NMIMS Mumbai review

NMIMS does not accept CAT scores. For people whose score in CAT is not sufficient to get them good IIM calls, NMAT by GMAC is one of the alternate exams through which they can get into a pretty decent college. Usually the cut off is around 207 - 210 (which is not very difficult to achieve) NMIMS is located in the business hub of India (Mumbai). It has a very strong alumni network and has a legacy of being over 35 years old. However the batch size of NMIMS for its flagship MBA program still remains a concern. The batch size does not affect the quality of education as such, but plays a very important role in placements. In General, the higher the batch size, the less likely it is to have a very good placement for all students (with exceptions like ISB). There is a big difference in top 20% and bottom 20% offers.

The course remains the same for all first year students ( 3 trimesters per year). This is to equip students with basic knowledge of all subjects. The students get an option to chose subjects of their choice in second year. Specialization is decided based on the maximum numbers of subject chosen from each domain. The decision to chose a subject is mostly dependent on the quality of the faculty, the feedback from the seniors and the interest of the student considering the relevance of the subject in today's world It is mandatory for all students to undergo a one month long social internship (most of the students get their internships under an NGO chosen by the college in their hometown) - a unique thing about NMIMS Day to day learnings in classes are driven by case based study approach. Harvard case studies are used for all subjects along with the regular text books. There are marks for mid terms, final terms, class assignment and class participation.

Almost everyone gets a paid internship (few students opt out in case if they can manage internships on their own)

The college ensures that everyone gets placed. The quality of placement decreases with time. (first 50% offers are quite good). Decent placements across all domains. Average CTC usually remains around 15 -16 LPA and highest around 37-38 LPA. Lowest CTC would be around 8-9 LPA. Majority of the batch remains in the range of 12 - 16 LPA

Affordability is an issue. The overall cost of MBA including accommodation and food is approximately 5-6 lacs more than the tuition fees. There were very less scholarship opportunities from the college (benefitting less than 5% of the students as far as I remember), however there are options of corporate scholarships. The college's affinity for money could be judged from the fact it is one of the few colleges which charges you even for attending the group discussion and personal interviews NMIMS MBA could arguably be one of the costliest MBA programs in India.

NMIMS has many committees where students can get into. There are committees that have huge responsibility on them like Placement Committee, Student Council, Industry Partnership cell and then there are domain wise clubs and cells like NJM (for marketing), Finomenon (for Finance) and Optimuz (for Operations). Joining any one of them basis the interest will guarantee additional knowledge and exposure apart from few extra lines on the CV. Apart from these there are interest based cells and societies for dramatics, dancing, photography etc. The annual business fest is Paragana which is held every year around October (www.paragana.nmims.edu). It contains inter college competitions, fests, seminars and corporate events. Classroom infra is quite modern and comparable to any top college of India. Lack of hostel is a major disadvantage for peer learning.

NMAT by GMAC is the written test to get admission for MBA programs. The cutoff is usually around 207-210 (94 percentile). Students clearing the overall cutoff and sectionals cutoffs are invited for the GD and PI. GD happens among 10-12 students per group and the topics are usually related to economics, current affairs, business news etc. (it is very unlikely that you will encounter topics related to politics or religion). GD is not an elimination round (all students are moved to PI) so even if people perform poorly in the GDs, they can still make it by having a good interview. The interview usually has 3 people in the panel (One faculty, one alumni and one industry expert). The interview mostly revolves around the Statement of Purpose which the candidate submits. The candidates are judged on their interest, clarity of thoughts and how this course will help them achieve what they want to