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My IIM-A Dorm Room: Inside View, Amenities & More..
Updated: Jun 29, 2020
After reading my blog's posts on CAT preparation and IIM interviews, one of the members reached out to me and asked, "Could you also share more about the life at an IIM?" That took me down a memory lane when I used to google IIM-A's images or desperately search for YouTube videos just to get one glimpse of the red bricks. So, in the spirit of nostalgia, today I'm going to share how my IIM Ahmedabad Dorm Room looked like:
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Dorms
Dorms are like our hostels, there are about 34 of them, 18 in the Heritage (Old) Campus and the rest in the New Campus. Girls and boys have separate dorms, most of the girls dorms are in the Old Campus. And yes, I know what you might be thinking right now, I'll answer it before you ask, "Girls and boys are allowed to visit or stay in each other's dorms, like shown in the movie 2-States."
There is a provision of security outside each dorm, anyone who wishes to enter the girls dorms (outsiders or the male students) need to carry their ID cards on them. Each dorm hosts about 30-40 students across 3-4 floors including a basement in the old dorms. Each dorm also has a name, my dorm (9) was called 9tankis (nautankis).
You're allocated a dorm and a room on a random basis, but in case you have a genuine concern, e.g. a health concern, you can show the required medical certificates and shift to the special dorms in the new campus, which are more spacious, have an elevator and have ACs too.
Rooms
Let me give you a view of my room before I share about the amenities that are offered. Please excuse the untidy state of my room, it was generally worse.
I lived in Room 1 of Dorm 9, it was a corner room (they're more spacious I guess, so yeah, lucky me!) Upon entering, you can see a balcony which gives a nice view of IIM-A's scenic beauty, some dorms are even better!
After a year, students are allowed to change their rooms before the new batch joins. So call your dibs on the room you like as soon as the year ends. All the rooms at IIM-A are single seaters (except the ones for married couples). Another common query is, "What is your hostel fee?" Well, you need not pay anything additional, it's all accounted for in your 2-years fees.
Amenities
Well, there are two kinds of amenities that are provided:
Shared
This includes a common washroom and a kitchen. We're not allowed to access the terrace of the dorms. The washroom further includes 2 lavatories, 2 bathing areas and 2 washbasins on each floor. An automatic washing machine is also available for students to wash their clothes. The kitchen has a microwave oven and a refrigerator for common use. There is one caretaker for each dorm who takes care of the day-to-day cleaning of the rooms.
Individual
In your room, you're provided with the following facilities:
Bed
Mattress
Tube Light
Fan
Mirror
Whiteboard
Study Table
Study Light
Office Chair
Large Cupboard
Shoe Rack
Curtains
You can definitely play around with how you want to arrange the stuff in your room, many students get mini-coolers, standing ACs, bean bags, fairy lights, wall decorations and God knows what, to make their rooms look better. You just need to make sure the college's property is intact.
You might have noticed a cooler in my room's photograph. At Ahmedabad, the temperature and humidity tends to worsen around July and hence, getting a cooler becomes necessary. There are a variety of options available, but most students either purchase it (costs about Rs. 7,000-12,000) or get it on rent from a vendor who sits in the campus (costs about Rs. 2,000-5,000).
FAQs
1. Are there ACs in any dorms?
1. Yes, some dorms have ACs, IIM-A is trying to increase their number every year. You need to pay an additional amount for its electricity consumption. Currently, there are 3 such dorms with ACs. The students who wish to avail the facility send in their names to the admin office, which randomly allots these rooms.
2. Is food also included?
2. We have a mess on campus, but it only provides food in the room if you're unwell. The mess fee is not included in the annual fee for the MBA program.
3. Is it safe and secure?
3. Trust me, I haven't felt any sense of insecurity around in the campus at any point of time. There are very minimal reported cases of theft, the security guards maintain a register of all the people who enter the dorms.
4. How do we get clothes ironed?
4. There are two vendors on campus who charge around Rs. 5-10 per cloth for ironing. Some students also get their own irons for their ease.
5. Are Swiggy or Zomato allowed?
5. There are predesignated spots on campus where food gets delivered (it's not that far, just next to our dorms). All the outside food delivery vendors deliver the food there and we go and simply collect it.
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If you have any more queries that have not been addressed above, do let me know in the comments section below. Would be happy to answer all of them.
Some posts on Life at IIM-A: