My brother is doing his PGDBA from IIT KGP and he was rather afraid of programming and coding when he started the course. If you're stuck in the same situation, then my only advice is to enroll in the course with an open mind and a desire to learn to program if you don't already know-how.
Coding Experience: There is always a first time of everything. Now there are numerous MOOCs available online that can assist you in taking the initial step. The discipline of analytics (technical side) necessitates solid coding abilities, and therefore if you want to pursue a career in analytics, you should start learning the necessary skills now.
Work Experience: It is not necessary to have prior work experience to enroll in the course. However, relevant analytical experience aids in extracting greater value from the course.
According to your assessment of your interests, you have a preference for fields involving mathematics and statistics. Analytical science is an excellent fit in that regard. I would recommend that you go into MOOCs like Coursera, audacity, and your willingness to learn more about this field. You will obtain a better understanding of the field and would be able to decide if this is a good fit for you or not.
Contrary to the general opinion, IIM Calcutta is not just a place to create college memories and enjoy. The academic pressure and rigour is no joke here. The classes, assignments, exams and strict attendance policy is like any other IIM.
But IIM Calcutta is considered a relaxing place because of a specific reason. The harmony between the juniors and seniors is one of the most distinguishing features of IIM Calcutta. In this age of ragging and bullying, here the seniors are ready to do anything for their juniors. You will get a lot of support from your seniors and batchmates here.
The academic pressure is the same but the friendly ambiance makes it a better experience. You don’t survive life here, you experience it!
My brother is in IIM Calcutta and over the period of 2 years he has studied many valuable courses. But 3 of them top the list of his favorites.
Statistics for Management: Taught by Prof. Rahul Mukerjee, this course is a mandatory Term-I course. More than the subject itself it’s the professor that makes it an amazing experience. He is the recipient of many national awards and has taught all over the world at reputed universities like Harvard.
Options, Futures and Derivatives: IIM Calcutta is without a doubt the finance campus of India. The finance faculty is the best you can get and this course does justice to finance completely. It’s quite a tough subject based on derivatives and technical finance. But for a true finance lover, it’s the best. It is taught by Prof. Binay Bhushan Chakrabarti (BBC) who was the Gold Medalist of the Batch of 1980 from IIM Calcutta.
Management of Self: Another eye-catching course at IIM Calcutta is Management of Self taught by Prof. Leena Chatterjee. She is a motherly figure in college. This is the only course here that teaches you about nothing but your own self. It’s a sort of personality grooming course that requires you to take a few personality tests and write an autobiography. This course helps you get more familiar with yourself and overcome internal struggles. It’s a Term-V elective course.
Although all courses offered at IIM Calcutta have their own benefits, these 3 are among the best maybe because of the respective professors.
Trust me if you get into any IIM, banks will be after you to get loans from them. Banks consider an IIM student a good investment and therefore offer educational loans at a very low interest rate.
My uncle’s son had cleared CAT and got into IIM Calcutta. He got a loan from a bank at an extremely low interest rate. He had to deposit a demand draft of INR 3,23,050 at the time of the MBA registration process (second week of June). The rate of interest is 8.4%. After MBA, you will be in the 30% tax slab. The interest paid on an education loan is tax-deductible. So, your effective rate of interest is 8.4(1–0.3)=5.88%. This is the cheapest loan one can get in India. So it’s recommended that you take a loan even if you have money.
Banks like SBI, CBI, BOI, and PNB will give you loans as high as 30 lakhs without any collateral.
Apart from loans, IIM Calcutta also offers a lot of financial assistance to financially weak students. Need-based-scholarships are offered. IIM Calcutta provides Financial Assistance to students whose family income is less than 8 Lakhs.
Rather than worrying about money focus more on your goals and academics.
IIM Ahmedabad is indeed different from IIM B, C, K, and I in many aspects. Some of these aspects are it’s:
Discipline: when it comes to discipline, IIMA tops the list. The first year is a real-life challenge for students with hundreds of cases to study, group assignments and projects.
Case pedagogy: This is the highlight of the IIM Ahmedabad curriculum. IIMAs curriculum aligns with that of Harvard Business School. So it focuses more on problem-solving classes.
Architecture: IIMs pride lies in its heritage architecture. The red bricks surrounding the semicircular arches enhance the campus’ appearance tenfold.
Crowd: Without any doubt, the cream of students get into IIMA. This is because it has the highest cutoff.
Faculty: IIMA has top-notch faculty while some of them are IIM Ahmedabad alumni themselves.
IIM Ahmedabad is different from other IIMs in all these aspects. But what really sets it apart is its director Ravi Matthai and his systems cultivating accountability and autonomy.
XLRI usually scores right after IIM B and C. If you are interested in Marketing or Finance, you should definitely choose IIM B or C. These have better brand recognition and at least 10-15 companies visit the campus placements of IIM B and C which don’t come to XLRI.
Hower, XLRI HRM is the best Human Resources course available in the country. In terms of alumni and career opportunities, it is way better than IIM B and C.
My friend had opted for the PGDBA course jointly conducted by IIM Calcutta, IIT Kharagpur, and ISI Kolkata. She claims it to be the best decision of her life.
The same friend who graduated from this course had worked on a total of 14 projects and ended up interning with McKinsey. At the end of her internship, McKinsey planned to create a new role - Data Scientist for graduates and other similar recruits. Since then, a lot of big companies have participated in internships and placements in addition to international offers. Since then, the demand for the course has been increasing.
Today, the placement reports show an average placement offer of INR 3507000 which is more than the course fee of INR 2400000.
We can safely conclude that this course places you well within the industry and is worth the high fee spent.
One lesser-known fact about IIM Calcutta is the unhygienic conditions caused by the dirty lakes surrounding it. Mostly this truth is underestimated. But the reality is the pictures of the lakes at IIM Calcutta are misleading. They are nothing near surreal or beautiful. If anything they are the brooding ground of mosquitoes. Snakes and other poisonous creatures are also present here. Anyone who comes in contact with its water is bound to get skin infection or other ailments.
These lakes have been used as a marketing element for IIM Calcutta and it’s shocking that people believe such lies.
The table below will give you a clear understanding of the placement stats for IIM Calcutta this year
IIM Calcutta Placement Report 2022
Particulars |
Placement Stats (2020-22) |
Total Number of Students |
479 |
Number of Recruiters |
192 |
Number of offers |
640 |
Highest CTC(Domestic) |
INR 42.5 LPA |
Average CTC |
INR 34.2 LPA |
Median CTC |
INR 31 LPA |
Major Sectors |
Consulting |
Top Recruiters |
Amazon, Flipkart, Microsoft |
If you have a 99 percentile or higher, you have a good chance of getting a call from IIM Calcutta. Many students with less than 60% are enrolled in IIM C.
IIM Bangalore is unlikely because they place a high value on the profile.
The only thing you can do right now is to perform effectively on the CAT and improve your profile. Attempt to improve your CAT score. Do a variety of certifications to raise your profile. Never waste your valuable time worrying about your academic performance. What has been done is done, you cannot change it.