , would you barter one thing for other ..? Caste Discrimination is a fact of life even today , who can remove this , it is we the people from upper caste , I am sometime surprised that we never took this seriously because it does NOT affect US , we took Reservation seriously because it affects US . All are requested to criticize if I said something wrong but we can never ignore the facts (if remember correctly , Ambedkar never demanded reservation , just verify facts before bashing me ,it was Gandhi who forced him under the guise of fast unto death .Ambedkar demanded separate country for them .. How many of us give him due credit that he deserved though he was educated at LSE , Columbia University , he had 4 different Phd degrees apart from multiple master degrees. How many of us know that he was also great economist and only person who confronted Mr.Keynes (UK Economist) over a debate economics theory that was the dividing point among great economist that point of time . You can get this info from google etc... Even Columbia/LSE has these records Dr. Ambedkar is highly misunderstood person in Indian history because he did not have sycophants or PR team as that of Gandhi family . He was really a great thinker who thought about India as a great country . I am not glorifying him and all these are facts that you can verify yourself . by the way I am from so called upper caste but have few SC friends , I can on any given day trade my IIM B degree with a deserving and needy person getting that degree . If i an good , I can definitely lead a very good life even without so called MBA from IIM B

3 Mar 2013, 12.20 AM

IIML BANDI

All this random and instinct driven shit mr maheshwaran says after getting a big fat job himself. yes placements were bleak this year, but that was situationacross campuses and was highly situation driven.

3 Mar 2013, 03.01 AM

IAS Aspirant

Investment Banking jobs in India are offered in India in the bulge bracket IIMs or other B schools FMS and XLRI as far as statistics figures in placement report shows. But those jobs are not even close to the Gordon Gecko kinda story of a Wall Street Banker or that USD 5mn bonus story. It looks great in the placement report that, "Goldman Sachs recruited 4 people for its Investment Banking Division from IIM_XYZ". But the truth is,Indian IB operations are a cheap alternative for finding good talents at globally cheap rates, another version of outsourcing as you see in IT.You will work as support staff under your bosses in the core locations. You will work so hard but at the end of the day, they will take all the credits for your efforts and will try to climb up the ladder. Moving to core locations for IBs is a different story. It differs from IT where India has a knack in IT and clients respect Indians in IT too, so you could climb up the ladder or get promoted to your onsite core locations. While for IBs, its a different story, there are lot of people there vying for these jobs in the core locations itself. Even with a compilation of your CFA or FRM certifications, you will have to prove your mettle amongst your Indian counterparts and also please your bosses. And after moving to clients locations, survival depends on how u can already talk like Gordon Gecko and convince clients in US to invest money. I would suggest not opting for all these IB jobs in India where you will end up as a number junkie rather Gordon Gecko.

3 Mar 2013, 10.22 AM

IIT Alumnus

The Author has just tried to put his point.He is a particular caste Chauvinist or not, could not be proved from this. Now the problem is not of caste discrimination but of caste identification. Whenever a student completes his 12th class and fills his/her form for higher education the third thing in every form after Name and Father's name is to which caste/category he belongs. Now I agree that merit is not based on category, but obviously those students of general category, who could not make through after scoring good marks will always blame reservation system, because a similar fellow like them who is a son of an IAS /IPS /Doctor /Engineer got a seat just because he was born in a certain category and used it to his advantage. I agree CAT is not the full proof system, but it is the exam by which everyone has to go for joining IIM's. I know many of my friends who have worked in good jobs and are economically well off, but still used the reservation system for entering into IIM's. Reservation in Under Grads, then Reservation in Post Grads, Reservation in jobs, Reservation in promotions and an average student of general category feels the brunt, and yet when he tries to say something against this system, he is remarked as someone who supports caste discrimination. Now many will came and say that a particular section has been deprived of his/her rights therefore reservation is necessary. I agree to it but again classifying this section with caste will do no good. What about those general category students who have lost their parents/families and are economically weak, they do not know their caste, yet still they get the stamp of being in upper caste and end up in general category.

