One of the Best B schools. Review on IIM, Bangalore

Indian Institute of Management – IIM, Bangalore is my Alma Mater. When I saw this topic under the Opinions Wanted section, I dropped everything I was doing and decided to write a review based on my personal experience. Information related to the program details, types of courses, schedule etc can be obtained from the Institutes’ website.

Needless to say, I would recommend this institute.

The Beginning

First there was a big explosion – let us not go that far in time….

Armed with an engineering degree and having cleared CAT (Common Admission Test similar to GMAT) – little did I know that “cat” would be my middle name at MS - I landed in Bangalore and uttered my first kannada words “banerghatta hogtiya” to the state transport bus driver – meaning does this bus go to Banerghatta, where IIM’s campus was located. I was impressed with my first glimpse of the massive stone structured buildings, the tall trees and the lush green landscape.

Met the other students who joined the first year of the two-year PGP – Post Graduate Program and thus began two of the best years of my life.

Year 1

Days slipped into nights and nights became days with lectures, case studies, project work. Each trimester had its own challenges and we had to cope with core courses in Marketing, Finance, Personal Management, Organization Behavior and Quantitative Methods. We were evaluated on everything including class participation, quizzes (mostly surprise) and the mother of all – Case Studies. In this lifestyle, we barely managed to squeeze time for a haircut and a shave and occasional trips to MG Road and the pubs.

The end of Year 1 was marked with an eight-week project in the industry – so there was no vacation.

Year 2

Continued with the same pace as Year 1, only it became tougher and more competitive. This is when we get to specialize in functional areas like Marketing, Finance, Systems, Operations and sectors like Energy, Transportation etc. It was unfortunate that three of our classmates had a nervous breakdown – a pregnant pause, time for introspection and the race continued.

Then the placement begins. This mandated a trip to MN Rao Tailors on MG Road to get a three-piece suit stitched for the interviews. All of us were lucky to get top job offers. The placements lasted about four weeks and every weekend was spent in high spirits.

The Aftermath

We have a very strong alumni association and are still in touch with each other – catching up on the good old days and monitoring each other’s progress.

The Hostel

Even the hostel life was very competitive – there was never a moment of “darkness”. The ladies hostel was within the same complex and was strictly out of bounds and was aptly named “No Mans Land”.

The Mess

We survived. I carry fond memories of all those “baths” – bissi belli bath, curd bath, lemon bath, vangi bath, tomato bath – the only thing missing was a turkish bath. And Saturday was a “sab-bath” day.

Beware of Cupids’ Arrows

During those two years, cupid worked overtime and all the girls in our batch are happily married – intra-batch. In hindsight, cupids’ arrows were struck in the first trimester itself – if you manage to be “unattached” during the first three months then you can sail smoothly through your two years. Yours truly remained unattached – maybe the sailing was smoother for the “attached” – maybe, maybe not?

15,330 Hours of fun and learning. Thank You – IIM-B.