Did an MBA at IIT-R

IIT Roorkee's business administration course at the postgraduate level is one of the most renowned business programs from the brand "IIT". It was established approximately two decades back and has, since then, became a prominent name for aspirants who are not able to get into the prestigious IIMs. After not being called by the IIMs, I was thrilled to have gotten a chance to study here, with the best minds of the country.I had known about the institute back since my JEE days. However, I got to know about its DoMS after knowing that such departments exist at various old IITs. It was a great decision to opt for the institute!

The semester system is followed at our alma mater. We get to choose electives second year's first semester onwards. The faculty has read and researched at the best institutes across the country and beyond. The faculty-student ratio was a lowly 1:6.25, which provided ample opportunities for getting personalized mentoring.It was not difficult to clear the exams. However, getting a good score, while balancing the pressure of the same with extra-curriculars, was not easy. Teaching methods used included the widely-touted casebook method, roleplay, group and individual assignments and learning while working.

Summer placements were organized at the end of the second semester, for the summer breaks after the first year. The median stipend offered was INR 30,000, while the average stipend was INR 53,000. The highest compensation was INR 1,00,000, while 47 companies recruited.Notably, there were 27 first-time visitors. I landed the role of an intern in an Operations profile at a renowned firm, which bolstered my profile for the final placements too.

The median offer to our batch stood at 10.12 LPA, while the highest package for the batch was pegged at 18.68 LPA. 100% placements were registered for all those who had opted to appear for the placements, while 35 companies came in to recruit. Notably, 21 of them were first-time recruiters.Operations, consulting, general management and sales and marketing are the recruiting domains, while the companies included reputed MNCs like ZS, KPMG, Wipro and HCL. I got placed at a leading firm, which was almost like a dream coming true.

The college charged us about 8,00,000 as tuition fees through the two years of the course. Additional expenses included hostel and mess charges, along with those for appearing for the exams, using the library and pother infrastructural facilities, placements etc. Scholarships are available both on the basis of need and merit. These are provided to the top scorers at the end of the first year. Also, students can opt for various national scholarship schemes, on the basis of their category and financial/societal status.Education loans at compensated rates can also be availed, from SBI and PNB, which are familiar public sector banks.

"Thomso" is the annual cultural fest of DoMS, IIT Roorkee. "Cognizance" is the annual tech festival, where business-centric events are organized. "Reminiscence", "Regalia", "Exuberance", "Sangharsh", "Avenir" etc. are other notable events, which attract a lot of students from not only Uttarakhand, but from across the country.We also got to take part in events of other disciplines and interact with their students, which made the experience all the more interesting. The sports and recreational facilities were top-notch and so was the library. It was a supreme experience.

The hostels are clean and spacious and provide facilities like study table and chair, racks, mattress etc. for the inhabitants. Common facilities include the laundry, the washrooms and the mess. The food served is nutritious and healthy, while being a centre of brainstorming, collaboration and discussions. Overall, we made a lot of memories in these places, which were sheer highlights for me.

Students who have cleared the JEE Advanced and studied at the IITs are not required to have cleared the CAT as well. For the rest of us, shortlisting was done on the basis of CAT score. After this, the personal interview is conducted where the interviewers were professors of DoMS. We were tested on our speaking, listening and critical thinking abilities. Finally, the merit list was compiled on the basis of performance in the personal interview, past academic record and work experience. The exercise was strenuous but I was glad to be selected at the end.