3 Mar 2013, 12.10 PM

Neutral_Junta

I dont understand why the so called "other categories" object having a mention in the article. You guys dont object when you use it to get into the IIT's and the IIM's and all other places where the government has made special provisions for you guys. I think what the author mentions is only a statistical estimate which is profoundly true, otherwise why would you need reservation in the first place. I have a few friends who actually made it to IIT's and IIM's despite being from "other categories" by competing in the general category. I have nothing but only respect for them.

3 Mar 2013, 12.55 PM

KeepWalking

A very well written post first of all.... Thanks to the insideiim team. Further why do people just look at the shorter game most of the time. I am an NIT and an IIM alumnus and I have always seen people cribbing that the institute did not do justice to their talent. One simple advice, forget that a diploma from an IIM or a degree from an IIT or even an NIT give you the right to be paid astronomical figures. If you are really worth it sooner or later you will find your place in the peking order. Its just a matter of time. We all have plenty of years to work ( anything between 30-40 years), why are most of the passouts so scared that they want the first perfect job with the shiny pay package. So just keep working hard and you will reach where you should be.... More than anything else being in a top league place gives you the opportunity to break your own barriers, know yourself and learn from your peers.. my personal advice do that , and if you dont you will regret later...

3 Mar 2013, 06.16 PM

MBA wala

Category guys have ruined many general category people guys, who are actually poor, they should face the music, I accept it, brand me chauvinist.

3 Mar 2013, 07.01 PM

Anonymous

KeepWalking: That's the right spirit man...But chest beating about the first job seems to be the more preferred option amongst B-schoolers, they forget that they have a career to build-a career of 30-40 years and it is that which tests your real mettle, not some initial job obtained through the placement process which is a farce in itself!!

3 Mar 2013, 07.12 PM

Humanity

I find authors points very good and with a hint of pessimism.As an MBA aspirant with a Software engineer from DCE and working with Oracle for more than 2 years i just want to share my little experience. I think this whole concept of first job is very over-hyped and most of the time whole narrative of doing MBA is lost in this short shortsightedness. In our batch avg placement was in 10% tax bracket.Few lucky ones got in to dream companies(i also was one of those FEW..:P). I had many friends who landed up with below average first job but now two years down the line i find several of them getting salary in 30% tax bracket and doing some amazing work. So, what i feel is that, real value of MBA degree from IIM or any top B school cannot be measured with this one indicator and deserves a more nuanced debate.Entering into top B-school doesn't guarantee you a plush job but it will serve as a mean to meet the desired ends. PS:- There are no free lunches in life, even Amul Baby will have to face fierce competition(NAMO) to get the top job.

3 Mar 2013, 10.10 PM

chandu

the author is intentionally targeting socially disadvantaged people even general category students are not getting placed well at all instances

3 Mar 2013, 10.45 PM

Mahesh Navale

I am totally agree with author. He dared to put truth in front of aspirants... I think this is very big decision of leaving good job and getting into MBA with high hopes of getting double package but situation today is very differnt people with 3-4 yrs of experience are getting same package after MBA or even less than what they were earning before MBA. So it's time to open eyes and think before jumping in sea........

3 Mar 2013, 11.56 PM

Vishal Gohel

Very well written Mahesh, You have covered all aspects really well. Very proud that my colleague and ex-roomie is such a wizard :)

4 Mar 2013, 11.05 AM

anon

Sad and stupid! At least be careful such articles will surely reach the eyes and ears of potential employers. Have somebody read before you post. Regarding afiirmative I am sure you will be one who will be trumped by majority of so called 'affirmative' due to your negatives. You may earn approval from students, faculty at IIML for such as article but you are bound to be loser in life. Mark my words for it.

4 Mar 2013, 11.53 AM

SIDDHARTHA

@ All studying in a top IIM/ XL/ FMS --> Respected Seniors, I will be appearing for the DREAM IIMs' interviews shortly & seeing this article really makes me very worried.... My Profile--> Class 10 - 93 Class 12- 92 B.Tech- 75.4 & that too from a "less illustrious colg" :( Now I am not gonna ask the annoying question- "What are my chances etc etc" but there is a specific statement about the less illustrious colgs which gives me the shivers.... Will my grad score & colg destroy my chances in the TOP companies? :O I am a certified scuba diver, a certified water surfer & a national level footballer....Are these gonna have any positive impact during placements? :O Plz reply to my query & Plz no diplomatic BULL....I know NO ONE can save if i figure among the last 150 students in the batch but I am just talking about NORMAL circumstances & whether my Graduation Section has doomed my chances of entry into the ELITE companies.... PS- When i post a question here, I take it for granted that its gonna remain unanswered as the participation is almost negligible here. But A beggar cannot be a chooser. Stepping into the BIGGEST month of my life so far, I try to have my doubts cleared, WHEREVER possible. I really hope that some of u reply to my query kindly & help me get a clear picture.....

