Non-engineers initially struggle with Quant-heavy courses but quickly catch up by year 2 at IIMs, completing MBA at comparable CGPAs. At IIM Ahmedabad (Rs 27.5L fees, Rs 35.
22 LPA avg, 99%+ CAT cutoff), first-year courses like Managerial Economics and Statistics are Quant-heavy and engineers have an initial advantage. But MBA curriculum also includes Marketing, Organisational Behaviour, Strategy, and Business Ethics where non-engineers excel. By year 2, CGPA distribution shows minimal engineer vs non-engineer variance.
The Reddit Pishpash56 commenter with NLP research background correctly noted: "This whole 'engineers are smarter than you, so cry' tone is hilarious" - many non-engineers with quantitative research backgrounds match engineers on technical depth. CA candidates specifically bring strong analytical skills that beat most engineers. The classroom dynamics: engineers dominate case discussions in operations and technology courses; non-engineers dominate in marketing, HR, and strategy.
Both sides benefit from the mix. The AMA-thread counter-argument that "non-engineers are smart in different domains" is legitimate - MBA's domain is management, which non-engineers from arts/commerce backgrounds often navigate better than technical engineers. Don't stress the engineer vs non-engineer debate - pick your electives based on career goals.
For finance, BCom + CA backgrounds lead; for product/tech, engineers lead; for consulting, mixed strengths. Check your eligibility at collvera.