My journey at KJ Somaiya!

The registration begins in November itself. It occurs in two rounds. Round 1 is for applicants applying through GMAT /CAT/ XAT/ NMAT. Round 2 is for the applicants appearing for CMAT. The GD-PI round occurs in the month of February. Post the declaration of the results of the GD-PI round, candidates are offered a choice of the program based on their preferences, merit position and availability of seats. The group discussion is case-based. The good aspects of the Institute include its strong legacy continued from 1981 itself, great campus life, excellent faculty, and very alumni base. The slightly bad aspects include the availability of a lot of scholarship programs, which is a great aspect but, the terms are quite vague. I preferred this college over the others because of the location and its strong alumni base.

There are 6 terms in the two-year program. In each term, there are two exams- mid-term and an end-term exam held. The overall TGPA is just not based on the examination scores but also, assignments and projects. Summer internships begin at the end of the third term. The faculty-student ratio is 1:21. The professors are highly qualified and all of them possess doctoral degrees and the majority of them hold expertise incorporates.

100 % of the batch bags summer placements. The significant recruiters are DCB Bank, Bajaj, Blue Star, HSBC, KPMG, VLCC, ITC, Asian Paints, etc. The duration of the internship is around 8-10 weeks. The average stipend offered was Rs18,700 per month and the highest stipend offered was Rs1,45,000 per month.

The entire batch bags placements, however, there are few who opt-out from the placement process due to their aspirations to have a start-up and get involved in the family business. Overall the placements are 99.93%. The highest package offered was an MBA (general management) which was Rs28.34 lakhs. The average placement is around Rs10.45 lakhs. The significant recruiters are Amazon, Minex Metallurgy, Vistara, Sharekhan, ebay, Fedex, GEP, IBM, etc.

The fee was Rs16.28 lakhs. However, it is subject to change so, it is advised to stay updated with the revised fee structure. There are many scholarships offered to students. It includes merit -cum- means-based scholarships, need-based scholarships, special interests scholarships, and subject-based scholarships. 110% of students bag summer placements. Loans are available with very little hassle, most of them have a moratorium period of 2 years.

The campus life at KJ Somaiya is full of thrills. There are committees and clubs for every sphere, to name a few- FinStreet for finance enthusiasts, Retail Lab for students inclined toward retail management, Placement Committee, Alumni Committee, Sports Club for sports fanatics, Enactus Social cell, Toastmaster Club, Mauj Club, Women development Club, Photography club, Admission Committee, etc. There are several fests and events held at the campus, to name a few- Meleange, Navikaran, Nostalgia, Pangea, Resolution, Confluence, Entrepreneurial Expo, HR meet- Human Equation, Stratinova, etc.

The group discussion held is case-based. The duration of the same is around 12-15 minutes. Each student is given 1 minute to conclude post the discussion. While I was in the discussion, there were 12 candidates in my batch. There was a total of 10 batches. The topic of my GD was 'Driverless Cars'. The discussion was fun and everyone was involved in counting the pros and cons and thereafter forming a 'for' and 'against' opinion. The PI questions included -Why MBA after pursuing a course in tourism and hotel management, my hobbies, the reason behind gaps in my academics, the places I have been due to my fathers' transfers and my learning from each of those places, my role so far in the NGO i was associated with about my short term and long term goals.