5 Mar 2013, 02.49 AM

SIDDHARTHA

Just wanna add something to my query above, I am NOT interested in Finance. I am gonna go for Marketing or Consulting. So when I talk about the ELITE companies, I mean the BIGGEST companies in this field like the BIG 4, Accenture MC, ATK, Oliver Wyman, Arthur D Little (for Consulting) & ITC, PnG, Colgate-Palmolive etc (for Marketing). Plz reply....

5 Mar 2013, 02.57 AM

kgpian

I would like to take the advice of IIM junta on how I should approach my career. I am a passout from IIT KGP and have had 3.5 years of job experience since, but the nature of my experience is very unconventional. I have been teaching (and doing lots of administrative/managerial work) in one of the leading private universities in India. The salary is decent (8.5 Lpa). However, this work experience may not count for much once i am in a B-school. Further, going by your article, I may be at a disadvantage even compared to freshers at B-School. This year I have calls from FMS, MDI, SJMSoM , NITIE but none of the IIMs at 99.2 CAT percentile. My acads have been decent but not extraordinary - 85 , 87 % respectively in 10 and 12, 7.6 CGPA. What should i target. I am not satisfied with my calls and shall probably prepare for GMAT and look to apply for ISB. What would be your advice ?

6 Mar 2013, 01.22 PM

cartman

Yes, But atleast in ISB companies will come looking for work ex junta. in IIMs 2 year programme they come with a 'fresher' mindset. for you 1 year programme in IIM ABC or ISB will only be worth, unless you are decided on a career switch in which case 2 year programme in IIM ABCL will give u some opportunities but with some degree of risk.

8 Mar 2013, 11.51 PM

Shuvam Sanyal

@ All studying in a top IIMs-> Respected Seniors, I will be appearing for the CAT 2013 JUST AFTER MY GRADUATION ..with the dream of making it to top IIMs ... My Profile--> Class 10 - 96(overall)(from west bengal state board) Class 12- 92.5(BEST OF 5) AND 90 (overall)(from west bengal state board) In both the board examS having rank within top 100 in the state WB. NON-ENGINEER and Bsc Grad=6.2 CGPA (Till Now) and in my final year of graduation(4 more papers left)...and that is too from 3 rd best Science clg & 2 nd best commerce(after SRCC) college of India St.Xavier's College(Kolkata). according to India Today Ranking. Now I am not gonna ask the annoying question- "What are my chances .. Will my less grad score than ENGINEERS my chances in the TOP companies if i will be able to make it to IIM in cuming future?? :O my extra acd includes Campus ambassador of IIT KGP,2 time district champion in recitation ,NTSE scholar,was a represtative of my clg in back to back Global Entrepreneurship summit 2011 and 2012@IIT KGP during my 1 st and 2 nd year,got more than 35 prizes(including books,medal and money) from school for academic and non academic purposes every year in the whole school life ..and many more... ....:O Plz reply to my query .. whether my Graduation marks has doomed my chances of entry into the ELITE companies....... and some one similar to my profile after making it to IIM one day score among top 20 of the IIM batch......then will it reimburshed my compatatively low grad score?(my only low point)....any reply would be really appreciated!as my low grad score is haunting me during my cat prep and it is getting affected as should i target cat or not.... P.S-I had given cat in my 2 nd year and got 80 percentile..

