What Our Cadets Say

The first time I walked into the Mumbai office, I asked if there was a "guarantee" of admission. The counsellor said no — only a guarantee of process. I understood then this was different. I'm sailing today as a deck cadet on a VLCC.

I had three MTI options in writing. The counsellor sat with my father and walked us through each — fees, location, joining schedule. We chose. We weren't sold. That trust mattered when my father wrote that first cheque.

I had paid ₹70,000 to an agent before HBIMS. I lost it. When I came to the Jaipur office, I expected the same trap. Instead I got a Official invoice for ₹16,000 — itemised. Two years later, I'm on my second contract.

Parent inclusion at Stage 5 was the thing my mother needed. After my father passed, she was scared to let me go to sea. The Ex-Navy officer spoke to her in Tamil, showed her the entire process. She signed with confidence.

What stood out was the dossier system. Every paper signed, scanned, dated. The day I joined the MTI, the principal already had my file. Nothing missing. The handover felt like the institutional thing it should always have been.

I'm a school teacher. My son's career felt out of my depth. The HBIMS counsellor explained NAF&SA the way I'd explain a syllabus — stage by stage. I had every paper, every receipt. As a parent, that's the framework I needed.