If you are planning on adding relevant work experience to your profile then taking another year to attempt CAT can be beneficial. If not, then this decision can hurt your case. CAT is also quite unpredictable, so you can’t be certain that you will get into IIM A next year. 

Joining XLRI can be a good decision. It is one of the best B-schools in the county. There are people who may argue that IIM A offers better opportunities, which may even be true. However, XLRI is a different kind of brand with an enviable campus experience. As a part of XLRI, you will have access to their extensive alumni base across the industries, sectors, and institutes. 

Add up these factors and weigh in your options before making any decision. 

The brand value of ISB and XLRI, FMS, IIM L can’t be compared. ISB is known for its executive PGP while XLRI, FMS, and IIM L are reputed for their two-year-long MBA progran. These are some of the top-rated B-Schools in the country and have long-standing legacies. 

ISB has a huge batch size of around 800. Due to the huge batch size students face problems getting decent opportunities through campus placements. The ROI isn’t that good. The total course fee for PGPM is around INR 36.3 lakhs. While the average CTC is around 34.07 LPA, according to the recent highlights of ISB placements.

Due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation, XLRI took interviews online for 2021-23 batch. My brother had a zoom interview for XLRI BM. He completed Integrated M.Sc from IIT Kanpur and then pursued M.Phil and Ph.D. from Tilburg University. 

The interview lasted for 40 mins. There were four interviewers. 

• After the introduction round they asked him about his Ph.D. and why he didn’t complete it. 
• They asked him whether he has any backup plan in case he wasn’t selected. 
• There were also questions on his hobbies, his career choices after MBA, his job interview experience. 
• They ended the interview with some questions on current affairs. 

Overall, his XLRI Interview experience was smooth.