9 Mar 2013, 12.57 PM

Waiting_for_BCG

Sorry for the grammatical mistakes :p Apparently u cant edit a post after submitting it. *against the LIKES of* & *PG threads OF the final converts* ----> these two phrases!!! :)

9 Mar 2013, 09.57 PM

Asifu_care

My english is nt good i am working on it i'll join english class, so please pardon me, i am going to ask my questions in Hindi I really hope that some of u reply to my querykindly & help me get a clear picture my profile I really hope that some of u reply to my querykindly & help me get a clear picture….My Profile–> Class 10 – 54%(overall)(from maharashtra state board) Class 12- 76% same board . I had completed my 12th in 2009,maine life ke 3 years waste kardiye Now i am pursuing my BA from pune university i am in FY .. But mai ab 3 saal cat prepare karke acha score karunga but kya mera 10th ka score aur 3 years mera Acha %itle hone par bi iim me aneme obstacle banege?Hope u'l reply to queries

12 Mar 2013, 03.14 AM

The Rustic

Maheswaran iii) Those looking to interact with some of the brightest and most accomplished minds and who are ready to not be overawed (or drown in their own jealousy/inferiority complex) but learn from the Above statement is ego massaging.I didn't find any bright candidates except for the fact that IIM junta have rich vocabulary. Also you forgot to mention that 80 % of the batch is from good cities with lot of exposure.Also they are fortunate enough to be educated from English medium schools.

13 Mar 2013, 10.53 PM

Anyomous

What do you thing about the businessman Is really the IIM degree can stand the One Business ? What about the Tata, Birla, Ambani, MIttal, Bajaj? Are they having good academic record in the life Or they are the Alumni of IIM A,B & C ...........Is really the good Academic Records Necessary for Top B- School ? Is really the Good English Is needed for Opening of New Business ? & what about the current placement of IIM in General as well as SC/ST, OBS category. Is it similar in the Corporate sector or May be any difference in the Corporate sector ? talk about this If the people are only thing that candidate passout from IIM can get better package in the corporate sector then I think we are going to Wrong side. IIM is not stand for better Job but for the better education so that we can make the future bright of Indian People but most of them getting the higher salary from the abroad Company & leaving the country Is it the Agenda of IIM ? Is it the Gov policy to implement the Scholarship scheme in Higher Study ?

14 Mar 2013, 11.16 PM

Angry

Wow Mr Maheshwaran so you came to the IIM only for money. No wonder people like you have been responsible for the current global situation. Money Money Money and more money ...... this is what all matters, no wonder the thanks to your stupid decisions many more organisations are going to get shut.

15 Mar 2013, 12.07 PM

Pranshu

For those who feel that the author is targeting some particular social groups: An entry backed by his/her quota means that the student does not possess the skills( aptitude and communication both) which, coupled with the B-school experience, ensures a general candidate's getting those top jobs. No surprises then, if these 'reserved' students do not get the same quality placements. But let's not lose hope, our government's policy to support the 'less privileged' and the glorious hadtals that the 'less privileged' groups organize to ensure their continuing quota will one day force quota down the throats of private firms too and will make India a model 'Socialist Casteist' country. P.S. A tag of top engg. college of the country, great grades and 99 percentile in CAT, nothing could absolve me of the crime of being born in an unreserved caste family that I committed, I didn't get calls from any of the top 4 IIMs. And yes, I need to vent my frustration in these kinds of platforms. This is what stops me from taking to the streets.

18 Mar 2013, 07.05 PM

Dude

Criticizing someone for the heck of it has become so popular. Reread this sentence "If you are among the select few looking to study in an IIM purely for the love for learning, quit reading now". I hope you get the message now.

22 Mar 2013, 09.46 AM

Hesegeply

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10 Apr 2013, 09.23 AM

Shahs

Candidates with poor academic record (those with say, less than 70% in their Class X, XII and UG) and from less illustrious colleges ----- This is rubbish Am a student with 65% marks in X,XII and UG and i indded was the last bench student in IIM - B. Am now VP for the Saudi Oger Group and with yearly salary of INR 1.5 Cr It depends on how you face your job and not how you tackle it.

