IMT Ghaziabad Vs XIMB Vs SCMHRD - A Comparative Guide

In this article, I will objectively compare three well-recognized institutes of the country based on various parameters as illustrated below.

Why does this comparison matter?

The harsh reality of CAT and other entrance exams is that we all dream of an IIM, but entry into these elite institutes is extremely difficult due to the ratio of seats available and the number of applicants every year. In this case, the mentioned business schools and others in their league come as knights in shining armour for those who do not want to waste another year hoping to get an MBA. In other words, they do not make the perfect the enemy of the good.

Therefore this b-school comparison may help you to decide which MBA institute is right for you even if your CAT performance was not what you expected.
The various parameters that have been evaluated (especially Fees and Placements and Location) may help you decide your preference.

(Information below is on the basis of data for Class of 2016-2018)

Rankings:

Rankings are indicative of the quality of an institute but do not provide a cogent basis to select one institute over the other. However, you can use these rankings as a starting point to understand what MBA portals and aspirants think of these institutes.

2018	InsideIIM	MHRD-NIRF (Based on Graduation Outcomes Parameter)
SCMHRD	31st	NA
XIMB	32nd	14th
IMT Ghaziabad	33rd	26th

Fees and Placements:

MBA fees are being increased every year, owing to the increasing need to provide better infrastructure to students and to accommodate the salary expectations of the hardworking faculty. Therefore, the fees of an institute, paired with its placements, provides you with an opportunity to assess the ROI of an institute. An institute which charges Rs. 15 lakhs and provides an average placement of Rs. 7 Lakhs is very clearly the least preferred option.

2018	Fees (2 Years)	Highest Package	Average Package	Top Recruiter Companies
SCMHRD	17.1 Lakhs	28.74 LPA	14.04 LPA	Colgate Palmolive, ITC, TATA Motors, Deloitte, Cognizant, McKinsey
XIMB	21 Lakhs	21 LPA	13.18 LPA	Amazon, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, TCS
IMT Ghaziabad	17.50 Lakhs	25 LPA	11.6 LPA	Deloitte, Accenture, Google, KPMG, Mahindra and Mahindra, RBS, Wipro

• SCMHRD:
  Average salary (top 20%) - 21.08 LPA
  Average salary (top 50%) - 17 LPA
  HR and Marketing had the highest CTC offered, with the average CTC for Marketing being higher than that of HR.
• IMT Ghaziabad:
  Highest international CTC - 36 LPA
  Average CTC (Top 25) - 19.77 LPA
  Average CTC (Top 50) - 17.57 LPA
• XIMB:
  Median package - 13.02 LPA

Note - None of the 3 institutes provide great ROI. However, one must think beyond the ROI only (although it is an important factor). However, if ROI was considered in isolation then SCMHRD appears to be the best of the lot.

Batch strength:

The batch strength of an institute defines the competition that you are likely to face in terms of academics and placements. However, on the flipside, it also presents an opportunity to develop a vast network with people from diverse backgrounds.

SCMHRD	227
XIMB	For the class of 2017, batch strength was 360 (BM) and 120 (HRM)
IMT Ghaziabad	543

Student Profile:

What kind of students get admission into these institutes? What are their backgrounds? How many have work experience? (Based on the outgoing batch)

• IMT Ghaziabad:

1. 33% of the batch consists of women.
2. 41% of the batch is aged between 24-25, and 37% of the batch is aged between 22-23.
3. 21% of the batch consists of students from non-engineering backgrounds.
4. 65% of the batch consists of students with work experience.

• SCMHRD:

1. 34% of the batch consists of women.
2. 75% of the batch consists of Engineers.
3. 42% of the batch consists of freshers, while 24% of the batch has work experience of 1-2 years.

• XIMB:

1. 20% of the batch consists of women.
2. 28% of the batch consists of freshers, while another 28% consists of those with 2-3 years of work experience.
3. 73% of the batch has done their B.Tech, while 15% of the batch has done BA (Hons).

Exchange Programme:

An Exchange programme is a once in a lifetime opportunity for students to experience the culture and method of teaching in esteemed foreign institutes. There is a chance to explore another country and network with people.

• SCMHRD:

SCMHRD has two exchange programs with Berlin School of Economics and Law and Telecom Ecol de Management.

• IMT Ghaziabad:

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.

• XIMB:

XIMB has signed 9 Memorandums of Understanding with 9 international universities, namely EUROMED Marseille Institute of Management, France; REIMS Management School, Reims Cedex-France; Facultad de Economia, IQS, Barcelona, Spain; University of Antwerp, Belgium; Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw, Poland amongst other Universities.

XIMB also has an International Relations Centre (IRC) which handles International Exchange Programmes.
Here is an XIMB student's exchange programme experience.

Curriculum:

• SCMHRD:
  The 1st semester consists of 16 core subjects such as Human Resource Management, Legal Aspects of Business, Operations Research, Managerial Economics etc. Students are also given an opportunity to select any one basics language course such as Mandarin, French, German or Spanish. Integrated Disaster Management is also a subject that is mandatory for a degree to be awarded. The 2nd semester has 14 Core credits and 14 Credits for electives. The 3rd semester consists of 14 Core credits and 16 credits for Electives. The Final semester has 6 core and 6 elective credits.
• XIMB:
  In the 1st year, students learn only the core subjects and understand the fundamentals of business.
  At the end of the 1st year, the students are required to spend a minimum of 8 weeks in an organisation for their internship. In the 2nd year, XIMB offers its students to choose from 53 electives paired with compulsory core subjects.
• IMT Ghaziabad:
  IMT Ghaziabad follows the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). In the 1st year which consists of 5 terms, students study the basics of general management. In the 2nd year, students can choose electives in the 6th and 7th terms.

