For CAT aspirants, especially for those interested in pursuing a career in Marketing, the names of two top B-schools immediately come to mind - IMT Ghaziabad and MICA. So, if you had to choose between these two management institutes, which one would you go for, and on what basis? Are these institutes really as elite as they are made out to be, and when compared to each other, which institute comes out on top? This article on IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA will attempt to answer these questions based on facts and numbers.
This B-school comparison is
not exhaustive and only
aims to point you in the right direction by serving as a starting point for any research that you may conduct post-CAT.
Last updated on 26th May,2020.
IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Summary of Comparison
| IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Business School Comparison |
| Criterion For Selection |
IMT Ghaziabad |
MICA Ahmedabad |
| Placements |
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| Fees |
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| Academic & Gender Diversity |
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| Brands On Campus |
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| Student Exchange Opportunities |
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| Rankings |
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| Batch-Size |
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| Location |
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While choosing between IMT Ghaziabad and MICA, it is important to understand that IMT Ghaziabad, though known for marketing, offers a general management programme that can lead you to various career paths post-MBA, while at MICA, you are most likely to end up working specifically in a marketing/advertising/sales role at only at brands that hire for such positions. For instance, working at an investment bank or a management consulting firm post a PGDM-C programme is unlikely for a MICAn, though there are certain exceptions to this.
However, it is also important to understand that the curriculum at MICA, though inclined majorly towards strategic marketing and communication, also has a certain amount of focus on other domains such as finance, supply chain management, etc. in the first year. The second-year onwards, the curriculum is focused entirely on subjects such as sales, types of marketing, brand management etc.
Also read – Why I Chose MICA Over NMIMS
IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Programmes Offered, Scores Accepted
| IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Programmes Offered, Scores Accepted |
| B-School |
Programme Offered |
Programme Duration |
Scores Accepted |
| IMT Ghaziabad |
PGDM |
24 months |
CAT/XAT/GMAT |
| MICA |
PGDM-C |
24 months |
CAT/XAT/GMAT |
IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Rankings
Comparing business school rankings is not the ideal way to choose which business school to join. However, it does serve as a starting point if you're about to begin your research process for shortlisting your target B-schools. Given below are the B-school rankings for MICA and IMT Ghaziabad, based on the perception of MBA aspirants.
In terms of rankings, MICA comes out on top when compared with IMT-G, though not by a very large margin. MICA remains amongst the top-30 business schools for the second consecutive year. It must also be mentioned that IMT-G is ranked 34th by the MHRD-NIRF MBA Rankings for 2019. MICA has not been ranked by MHRD.
Also, read this B-school comparison between SPJIMR Mumbai and MDI Gurgaon.
IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Placements, Return on Investment
| IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Fees, Placements, Return on Investment |
| |
Fees |
Highest CTC |
Average CTC |
| IMT Ghaziabad |
Rs. 17.50 lakhs |
Rs. 57.40 lakhs p.a. |
Rs. 12.50 lakhs p.a. |
| MICA |
Rs. 18.50 lakhs |
Rs. 58.22 lakhs p.a. |
Rs. 12.80 lakhs p.a. |
IMT Ghaziabad PGDM Final Placements - Class of 2019
- Number of participating companies: 179
- Number of first-time recruiters: 61
- Total number of pre-placement offers: 87
- International offers: 12
- Average CTC:
a) Top-10: Rs. 29.86 lakhs p.a.
b) Top-20: Rs. 25.31 lakhs p.a.
c) Top-50: Rs. 21.18 lakhs p.a.
d) Top-100: Rs. 18.75 lakhs p.a.
- Top brands on campus included RB, Goldman Sachs, Google, EY, PwC, L'Oreal, Mahindra Group, Piramal Enterprises, Accenture, and Credit Suisse amongst others.
Read the complete placement report here.
MICA PGDM-C Final Placements - Class of 2019
- 2 in 5 students of the Class of 2019 bagged a PPO/PPI.
- A total of 78 recruiters made offers to the PGDM-C Class of 2019 at MICA Ahmedabad.
- The highest number of offers were made in the FMCG and FMCD sector, and IT/ITeS, Internet & Technology, and E-commerce sector, with 36 offer each.
- The various roles offered at MICA included Project Manager, Brand Strategist, Marketing Consultant, Associate Digital Strategist, Brand Manager, and Cloud Consultant among others.
| MICA Ahmedabad Final Placements 2019 – Sector Overview |
| Sector |
Highest CTC |
Mean CTC |
Total Number of Companies |
Total Number of Offers In 2019 |
Total Number of Offers In 2018 |
| FMCG, FMCD |
Rs. 58.22 lakhs p.a. |
Rs. 15.73 lakhs p.a. |
18 |
36 |
24 |
| IT/ITeS, Internet & Technology, E-Commerce |
Rs. 25.00 lakhs p.a. |
Rs. 13.57 lakhs p.a. |
16 |
36 |
34 |
| Analytics, Research & Consulting |
Rs. 15.00 lakhs p.a. |
Rs. 11.47 lakhs p.a. |
7 |
17 |
7 |
| Media & Entertainment |
Rs. 19.00 lakhs p.a. |
Rs. 11.20 lakhs p.a. |
13 |
34 |
29 |
| Advertising, PR, Digital Agencies, Events |
Rs. 14.00 lakhs p.a. |
Rs. 9.52 lakhs p.a. |
11 |
32 |
32 |
| Retail & Real Estate |
Rs. 33.98 lakhs p.a. |
Rs. 15.30 lakhs p.a. |
5 |
13 |
21 |
| BFSI, Manufacturing, Pharma |
Rs. 21.00 lakhs p.a. |
Rs. 13.79 lakhs p.a. |
8 |
12 |
26 |
Read the complete placement report here.