10 Apr 2013, 12.52 PM

naveed

iwant to do iim .so can any one reply me what the process to join iim

16 Apr 2013, 06.34 PM

Ravi

Dear Friends, I am IT Male with 5+ of work experience(Engineer from a Private College). I am writing CAT for the past 2 years and i was not able to crack. I am preparing for CAT2013 also. After reading this report i am very much confused.It is nothing wrong on your part as your clearly shown the current scenario. Could you guys what should i do? Should i go ahead and sit for CAT13. Please note i much concerned about the IIM Degree which i am passionate.(not the salary) P.S - I have read some IIM C accept guys with high work exp. Not sure whether this is true. (with 99+ CAT Score) Thanks

16 Apr 2013, 07.00 PM

Ravi

Friends, Can someone reply to my above post? Thank you

18 Apr 2013, 06.34 PM

Aam Admi

Dear IIM Junta, I am working in an IT MNC and have a 9.5LPA + 1lpa bonus in current company. I have been offered IIMC PGDM. I have decent 10th, 12th and btech(92,89,77%). What chances do I stand to secure a good placement after MBA based on my profile?

21 Apr 2013, 11.20 PM

Aam Admi

thanx a lot @Humble Alumni

22 Apr 2013, 10.05 PM

ignite11

Hi, I want to ask all IIM students and alumni a question. What is the min Work.Ex that one should carry while entering into IIM ABCL. How is that going to matter in your career and hows that going to help you in the placements there? Is there any separate placement process for people having experience of more than 2 years ? and what is minimum salary we can expect after getting out there according to experience ?

23 Apr 2013, 12.23 AM

sandeep

i have 4+ yrs experience in telecomm psu, should i go for iim

8 May 2013, 03.39 PM

Anoop

Very negative approach I must say. Never expected an IIM alumnus to write in such a negative and frustrated tone. The article doesn&#039;t have any insights into any facets of studies, hardwork, admission or anything at the IIMs. It&#039;s the reflection of a shallow personality.

18 May 2013, 04.13 PM

null null

hey! I am a Biotechnology graduate from IIT Guwahati (2012) CGPI: 8.5 10th CBSE: 96.4% 12th AP state board: 94 % I have been pursuing a PhD degree in Immunology in The University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center ( Ranked 10th in the field) since a year. Now I have realized that I am not really passionate about a career in academia. Also I have always had an interest in management. So I have decided to quit Med school and go for an MBA instead. My GMAT score is 760. Is it possible to get an admission in IIMs with this profile? Is my stint in research going to have a negative effect?

3 Jul 2013, 04.46 PM

Arpit ShArma

IF SoMe oNe dOn'T cArE aBoUt . . yOu . . FOrgET . . .It . . FIve . . FIngER . . aRe . .NoT . . sAmE . . DOn't . . EvEr . .kILL . . fEeLinNgS . . FoR . . aNyOnE iT ' s . .HuRt . . LaTeR . . LIFE IS TO SHORT . . .ENJOY IT BEFORE LIGHT TURN OFF I am very friendly, I am little aggresive, I am straight forward. and believe to tell wht I feel.... bcoz I don't believe in living in illusion I never shows whether I m happy or sad, I always be happy with my frnds well I don't know whether people will agree with me or not but I am wht I shows to other..Emotional , sensitive

Thankyou so much for your guidance ! Sincerely IIM ASPIRANT !!!

16 Jul 2013, 04.42 PM

null null

it is an excellent advise . As a father , I spent about 11 laks to my son who has studied in IIM Lucknow but not happy with present the job. Whatever the author has written , I fully agreed with him. I hope he is not talking about minority people or poor people. He is giving the right clear picture. but making this caste issue is , we are going out of sight and here he is giving the idea who can venture into MBA or not. When my son who is topper in the school, having very good personality, exceptionally brilliant in study, general knowledge , and spoken english, hindi etc and having 2 years experience as Assitant Manager in a furtune 500 company. Yet he left the job and spent about 11 lakhs and got the job offer of 10 lakhs per annum. Just imagine, before he joined IIM he used get Rs.7 lakhs per annum package but now he got only 4 lakhs more. But to be very precious, he is going to repay the education loan of Rs.20000/- per month for the next 7 years. Ultimately, he is drawing lesser income now i.e. before his iim study he used earn Rs.50-to 60 thousands per months now after IIM he is getting Rs.50 to 55 thousand. what is the use of this IIM. I found , there are so many students from poor background got loan and trapped becuase of their not getting good job. I am not talking about the community level students but from poor background irrespective of caste, religion. Ofcoure, English is the must to get the good job opportunity but that is not the only criteria , your personality may get you good posiition even if you are not good at D day. Just imagine, without the job with the borriwing, and burden of repaying thousands every months years to gether , made you rethink is it absolutely necessary to go for such a glamour study . The best part of the study, I fail to understand, How can a person can be shapped best in the industry within two years of study. Horrible,. this is almost crushing the poor students and their family with the help of Government.

