Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay MBA Review By Deepak Satre

SJMSOM was close to my house but that wasn’t the reason I came here as it was anyway a compulsory residential college. I tried for NM, and many colleges which are above or similar ranked colleges but my luck lasted till SJMSOM. SJMSOM too is not easy to get in as the ecosystem here is better than the mentioned colleges. The batch size too is quite small and there’s a start-up program that runs in the campus. It was the best way to develop and learn as being able to give job is better than getting a job. SJMSOM made me extra energetic to work and gave the confidence to interact as the learning is unlimited and you can learn as much as you want from the experience of seniors and teachers. Not just that industry interaction through the mediums of alum sessions, seminars is immense and is safe to say that there is a haul of getting industrial exposure at SJMSOM.

Unlike many B-Schools, the studies here are a little different. During my time the cut-off was 96.6 percentile in CAT for the next round and so one can imagine the quality of in-take that the institute has. The course is tougher than many colleges and still the old-style study existed which I hope has changed by now. Slangs were used and you have to figure out what it meant. There were internships during both the year and it was mandatory to be a part of it. College lectures would carry on for 8-10 hours a day and just one 30 minutes break in between. The studies here are as tough as it is in IITs as the academic culture of both the institute is more or less the same.

Faculty to student ratio was much better here as the intake in one specialization was not more than 60. The faculty was around 30 and that means there was one teacher for every eight students. In all there were just 240 students divided in 3 sections. This is just about the core faculty of the college as guest faculty numbers were even higher and if I include that the ratio will go even higher.

Don’t just go on the numbers mentioned on their site as they are always on the higher side. In 2014 batch, the average package was 12 lacs and 40% of the students had the package of 15 lacs or more. Package was on the higher side and indeed better than the colleges I was chasing. Also, the jobs given had some of the most coveted profiles but they went to the ones who had prior work experience. This is my advice to all who wants to pursue MBA that a work experience of even one year will help you get package better than the other so take some work experience and then go for MBA.

Hostels are given blocks H and there were 20 or perhaps more such blocks. For SJSOM there were two blocks reserved and it also had students of IIT doing M. Tech. You don’t have a choice to choose the partner as it is allotted on pro-rata basis, I guess. We were lucky during the second year as it is what I have heard that in second year the students are awarded a single room and same was the case here. Now talking about the food, it was more than one can think of. Best oil, ghee is used to cook the food and the food serves is always hot and fresh. The mess timings were little odd as 7.30 to 9 and the mess will be closed post that. In Mumbai, at 9 pm we think of what are we going to have in dinner.

The campus being in one of the best colleges in India helps immensely. The IIT-Bombay is a township in Pawai and the township is highly rich in fauna and flora. The greenery at the campus is only increasing with time as I went to the campus lately and the green cover has increased from then and now. There were incubator labs for the start-ups. Both SJSOM and IIT-B students used these labs as students doing engineering and management studies are never short of idea. There were three or perhaps world class swimming pools at the campus. The other sporting facilities too were exceptional. Then there were banks, theatrical clubs, mountaineering clubs and you just have to name your hobby and you will find a room or hall allotted for that.

The campus was of immense help for those who want to have the best job or become entrepreneur. The college has resources for both and before you step out of the gate, you have already made way for the future.