The tuition fees and ancillary costs for management education at the Indian Institutes of Management, private Indian b-schools and deemed universites have witnessed upto sixfold increases in the last seven years. In contrast, the government university affiliated management schools have only seen a marginal hike in their fees, making them look economically attractive. However, external circumstances and inflation have ensured that you now have to spend a substantial sum for living expenditure over and above the academic costs for studying in these institutions, thereby mitigating their cost advantage to an extent.

The two prominent government university b-schools according to the PaGaLGuY Rankings are the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), affiliated to Delhi University and Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) affiliated to Mumbai University. The cost of the two year MBA program in FMS is Rs 10,450 per annum and the corresponding figure for JBIMS is 100,000 per annum.

The figures suggest that academic costs incurred in these institutes are a fraction of the cost of an MBA from the other top institutes in the country. But is that really true? We decided to speak to students at these two b-schools and find out what it really costs to do an MBA at these schools.

The two big cost components of an MBA program are the Academic Costs (Admission Fees, Tuition Fees, Course Materials, etc) and the Living Expenditure (A place to stay, Food, etc).

The FMS Delhi Academic Cost

The FMS website lists the cost of the two-year MBA FT programme as Rs 10,450 year. That makes the total cost Rs 20,900 for two years. If you are calculating your educational expenditure on this figure, the FMS programme sounds extremely economical. However, the FMS website does not stipulate the other components of the academic expenditure such as membership fees to student bodies, library fee etc.

According to students in the 2009-11 batch, every student has to pay Rs 25,000 a year as a fee for membership to the Management Science Association (MSA). Add to that the additional one time fees for the alumni association and the library (totals to Rs 3,250) and examination fees for the four semesters (total amounts to approximately Rs 5,000).

How the FMS academic cost splits up (Fees other than the tuition fees are for the academic year 2009-2011. The fee components are not fixed and may change)

JBIMS Mumbai Academic Costs

We spoke to a student from the 2009-2011 batch of JBIMS and also a highly placed official in the institute. According to them the fees for JBIMS is mandated by the University of Mumbai at Rs 100,000 a year. This is inclusive of all the academic components. According to them, the other charges amount to approximately Rs 3,000 per year, which include examination fees and other miscellaneous expenses.

How the JBIMS academic costs split up,

Living Expenditure at FMS Delhi

FMS does not have a hostel of its own so it has to use the hostel premises of the Delhi University (DU). Because of the paucity of hostels in DU, the hostel intake for men at FMS is restricted to 60 students every year. According to a FMS student, who has secured hostel accommodation, the hostel allocations are made on the basis of the cumulative scores of the student attained during the admission process. The hostel intake for girls is limited to approximately 30 students every year, for the same reasons and on the same criteria.

The rest of the students have to look for accommodation outside the campus. Paying Guest (PG) accommodation and renting a one-room apartment are the two major options.

The three localities FMS students prefer for renting a place to stay are Model Town, Civil Lines and Kamla Nagar. These areas are in a radius of 3 kms from the FMS Campus thus ensuring ease of travel while being the most optimum residential options.

Paying Guest Accommodation (for either men or women)

This list was given to us by an FMS student who is staying as a paying guest in Kamla Nagar

The rooms also incur a refundable deposit, equivalent to two-month rent of the rooms. As this deposit is finally adjusted with the rent, the final cost remains the same. This quote is for the most expensive paying guest options in the area. There are other options which are available at different price points ranging from Rs 7,000 Rs 9,000. Of course, since these are paying guest facilities, the food, electricity, water and wi-fi Internet access are all included in the cost. If you consider the average cost at Rs 8,000, then for two years you stand to spend Rs 192,000 on living and boarding expenses.

Taking a mini-apartment on rent

Some students decide to rent their own flat, to gain the ‘I want to live on my own’ experience. One such FMS student staying in Kamla Nagar is spending in the following fashion,

DU Hostels

Student accommodation for men in a Delhi University hostel, costs Rs 90,000 for two years. This amount is inclusive of food and Internet access. The same for girls comes to around Rs 62,000 for two years.

However the hostel accommodation is limited to 60 students, on the basis of their cumulative scores in the admission process. Accommodation for FMS students in DU girls hostels is limited to approximately 30 students. Those belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or coming from North-east India get hostel accommodation anyway, beyond the aforementioned quotas.

Living Expenditure for JBIMS Mumbai

JBIMS has its own men’s hostel in South Mumbai at Churchgate, about 5 minutes from the school. It has a capacity of 70 students encompassing both years. JBIMS has a hostel for girls in its Kalina campus in the western suburbs of Mumbai.

JBIMS does not allot hostels to those residing in and around Mumbai. Hostels are only allotted to students from outside the home university area and those from outside Maharashtra.

The hostel fees for the academic year 2009-2011 were Rs 120,00 per year, excluding food but including Internet access.

Total Cost of a FMS and a JBIMS Degree

Adding all the costs above, an FMS student living in a paying guest accommodation or in an independent flat on rent stands to spend anywhere between Rs 270,00 to Rs 403,000. The more independence and luxury you want, the more your expenditure moves closer to Rs 4 lakhs. If you’re one of the lucky few to get a DU hostel, then you wrap up your basic expenses within Rs 170,000.

At JBIMS Mumbai on the other hand, you spend Rs 203,000 if you’re a Mumbai resident (your travel and food costs being on actuals and depending on how much time you spend at home) and if you live in the JBIMS hostel, you spend Rs 291.000 on your basic expenses.

Most banks provide easy financial support for both colleges. Other costs such as business formals, laptops haven’t been counted by us, as they are extra expenditure in most schools.

Comparing this to the expenditure at some of the other b-schools ranked in the same vicinity,

The academic fee components of the FMS and the JBIMS MBA are a lot cheaper than the ones from the other leading institutes. But overall, they are not as discounted as they immediately appear. The living expenditure however is significantly reduced at JBIMS because of the presence of a very reasonably priced hostel and its assured availability for all outstation students. At FMS, on the other hand, private accommodation such as paying guest options or apartments as well as food costs are volatile to market prices. Despite these additional costs, both programs still work out to be less than half the cost for other top programs.