19 Jul 2013, 04.23 PM

null null

Seems reservation has nailed him years !! Reservation is given by constitution.Laws are made in parliament with lots discussions keeping real indicators in mind unlike caste system which has no head nor tail ,Imagine someone giving birth to thousands people from head? Is it possible ? Biologically it means to have vag*na in head ! .Parliament laws are well researched , like Mandal commission. People should enjoy reservation , as it saves millions from dirty irrational system- caste system.Reservation is driving rationalism . Reservation is Nobel prize winning concept ! God bless RESERVATION.

29 Jul 2013, 04.41 AM

Krishna Naik

the man with never ending thirst for knowledge and quest for meaning of life

i have a straight answer to all of the reservation queries....let me put my story... I belong to a res category, and ST, Problems faced. 1. Right from child hood was very poor, not even to eat some times,worked in hotels, small petty jobs etc, ---my question is how could i compete with a higher caste one, who from childhood gets good education ,skill, english everything from good schools(may not be everybody but most of them), how would be my grads,cores be better than general cat. my scores,skills, english was not by choice, but becoz of no option to learn 2. Right from child hood even in gov schools, i faced descrimination, i had mental trauma, emotional as well, becoz i made a crime of being born in lower caste, i couldnt perfom well,, as there was lot of groupism, i/we were left alone to perish. gen cat students use to feel jealous in many things, use to comment us a lot, 3. well as many are boasting of merit here in the blog, if reservations are removed and only measures are taken to uplift the poor on income basis, ----will it work in indian scenario, where is corruption from a to z in beaurocracy, no single penny reaches to poor/resr category ,....its fact guys, be practical,, so only reservation is the soultion.,, as u cant steal a reserved seat. 4. Message to all un-reserved guys, first make india a corruption less and real democratic country--which is impossible, the talk abt removing reservation. or commenting on them. Dont u care when some of ur country men/brothers are in utter poverty/descrimination. 5. As we have a saying in our state,a filled stomach never knows hungry stomach. a well settled guy (comparitively) writing some thing from an air conditioned room ,commenting on the grads, english speaking skills doesnt make any sense at all. 6. Rather than feeling jealous, why cant we work towards better india, where we can make a better country, later on when we feel, we are at par with west, we can surely take off reservation... i dont think ambedkar is a fool,.......he is a national hero. He imagined future. 7. Although i cracked many of the top institutes with top scores, i still feel , where is the empathy for the poor and lowely categorised. 8. u have to be in my shoes to feel the pain, its no fun to be a reserved category fellow. 9.so my point is not all unreserved fellows are rich and bad, and not all reserved fellows are poor and good, what i mean is the percentage and numnbers matters. 10. before bloggin in here i still wonder, why cant many ppl google, of what exactly the economic and social situation of reserved category guys in comparision to general categoris in india. 11.until descrimination is removed, untouchbility is eliminated and social and economic eqality is brought, reservation is the only answer .... Jai hind

19 Aug 2013, 12.31 AM

Who_ruined_iims

IIM Calcutta which is widely known to fake its salary figures is in a soup now. 50 unplaced students have been made to sign out of placement as they were no takers. These guys are now working as credit card direct sales associates at meagre salary of 4 lacs per annum. Beware of fraud claims of IIM Calcutta regarding placements. The unplaced students were not having required grade to be promoted to second year but somehow they negotiated grade increase with the Bengali professors and managed to pass. Spread this message. Not only they inflate salaries big time, Marketing faculty is pathetic. Inept students manage to get walkover just by requesting their professors. 20% students have pathetic communication skills. Media just reports what Public relations cell tell then. Media doesn't verify figures at all.

