A mein kya hai?
(or, in other words, "Why I chose IIM A over IIM B or IIM C")
First, the 'facts'.
B claims to give you the best international exposure. Apparently it has tie-ups with the largest number of business schools abroad (more than 70, compared to a 'paltry' 40-odd at A), more than 40% of the batch goes for international exchange programs (compared to a 'miserably small' 25% of the A-junta), about 90% of the batch would have 'some international exposure' (if the CAT brochure is to be believed) and has the highest number of foreign placements, both final and summers. If rumors are to be believed, it also got the highest (non-lateral) salary package last year.
C, apparently, has the "strongest infrastructure" in finance, with some international I-banks choosing C to be their exclusive destination for recruitment. Added to that, C has the most "chilled-out" lifestyle amongst the 3 big IIMs, and also it's pretty much close to home.
Not to forget, both B and C are, apparently, much more 'peaceful' IIMs than A. Life's a little less hectic, there's more involvement in extra-curricular activities and there are many more holidays (with the new hexamodular system, we will be getting only a week's holiday in our first year at A). And, a PGDM (somewhat like an MBA, for the uninitiated) for either of these will be cheaper by around 3 lacs.
Then why A?
I'd been asking this question around quite a bit before I made my decision. When I posed this question to some seniors and fellow A-goers, the only things I could get were phrases like "being branded for life", "value-addition", "best B-school in asia-pacific" etc etc., which are pretty much vague explanations. I partially agree with IIMA being universally recognized as a best amongst the IIMs, but I think, statistically speaking, ISB is much more recognized internationally. And this whole "branded for life" thing sounds a little childish, 'cause pardon me, but I believe that in the long run, it's the person who creates a brand for his school, not the school for a guy (unless you are one of them who's happy enough to float along in the stream of opportunities flowing in due to the achievements of another guy; I somehow don't find that a good enough reason to motivate myself). And this "value-addition" thing is just bull-cr*p. I'm sure people who talk about this know this very well. Ask them to define, or even describe, what this value is. Chances are high that they would talk you into something else they're more comfortable with. And don't even get me started on that "average" salary comparison theory. Ever since the placements at IIT happened, I've realized that there's nothing more delusional than this whole concept of "average" salary. A lot of fine print goes unnoticed whenever we take up such statistics.
But then what made me take up this decision?
For starters, what struck me the most was the attitude shown by A. They didn't bother to advertise any of their features with a loudspeaker, which B and C had been doing right from the word go. Now, it can portray two things - either they have taken their being ranked as the best b-school in India by some magazine surveys a bit too seriously and become a little too high-headed, or they know just that they don't need to cry out loud, 'cause they don't need to prove to anybody that they are 'better' than anybody else, 'cause they know they are as good as they can get, 'cause of the tremendous faith and confidence that they have in themselves (kinda reminds me of Google's "no self-advertising" policies). I'm inclined towards thinking in these latter lines. And the guy-inside-me-who-wants-to-hold-the-reins-of-the-future told me, "this is where I want to be." I got the point.
Then, after I came home and met some of my friends, I saw their jobs drop by a quarter of an inch more than what they they had dropped at first when I told them I'm going to A after initially I told them, yeah I got a call from IIMC. (hehe)
And finally, it was a simple thing that my father told me, after seeing me I was having trouble making up my mind.
How very true! Even when I was making up my mind, I was thinking A or B/C/Job? Even when people were trying to explain why B and C are better than A with some respect, they were only drawing A as reference.
And thus, I came to know that A is the best place for me to go to right now, and thereby made up my mind. But I still don't know why it is the best. Maybe I'll find that out by the end of my first year.
Wish me luck :)
P.S.: Apologies to those who made it to B or C but couldn't make it to A. This entry was not meant to be a condescending one. It's just an innocent attempt to answer a question which, ok, not too many were asking (they usually take it for granted that if you get an A call, you go to A), but something that did trouble me quite a bit and made me feel the need for a rational answer; or at least an honest attempt towards finding a rational answer...if you still don't agree with me..
First, the 'facts'.
