The peer pool of IIM Ahmedabad varies from that of other B-schools like SP Jain, FMS, and NMIMS because of the admission criteria and quality of intake. The majority of the IIM Ahmedabad batch comprises performing students with CAT percentile almost touching 100 percentile. and most of them got close to the 100 percentile in CAT and they get opportunities to study business studies in IIM A, B, and C. Very few students get into IIMs through the process of diversification only if they scored more than 80 percent grade in Xth, XII th and Graduate Examinations. The other B schools like SP Jain, FMS, NMIMS, or JB don’t have such strict criteria and the peer pool comprises students from diverse academic profiles rather than just top CAT rankers. 

This is the major point of difference between the two kinds of B Schools. As a result of this, IIM Ahmedabad students are offered better placement opportunities at the global level than these average B-schools. 

If you aren’t sure about the field of specialization, then you should choose XLRI. It is widely reputed for its HR program. The head HR of most of the top MNCs in India are XLRI alumni. It is more reputed and has a large alumni base. XLRI placements are better than SPJIMR. The average CTC for the institute is INR 30.73 LPA. 

SPJIMR has a better placement record for Information Management and Operations, compared to XLRI. 

This question can be best answered by someone who has had a taste of both campuses. Fortunately one of my friends was lucky enough to move to IIM Ahmedabad after studying for a year at IIM Kozhikode. He shared his experience and the various things that contrasted in both the B Schools.

Faculty: Being the topmost B School, IIM Ahmedabad does attract some of the best faculties that are experts in their fields. They had too much knowledge and experience to impart making the classes a thrilling experience.

Crowd: While the crowd at almost all the good B Schools attracts only the best, IIM Ahmedabad is famous for its exceptionally good peer groups with only geniuses and masterminds in their respective fields.

Academic rigor: Normally B Schools offer a very hectic life with academic pressure combined with placements and clubs and committee activities. But at IIM Ahmedabad the topmost preference is Academics only. You are required to attend 3 lectures of 75 minutes of case study daily. These case studies are extremely lengthy and on average you are required to read 300 pages every day. Such economic rigor is lacking in the case of IIM Kozhikode.

There are several more minor differences between IIM Kozhikode and IIM Ahmedabad but these 3 are the main things an aspirant needs to consider while choosing one of the two B Schools.

Here are a few possible reasons why SPJIMR placements are better than or equally good as IIMs 

• SPJIMR has a much smaller batch size in comparison to IIMs and thus the average rises.
• SPJIMR has a very rigorous selection process that filters the best students and the recruiters are well aware of this.
• SPJIMR enjoys a great location maximizing the exposure and opportunities rendered to the students. 
• The students perform exceptionally well in the placement interviews and thus secure high packages.

 It's important to note that these reasons are just based on speculations and it cannot be exactly determined why some placements are better than others.

I am going to address the most common misconception that SPJIMR and SP Jain are somewhat related. 

Establishment: SPJIMR was established in 1981 and is associated with the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, one of the only two institutes of national importance. SP Jain on the other hand was established in 2005. SP Jain or Sheehan Prasad Jain provided capital for the foundation of SPJIMR during its establishment. Later they decided to launch their own brand in the name of SP Jain. This is the main reason why people get confused between the two.

Campus: SPJIMR is solely Mumbai based and has no other campus whereas SP Jain’s Mumbai campus is one of the 4 campuses of the institute.

Legacy: SPJIMR is 36 years old and has a legacy of providing excellent management education focusing on value-based growth. SP Jain is a relatively new institute that is yet to build some credibility in order to impact the Management scene in India.

Alumni: SPJIMR has a much stronger and broader alumni network than SP Jain.

We can draw the following points of conclusion from this comparison 

• SPJIMR is the authentic SP B School everyone is looking for
• The quality of education at SPJIMR is at elegy with that of International B Schools which is not the case for SP Jain
• The little game achieved by SP Jain is because of its accidental linkup with SPJIMR
• The schools are definitely not rivals as SPJIMR is way ahead of SP Jain. We cannot really compare a 10-year Institute with a 36-year-old one.

I hope my answer has cleared all your doubts regarding the relationship between SPJIMR and SP Jain.

SPJIMR is a better B-School. It has a unique curriculum and pedagogical approach. The institute offers learning opportunities beyond the classroom. There are practical-oriented courses such as PG lab and Design Thinking courses. These courses will help you get industry-ready. Faculty base of the institute is great. Most of the faculty members have years of experience in the corporate world. 

NMIMS has a huge intake of around 600. The large batch size causes problem during placements. SPJIMR has a batch strength of around 250.  So, each student gets decent chances in placements. According to the recent highlights of SPJIMR placements, students receive an average CTC of INR 30 LPA.