2 Sep 2013, 08.50 AM

beginner looser

Maheswaran !! thanks for the your reality exposing documentary , but i smell a bit of frustration. that you could not make it up to your expectations. and let me tell you my story i hope any of above might read it , in primary school time i was among the smartest kids then i jumped to a better level school, there my performance went down, but my morals were high as i was a kid but even being at realy very neat and clean world you call bloody blue blooded people , i was molested on the basis of my community, i was not less in any aspect, not money, not marks, not even living standard but i was made to think that i was less then them , well no one can feel the way i do when people used my community as a slang, but instead i was better then them so jumped into a better school but there were more royal people they again looked my community in more hatred way, i kept silent, coz there were all other making noises, and and on first day i was better then 50% of them but due to the love of your so called royal blood, i slide down among to the lowest then in high school i performed average , then at senior secondary level i was just just 60% , then i realizes that i must win the world with its term, but when i joined the coaching center i was again looked by hatred as my community name was changed from ... to reserved so i felt sad i was doing good, many royal guys were parallel to me but i screwed up my JEE and eee so reservation saved me to get into a eee college called nit there i found all India top ranker mine was in 5 there were just few figures i thought these are the best brains but later i found they are not even half good as me but many of them struggled to pass i smoothly got 7 points , but still i felt the topper and me dint had much differences, you might say that what i think does not make any scene but believe me i am speaking truth out. we all got jobs but few dint made it, i faced a tragedy so missed my job and that royal blood person(my TPO) dint help me at all my bad luck i guess but the people who had lesser % in all records just better eee ranks came out with better references though there living standard was not even touching mine but they had royal blood connection, so they manged to get into top MNCs and i worked in a local company there i again found the hatred though none of them was even touching the potential i am having but they think their life chance is all screwed because of reservation , so i gave up that job , but do you know the real problem is not the reservation but the population , its just cat which doesn't have parallel cutoff but other exams are catching up the equal topper marks go check out PSCs category and uncategorised candidate marks difference , its not like reseved catgory people are not capable but the people make them to feel lower, and such people are facing the consequences in the form of jealousy. so to blame the reservation is worth less rather you should blame the policy makers who governed our nation to generate to this huge massive numbers, and tragedy lies within here only that most policy makers are from so called "royal society of this nation". and so far now most reserved guys i guess has not been part of policy making as they all are being hatred. so far now only one policy maker came up with reserved community with out reservation or i should say, struggling so many , i am sure you can not even name that person but the perks of his policy is helping a lot of people survive, and i swear my next gen wont be using reservation and will occupy at least one royal seats . And i know i could have made it through no reservation but the society out here made me aware of my reservation by making me weaker !!! but i shall rise again with in next year you might find me in your firm working as an official under you. seniors i hope you have at least grown above that blue blood mentality and i will be treated fairly

4 Jan 2014, 01.22 AM

Rajni Kumari

its request to category wale students who are excepting some respect from us, do some thing without the help of reservation not just Indian whole world will respect you, as in sports and bollywood no one as for cast the best one get respect as amitabh or I knows many personalities but not by cast, they are doing without the help of reservation so that's why they are respected by world, same case comes in all fields give respect to your self first then whole world will respect you and no one will ask your categery( remove the category colume from all govt. forms) when this happens you guys will deserve equality till then keep asking for some respect, with one line,.... bina mange to moti mill jata hai mange te mile na bhikh. stop asking start doing,