B claims to give you the best international exposure. Apparently it has tie-ups with the largest number of business schools abroad (more than 70, compared to a 'paltry' 40-odd at A), more than 40% of the batch goes for international exchange programs (compared to a 'miserably small' 25% of the A-junta), about 90% of the batch would have 'some international exposure' (if the CAT brochure is to be believed) and has the highest number of foreign placements, both final and summers. If rumors are to be believed, it also got the highest (non-lateral) salary package last year.
C, apparently, has the "strongest infrastructure" in finance, with some international I-banks choosing C to be their exclusive destination for recruitment. Added to that, C has the most "chilled-out" lifestyle amongst the 3 big IIMs, and also it's pretty much close to home.
Not to forget, both B and C are, apparently, much more 'peaceful' IIMs than A. Life's a little less hectic, there's more involvement in extra-curricular activities and there are many more holidays (with the new hexamodular system, we will be getting only a week's holiday in our first year at A). And, a PGDM (somewhat like an MBA, for the uninitiated) for either of these will be cheaper by around 3 lacs.
Then why A?
I'd been asking this question around quite a bit before I made my decision. When I posed this question to some seniors and fellow A-goers, the only things I could get were phrases like "being branded for life", "value-addition", "best B-school in asia-pacific" etc etc., which are pretty much vague explanations. I partially agree with IIMA being universally recognized as a best amongst the IIMs, but I think, statistically speaking, ISB is much more recognized internationally. And this whole "branded for life" thing sounds a little childish, 'cause pardon me, but I believe that in the long run, it's the person who creates a brand for his school, not the school for a guy (unless you are one of them who's happy enough to float along in the stream of opportunities flowing in due to the achievements of another guy; I somehow don't find that a good enough reason to motivate myself). And this "value-addition" thing is just bull-cr*p. I'm sure people who talk about this know this very well. Ask them to define, or even describe, what this value is. Chances are high that they would talk you into something else they're more comfortable with. And don't even get me started on that "average" salary comparison theory. Ever since the placements at IIT happened, I've realized that there's nothing more delusional than this whole concept of "average" salary. A lot of fine print goes unnoticed whenever we take up such statistics.
But then what made me take up this decision?
For starters, what struck me the most was the attitude shown by A. They didn't bother to advertise any of their features with a loudspeaker, which B and C had been doing right from the word go. Now, it can portray two things - either they have taken their being ranked as the best b-school in India by some magazine surveys a bit too seriously and become a little too high-headed, or they know just that they don't need to cry out loud, 'cause they don't need to prove to anybody that they are 'better' than anybody else, 'cause they know they are as good as they can get, 'cause of the tremendous faith and confidence that they have in themselves (kinda reminds me of Google's "no self-advertising" policies). I'm inclined towards thinking in these latter lines. And the guy-inside-me-who-wants-to-hold-the-reins-of-the-future told me, "this is where I want to be." I got the point.
Then, after I came home and met some of my friends, I saw their jobs drop by a quarter of an inch more than what they they had dropped at first when I told them I'm going to A after initially I told them, yeah I got a call from IIMC. (hehe)
And finally, it was a simple thing that my father told me, after seeing me I was having trouble making up my mind.
Forget the stats. A is A. The rest are 'the rest'.
How very true! Even when I was making up my mind, I was thinking A or B/C/Job? Even when people were trying to explain why B and C are better than A with some respect, they were only drawing A as reference.
And thus, I came to know that A is the best place for me to go to right now, and thereby made up my mind. But I still don't know why it is the best. Maybe I'll find that out by the end of my first year.
Wish me luck :)
P.S.: Apologies to those who made it to B or C but couldn't make it to A. This entry was not meant to be a condescending one. It's just an innocent attempt to answer a question which, ok, not too many were asking (they usually take it for granted that if you get an A call, you go to A), but something that did trouble me quite a bit and made me feel the need for a rational answer; or at least an honest attempt towards finding a rational answer...if you still don't agree with me..
जा चुल्लू भर पानी में डूब मर साले!
posted by Suryadeep at
1:08 AM
|
1 Comments
