Chandigarh University MBA Review By Parv Chropa

I would say that one can easily look at CU as one of the best Universities for MBA, at least in Punjab. The pedigree may not be that old in such a short span; they have crafted a niche in many courses, and MBA is without an iota of doubt, the leader of the pack. CUCET is one way to get here, but they also accept CAT, MAT, and XAT scores. One can apply directly as well through management quota, but the fees for such students increase as they are not considered among the selected students. The University environment and professors provide a conducive learning environment. Application of theoretical knowledge is what we were taught and that made the course interesting and one that we loved studying. From the second year, special sessions were organized for placements as we had done our internships by then, so had a fair idea of industry working. More than anything else, the hiring panel checks our communication skills so that skill of ours was polished during those sessions.

From day one, we were exposed to learn as much as we could. We were given industry-led projects and corporate training was also provided within and outside the campus. Everything was there in place, but students had to get engaged themselves because no one pushes you to learn more and more at CU. The University has made arrangements and now it's up to the students to grab their opportunities.

At CU, we had the opportunity to learn from faculty who didn't have some of the best academic credentials but also vast corporate experience. They had their theory that no one taught us and they applied that on students. They were there for help as more than theory we used to have practical sessions. They also showed us the movie Drishyam which was an academic session. The gist of the movie is that we remember those things forever which we see from our eyes. So, faculties were clear that see how work is done through workshops and how we can help the organizations go further. Their help was immense, but they were never behind us. So, in short, the faculty threw us in a pool where we had to learn swimming ourselves.

At CU, you will have the choice of entering your dream companies but subject to you clearing all 1st-year subjects and of course the interview. E&Y, KPMG, Amazon, Flipkart, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Bank were among the top recruiters. Average placements to Finance students was around 7 lakhs. MBA has around 400 students including all the domains, and 70 percent of those had campus placements. Finance students were the torch-bearer of MBA placements as some students of our batch had placements worth 15 lakhs and more. There were some but most students had placements and the ones who were hired by banks had the placements in nearby areas like Zirakpur, Mohali, Chandigarh, and Panchkula. So, we didn't even have to relocate for our jobs as a job with an increase of 15-20% but in cities like Delhi or Bangalore would have meant the same.

Chandigarh University has both boys and girls hostels. Some buildings and some hostels were like Villas as they had rooms allotted to students who have opted for single rooms. So, you pay a premium and get the premium rooms. Nothing comes free as the University hostels were too good. The girls hostel tower was the biggest building of the campus as it could be seen from a mile away. The facilities and food that was provided was worth it but the only clause that they have put in that student area of residence has to be at least 40 kilometers away to get a chance to stay at the hostel.

I think it will take some time for the University to get complete. When I first saw it in 2015, it was under development stage and when I joined it was still developing. Even now, some construction must be ON as the University is too big and they want to be the biggest private University of North after LPU. From the facilities that we could avail during our time at the campus were more than enough. There was a matrix salon and one had to spend 200 bucks to get a haircut there. Even the cafes charge more than luxurious cafes of Chandigarh and still were overcrowded. So, the facilities were all there inside the campus, but at a cost much higher than one will be paying otherwise.

There's so much happening at the campus now and then. The best part was that we can call students from other Colleges, but they have to buy a pass. Still, people didn't back out as many students from my previous University came for the fest and enjoyed every bit of it.