30 May 2016, 01.58 AM

Rajni Kumari

hello category wale peoples, as you guys r representing ur selves as most miserable persons , and continusly concentrating on words like reservation is like noble winning act, fuck this shit, as inspired by the story of beginning loser, here is a story of general cast people, what we have face today, as I am a general cast boy belongs with a middle class family and studied from a govt. school as up to the class of 12th I was not really known too much by the cast systems and even don't knows the cast of friends and never tried to known as all looks cool as like me most of or nearly all have equal financial situation, not too rich not too poor so we feel them as one of as (its current status in schools, every boys have towards scheduled) so we friends have dream same as to go in good govt. college as can't afford private colleges or to join any govt. job or it wad looked easy at that time because we were not known about after school life, so finally we passed our SSR exam with a percentage of 79% (not much according to general boys percentage but far enough by reserved students) so when we guys went for govt colleges my each friend got enrolled instead of having lowwer percentages than me, each and every, even one who has 45℅ marks but I didn't why I came to find reason that we guys learned from same school teach by same teacher even many friends father works with my father, we enjoyed life together, so where came difference, so answer was, while filing the form they filled categery as sc instead mine was general, so they came to me to sympetize that I surely get admission and I got at last and at worsed college,(, knows no college is worse but ........) in my first I year found few students they who were taking b.sc math class and after asking question by sir that differentiate x square he was answer less and he was student with 40℅ percent in SSR exam was setted in class of govt. college b.sc math, all thanks to cota, it really deserve noble prize, and there was penalty of student likes him, again I explore few more friends belongs sc cast they always says colleges are for fun what to need to read, they guys got yearly 25,000 Rs school at ship because they belongs from sc cast or St, what they did with that( perchase wood land shoe , shopping for gf) not all but atmost 75℅ of students many of them have not cleared their gerduation till now, but whenever they clear grad. they surely get job or admission in post graduation and after that a teacher job any govt. institute, any will start to write destiny of many students and the destiny of India, and what about me whose father can't afford further studies can't send me in any good institute, constantly watching my friends getting job in govt. field so friends now what I have to think about casted friends , next time I when I will meet such one I will surely discriminate with them, because they deserve,suppose if I be a teacher I will distinguish between gen, students and reserved, not because I wants this to do but because of this noble prize winning system tends to do me, general has to toil, and above condition makes difference, so I will like to thank this noble prize winning system to give us opportunity to always be best than to resev. people.

30 May 2016, 02.00 AM

Ram Agrawal

suggestion for author जाती ना पूछो साधु की ,पूछ लीजिए ज्ञान । मोल करो तलवार का, पड़ा रहन दो म्यान ॥

12 Jun 2016, 08.31 PM

Dharmendra Singh

Aptly written. Being an IIMA alumni, i can resonate with each and every word of you Mr. Maheshwaran. But there is lot more to say which has not been included in your article. Looking forward to get similar awesome articles in future with more descriptive and deep information.

17 Jul 2016, 10.35 PM

Saurav Haldar

What about GAP for 2 years? I graduated in 2017 and tried for GATE and ESE, failed. Now, I want to give CAT 2019, is it possible?

16 Mar 2019, 11.08 AM

Rakesh Kunbi

I m a b. Com graduate. I have 5 yrs of wrkex willing to do masters

Thank you for the information, Was worth reading it. What if the candidate belongs to category (sc) - Not financialy strong though to take pgpex, has low acads and 5 years of experience at executive level. What would you suggest?

17 Mar 2019, 04.53 PM

Anmol Saxena

I have decent acads- 88.83(ICSE), 91.2(ISC) and 7.93 (Btech) but from a tier 3 Engineering college. So I am screwed? Please someone clear my doubt

23 Sep 2019, 12.00 PM

aastha malviya

i have 10 cgpa in 10th, 88.2 in 12th(commerce stream) and i have 6ish cgpa in college so far(bcom h). do you think i have a chance?

25 Apr 2020, 04.07 PM

Vats Saraf

I belong to the first category of students, i have low score in my 10th and 12th although grades in my grad are good. I also don't belong to any good college, i belong to a small city, what would be your advise to me to get a good placement/internship.

25 Apr 2020, 05.40 PM

Vats Saraf

I belong to the first category of students, i have low score in my 10th and 12th although grades in my grad are good. I also don't belong to any good college, i belong to a small city, what would be your advise to me to get a good placement/internship.

25 Apr 2020, 05.51 PM

jabrukesh kesham

-

Djeu

28 Apr 2020, 08.32 AM

sampath kumar

Then how should we change our mindset or character inorder to go for Top bschools How much we should be week versed 8n academic for opting iim

24 Sep 2020, 04.03 PM

SOMNATH KUMBHAKAR

I belongs to 2 categories out of 5 of the above mentioned by you in present, but I have promised myself that I will work hard and make the best out of from this 2 year very costly mba from a top b-school. I will be in the top 10% of the batch, I will be in the best committees and clubs, I will participate in as many as case companies possible and try really hard to win those competitions. I know very well that my b-school degree paid of to me at a later stage of my life, probably, 5-10 after passing out of b-school. Thanks for making me aware of about it as early as 18 years old in my life. Thanks a lot. And intellectually I am an atheist also.

27 Apr 2021, 04.45 PMEdited