Also, read - IIM Shillong vs JBIMS Mumbai - Which Business School Is A Better Option For You?
IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Batch Size, Diversity
|
Batch Size |
Percentage of Non-Engineers |
Percentage of Women |
| IMT Ghaziabad |
500 |
22% |
18% |
| MICA |
180 |
59% |
53% |
If batch-size is perceived as more competition (a more pollyannaish understanding is that a larger batch-size is an opportunity for more networking), then MICA has a distinct advantage over IMT Ghaziabad, considering the latter has nearly three times the batch size as the former.
In terms of diversity -
gender and
academic - MICA is far ahead of not just IMT Ghaziabad but every other top business school in India, including the IIMs and other management institutes that counted amongst the top-20 in the country. MICA is the only top management institute in India whose Class of 2020 comprises more non-engineers than engineers (nearly 60%). On the other hand, non-engineers make up just over a fifth of the PGDM batch at IMT Ghaziabad.
MICA is also the only top institute in India where the number of female MBA candidates outnumber the number of male MBA candidates, making MICA the most gender-diverse business school in India. Less than a fifth of IMT's Class of 2020 comprises women, which is amongst the lowest across top B-school campuses.
IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Student Exchange Opportunities
IMT Ghaziabad has a tie-up with 70 international institutes, and a student is given an opportunity to spend 1-2 semesters at any one of these institutes.
Some of these institutes are Arizona State University, Warsaw School of Economics, Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Paris School of Business, Copenhagen Business School etc.
"The International Students Exchange programme gives students an opportunity to experience the pedagogy followed in other international schools. The students at MICA constantly challenge the conventional thought processes prevalent in different parts of the world, to produce unprecedented and extraordinary results. The excellence that goes into producing such results is garnered through the ambience created by an eclectic mix of students and the distinguished faculty here at MICA."
MICA has international collaborations with 9 management institutes abroad, including ESCEM Business School, France, NTU Singapore, and the University of Tampere, Finland amongst others.
IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Campus Life
IMT Ghaziabad
Students are directly involved with a lot of activities at IMT G. Some of these are:
a)
Tatva – Upcoming managers of various b-schools are awarded for their performance during their respective Summer Internships. Institutes such as IIMs, SPJIMR, MDI, FMS, SCMHRD etc. participate. It is an opportunity for 2nd-year students to reflect upon their performance and is a great learning experience for 1st-year students.
b)
Passion – ‘Passion’ is the annual management and cultural fest of IMT Ghaziabad. Artists such as Saleem-Suleman and Jeeveshu Ahluwalia have performed at the fest.
IMT also organises ‘Chakravyuh’, the annual sporting event. Institutes such as IIMs, SPJIMR, JBIMS, MDI, IIFT etc. participate in the event which takes place in the second week of February every year.
The various committees at IMT Ghaziabad are: Make A Difference Foundation (MADF) club, Analytics Club, International Toastmaster Club etc.
Here are some videos that give you a glimpse of life at IMT!
MICA
"At MICA, you sleep less and dream more."
MICA is considered to be one of the most happening B-school campuses in the country. There are various student-run clubs and committees, such as
Sankalp (The Theatre Society at MICA), the LitComm, the CulComm, Studio 7 (Music society), and SCAM (Sports Committee) amongst others.
Apart from the clubs and committees, MICA also conducts various events throughout the year, such as one of the biggest events at MICA -
MICAnvas, the annual marketing fest at MICA held in the month of November, as well as the MICA Leadership Series, a.k.a.
MLS.
Here are some videos that give you a glimpse of life at MICA!
IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Location
In terms of location, IMT, being located in NCR, has a distinct advantage over MICA, owing to the close proximity of the former to the national capital that houses various corporate headquarters and industry giants. However, it must be mentioned that this does not stop top brands such as Nestle, EY, Google, Amazon, Flipkart, Target, Wipro, etc. from visiting the MICA campus for campus recruitment.
IMT Ghaziabad vs MICA - Conclusion
When one considers the criteria enlisted in the very first table, it can be understood that these institutes are quite evenly matched, with MICA having an edge over IMT in terms of placements (marginal), diversity, rankings and batch-size, and IMT having an advantage over MICA in terms of the fees and location. Both institutes see top brands on campus but neither offers great RoI, especially when compared with other elite institutes in the same bracket.
Hopefully, this business school comparison gives you a brief yet insightful idea as to how these two elite institutes fare against each other, and gives you a certain amount of clarity around which B-school would be the right option for you.
Please let me know how this B-school comparison report can be improved, and what other elements can be added/omitted!
*****
At InsideIIM, we strive to bring to you content that is not just highly insightful but also takes you behind-the-scenes of what an MBA entails. It is only through experiences of post-MBA professionals that one can truly grasp what a career after an MBA looks like. More often than not, through their anecdotes, these professionals bring out certain truths and realities about the corporate world that may burst thousands of bubbles about what an MBA really is.
Here is a compilation of some of the most hard-hitting talks by perceptive individuals sharing their stories with an audience about to begin their MBA journey!