Infrastructure:

• IMT Ghaziabad:
  IMT has a fully residential campus spread across 14 acres. The newly developed blocks have centrally-air conditioned classrooms. The entire campus is wi-fi enabled. There is an amphitheatre and a gymnasium.
  IMT is a residential course and therefore it is mandatory for all students to stay on campus. The hostel is located 3 kilometres away from the campus. The hostel rooms are occupied on a twin sharing basis.
• SCMHRD:
  According to the official website, the campus consists of an auditorium, tennis court, gymnasium, basketball court, library, swimming pool etc. First Year students stay at the D-Hostel. The hostels have LAN connection, while the library is wi-fi enabled. The food is appreciated by most students, although some have raised questions about the quality of food and other facilities.
• XIMB:
  According to the official website, the XIMB campus is spread across 20 acres and consists of a Management Development Centre (MDC), auditorium, basketball court, tennis court, gymnasium and a cricket/soccer field.
  XIMB has two campuses, namely the old (XIMB) and new campus (XUB). The new campus rooms are perceived to be better than the ones at the old campus. The new campus is quite far away from the city and therefore can be inconvenient for students to travel to and fro. There is a night canteen which is open from 12 AM to 3 AM.

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.
• SCMHRD:
  SCMHRD's Annual Fest 'NEEV' is the biggest event in the institute's calendar. It is the 3rd largest fest in the country and sees participation from over 15,000 students from b-schools across the country. 
  The various student bodies at SCMHRD are: Sports Committee, Media & PR Cell, Corporate Relations Team, Supply Chain Operations Club (SCOPE) etc.
• XIMB:
  XIMB's annual management fest is 'Xpressions', and is one of the biggest b-school fests of the country.
  The various committees at XIMB are - LitSoc, the literary committee of XIMB; SpeakUp, the oratory club of XIMB; X-Ops, the Operations and Supply Chain Club Management Club (which organises Ashwamedh, the annual business conclave) etc.

Alumni Network:

IMT Ghaziabad:
IMT's Alumni Relations Committee organises IMTtalks, a series of guest lectures which allow alumni to provide insight to students about their post-MBA experiences. They also organize the All India Alumni Meets (AIAMs), which provide Alumni a chance to interact with each other and catch up. IMT also has a bi-annual magazine for alumni called 'Sampark'.

Apart from this, IMT is also coming up with an IMT Alumni mobile app to keep the ex-students connected with their alma mater.

XIMB:
XIMB has its own Alumni portal, along with an XIMB Alumni (PMIT) Facebook page which facilitates a strong connection between the alumni across the country. Apart from this, 'Grand Homecoming' and 'Sandhiya' are the annual Alumni meets organised by the Alumni Committee. X-Alma is a mentorship initiative which allows students to get mentorship from those who have an immense amount of experience, and possess a desire to impart that knowledge to future managers. X-Post is an online newsletter which connects the XIMB fraternity.

SCMHRD:
The Institute has the Alumni Relations Team which is responsible for alumni engagement activities for over 3800 alumni. They also organise connect drives and city meets to maintain a good connection with the alumni of the institute. SCMHRD's annual Alumni meet, 'Footprints', provides a chance to the ex-students to reminisce about their times as an MBA student and catch up with their batchmates.

Location Factor:

• SCMHRD - Pune:
  Pune is a lovely city to stay in due to great weather and hospitable people. The city is filled with college students, most of whom are studying in Vimaan Nagar (Symbiosis Colleges). Public transport is a major issue with autos being the most popular mode of transportation, so it is advised to get your own two-wheeler to travel. Hinjewadi (where the institute is located) is almost 20 kilometres away from the main city. Some of the places to hang out are MG Road and  Koregaon Park. The nightlife is also quite good, and most pubs and clubs stay open till 12 AM. Hinjewadi is also known for the Rajiv Gandhi IT Park, which houses some of the biggest IT giants such as Cognizant and Infosys.
• IMT- Ghaziabad:
  Ghaziabad is a city with a lot of cultures which is diminished by its high crime rate. Windsor Street is known as the Connaught Place of Ghaziabad and is one of the most popular places to hang out. The city is in close proximity to New Delhi and Noida and is said to be the second fastest-growing city in the world.
  The weather is bearable but can turn extreme during winters and summers. An issue with Ghaziabad is that the closest Airport to the city is 45 kilometres away in Delhi (IGI). It is, however, a major railway junction, so travel by train automatically becomes the more preferred option.
• XIMB - Bhubhaneshwar:
  The city of Bhubhaneshwar is described by its residents as "soothing and refreshing". It is a city of temples and is slower as compared to a metro. The public transport is not great, with autos and app-based cabs being the most preferred option for commuting. There is hardly any winter in Bhubhaneshwar, while the summers can become quite humid. The Biju Patnaik International Airport is just 3 kilometres away from the Bhubhaneshwar city centre. Places to hang out are Patia, Chandrashekharpur, Damana Square etc.

Note - Ghaziabad and Pune have a clear advantage over Bhubhaneshwar in terms of location.
If you have been a city dweller for the majority of your life, it will take time for you to adapt to a slower way of life in these smaller cities. It will be an all-new experience to reside in developing cities and be away from the rush of a Metro.

The above-mentioned institutes are some of the most preferred institutes for those who did not manage to get admission into the top-10 MBA institutes. The quality of learning is very good. Paired with the experience of living in a small city and interacting with people from all backgrounds, your MBA experience will be worth remembering for life.  If you have any suggestions, corrections or questions, please let me know in the comments below! (This report is based solely on secondary research) For more such B-school comparisons, click here.