'Have clear expectation of PGDM'; advises IFMR Chennai Director, Dr P K Biswas to MBA aspirants

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
February 2, 2017
IFMR proposes to award more weight to achievers in various fields with 5 percentile relaxation in CAT/XAT/CMAT and other acceptable entrance exams
We are looking for applicants who have clear expectations of the PGDM program and are committed to put in the efforts required by our demanding program Dr P K Biswas, Director IFMR Chennai

The Institute for Financial Management & Research (IFMR), Chennai is looking for the candidates with clarity about their expectation from the PGDM programme they wish to pursue, so says the Director IFMR, Dr P K Biswas. IFMR is one of the top B-schools that are open for admission to flagship PGDM programmes. The admission process at IFMR is proposed to close on February 15. The acceptable exam scores are CAT /XAT / CMAT and GMAT.

In the admission process, IFMR proposes to award more weight to achievers in various fields including academics, sports and others apart from good scores in MBA entrance exams. However, the revised admission policy offers 5 percentile relaxation in entrance exam scores to achievers and this means a good opportunity for the candidates who have done well in any field – academics or extra -curricular.

IFMR, with its new campus at Sri city, near Chennai is one of the top B-schools offering quality management education with 100% campus placements and consistently rising average packages over the years. Marching on the mission to be within the top 10 B-Schools and within the top 3 in Finance domain in India, the Institute for Financial Management & Research (IFMR) Chennai has wrapped up its placements for the 2015-17 batch with higher salary packages.

Average placement at IFMR in Placement 2017 has increased to Rs.9 lakhs from Rs.8.5 lakhs last year. The highest salary has also gone up to Rs.14 lakhs from Rs.13 lakhs last year. In contrast to salary packages offered to various B-schools, IFMR has recorded higher compensation packages.

MBA/PGDM aspirants prefer to explore admission opportunity in IFMR especially to specialize in the Finance domain.  After moving to its new 40 acres campus at Sri City, IFMR is moving ahead to contribute more to the qualitative development of management education in the country. Speaking to MBAUniverse.com, Dr P K Biswas, Director IFMR shares key insights about the new campus of the institute and also guides the MBA aspirants on their career path. Below are the excerpts of the interview-

IFMR has got its new campus ready at Sri City. Please share the key USPs of the new campus
First is the location – we are in the middle of India’s fastest growing SEZ with the highest number of multinational companies; this allows us to tap their managers and their facilities for our students to learn from.

Second is the infrastructure – 40 acres fully wifi compound, with multimedia class rooms, IBM laboratory for analytics, Bloomberg terminals, access to e- journals and international databases- in every way a world class campus.

Third are the facilities for students – Quick Service Restaurants operating late into the night, (in addition to the official mess/ canteen), two fully covered badminton courts, snooker pool tables, courts for basketball and volleyball, grounds for football, and cricket, separate TV rooms, Gym and TT tables in both the girls and the boys hostels.

As a coveted B-school, what kind of Applicants do you look for? Who is an ideal applicant...
We are looking for applicants who have clear expectations of the PGDM program and are committed to put in the efforts required by our demanding program. We have a track record of 100% placement, but we do not respect applicants who are only interested in a job and not willing to work hard to acquire the knowledge and skills (required) for a career in management.

Please share the probable cut offs for admission 2017
For students without any achievements our cut off is 80th percentile in CAT and XAT and 90th percentile in CMAT. However we give a relaxation of 5 percentile for those who have significant achievements in academics, work place, sports, performing arts, NCC or other endeavor, and the applicant will be required to provide documentary evidence for the same, when he/she meets us for WAT/PI.

Are there any major changes in your admission process 2017? Please share
Last year, we found that many good applicants who were employed went through a tough time struggling between joining us on time and serving notice period in their company.  Some asked us for more time to join and struggled after joining because they missed classes, others needed more time than we could agree to, and they were not able to join us, and a few paid penalties at their workplace to join us on time.

To avoid such problems, this year, we have introduced the Early Decision Round, for which we will announce the shortlist before the 9th of February and the selection process will be completed in February allowing us to declare results in March.

This early decision round is only for those with at least 12 months of work experience.
We still have the General Round in which every eligible applicant can participate regardless of whether they are fresh graduates or have work experience.

Please share the weightage for CAT/XAT/CMAT scores in your final selection for 2017-19 batch
The entrance exam, whether CAT or XAT or CMAT or GRE or GMAT has only 20% weight in our selection process; we give more weight (than many other colleges) to the Personal Interview.

What is your advice to aspirants exploring admission opportunities in IFMR
 Deserve before you desire - Every one of us has desires but do all of us work hard to make ourselves worth the roles we aspire for? 

 Integrity cannot be compromised – Do not make any claims which you cannot substantiate.  Our panel members are required to certify that they are convinced about your credentials beyond any doubt, and if they do not certify, you will be dropped regardless of however great your profile is or high your percentile is.

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