XAT or Xavier Aptitude Test is a national-level entrance exam conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur for admission to management programs offered by more than 150 B-schools across India, including SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Institute of Management Technology Ghaziabad (IMT Ghaziabad), T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), and FORE School of Management.

Each of these B-schools has its own XAT cutoff score based on factors such as the number of applicants, the difficulty level of the exam, and the availability of seats. Generally, the XAT cutoff scores for these B-schools range between the 80 to 90 percentile.

It's important to note that while cutoff scores are an important factor in the admission process, they are not the only factor. Other factors, such as your academic background, work experience, extracurricular activities, and performance in other selection rounds, also play a crucial role in the admission process. So, it's always a good idea to aim for a high score in XAT and prepare well for other selection rounds to increase your chances of admission to the MBA program of your choice.

Both colleges have nearly identical fee structures. Top consulting firms such as Mckinsey, EY, and Frost & Sullivan hire from K but not SP Jain. BCG, Accenture Strategy, PWC, Deloitte, KPMG, PRTM, CBC, and others have all visited both. While consulting firms extended 41% of all offers, the median salary increased by 32.5 percent from 2021 to 2022. Consulting emerged as the top recruiting sector at SPJ, with offers extended to 38% of the 238 participants.

In terms of middle office IBD and Wealth Management roles offered by JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Credit Suisse, K clearly outperforms SPJ. However, SPJain had a better scene in corporate finance, with Mondelez, GE, and Vodafone all offering corp fin. In Corporate Banking/Treasury, the number of companies visiting both is equal, with Citi, Yes Bank, ICICI, Axis, IDFC, IndusInd, and others visiting both. JM Financials and Standard Chartered are two brands that do not hire from K for corp banking. For the first time, Deutsche Bank has hired exclusively from K for their corporate banking role, rather than from SP Jain.

IIM K has provided a variety of finance roles, including middle and front-office investment banking, wealth management, corporate banking, and treasury roles, whereas investment banking and wealth management roles are almost nonexistent in SP Jain. They have a higher proportion of corporate finance positions available.

Going forward, with the expected growth and increasing alumni base, IIM K should be clearly a preferred choice over SP Jain for students aspiring to finance and consulting roles.

This question can be best answered by someone who has had a taste of both campuses. Fortunately one of my friends was lucky enough to move to IIM Ahmedabad after studying for a year at IIM Kozhikode. He shared his experience and the various things that contrasted in both the B Schools.

Faculty: Being the topmost B School, IIM Ahmedabad does attract some of the best faculties that are experts in their fields. They had too much knowledge and experience to impart making the classes a thrilling experience.

Crowd: While the crowd at almost all the good B Schools attracts only the best, IIM Ahmedabad is famous for its exceptionally good peer groups with only geniuses and masterminds in their respective fields.

Academic rigor: Normally B Schools offer a very hectic life with academic pressure combined with placements and clubs and committee activities. But at IIM Ahmedabad the topmost preference is Academics only. You are required to attend 3 lectures of 75 minutes of case study daily. These case studies are extremely lengthy and on average you are required to read 300 pages every day. Such economic rigor is lacking in the case of IIM Kozhikode.

There are several more minor differences between IIM Kozhikode and IIM Ahmedabad but these 3 are the main things an aspirant needs to consider while choosing one of the two B Schools.

I am going to address the most common misconception that SPJIMR and SP Jain are somewhat related. 

Establishment: SPJIMR was established in 1981 and is associated with the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, one of the only two institutes of national importance. SP Jain on the other hand was established in 2005. SP Jain or Sheehan Prasad Jain provided capital for the foundation of SPJIMR during its establishment. Later they decided to launch their own brand in the name of SP Jain. This is the main reason why people get confused between the two.

Campus: SPJIMR is solely Mumbai based and has no other campus whereas SP Jain’s Mumbai campus is one of the 4 campuses of the institute.

Legacy: SPJIMR is 36 years old and has a legacy of providing excellent management education focusing on value-based growth. SP Jain is a relatively new institute that is yet to build some credibility in order to impact the Management scene in India.

Alumni: SPJIMR has a much stronger and broader alumni network than SP Jain.

We can draw the following points of conclusion from this comparison 

• SPJIMR is the authentic SP B School everyone is looking for
• The quality of education at SPJIMR is at elegy with that of International B Schools which is not the case for SP Jain
• The little game achieved by SP Jain is because of its accidental linkup with SPJIMR
• The schools are definitely not rivals as SPJIMR is way ahead of SP Jain. We cannot really compare a 10-year Institute with a 36-year-old one.

I hope my answer has cleared all your doubts regarding the relationship between SPJIMR and SP Jain.

To choose a college that is perfect for you, one needs to ponder various questions repeatedly. These questions will help you get a clear idea about what you want from MBA and which college will help you achieve that.

• Which area do you want to specialize in?
• Are you included towards functional level clarity (Operations, Finance, Marketing, Tech) or granular level clarity (FMCG marketing/Digital e-commerce marketing/Sales or Product Management/Project Management or General Management)

If the answer to it is yes, then analyze the reports of these institutes to find where each one of them stands. Looking at average CTC is not the right way and is in fact misleading.

Other things you should consider before choosing a B School are

• The admission procedure and the level of difficulty of entrance exams if these colleges 
• The practicality and relevance of the curriculum as per the recent industrial trends
• The profiles of your batchmates and their diversity The size and brand of the alumni base and the opportunities you will be availing through them
• The importance of overall personality grooming

One thing you should keep in mind is that brands are just a stepping stone in your career journey and not the main factor. These institutes have been able to establish the brand name mainly because of where their alumni have reached now. So brands are helpful in the short run only.