Scaler vs Traditional Degree: The Numbers Don't Lie - Scaler School of Technology

Understanding Edtech Companies' Models:

Understanding the industry models is important to analysing Scaler School of Technology. There are three key models that Edtech companies use:

• Model 1 is a certificate model: This model issues a certificate rather than a degree.

• Model 2 is an embedded university model: In this model, the edtech company partners with an existing university to provide students with a legitimate degree, along with the edtech company curriculum and experience.

• Model 3 is a combination of a physical campus and a distance degree model: This is the model followed by Scaler School of Technology. Under this model, students will get a physical campus experience, while the actual degree is awarded by a separate distance-learning or open-learning institution, forming a "credential gap."

Before enrolling, you must ask: Where are you actually studying? And who is ultimately answerable to you? These questions pierce through the marketing and expose what is really going on in legal and operational terms. Here are the questions to consider before enrolling:

Who are you paying?

If you pay the university, you will get a degree with normal accountability. If you pay the edtech online provider, you have limited options for dispute resolution in case of any issue.

Where are you studying? Whose Campus?

Are you studying in a university-owned campus or an edtech company ecosystem? Studying at a non-university campus can lead to a lack of university experience and accountability.

Who is responsible if things go wrong?

Who is answerable in case of any issue, such as not getting the degree or placement- the university or the edtech company?

You must look for all these things. All these questions will let you know what kind of risk you are taking while paying the edtech company or university. However, this may not apply to Scaler School of Technology, but many edtech companies operate in a grey area.

Students must identify what they want: a learning and skill guarantee, a job or placement guarantee, or a degree or credential guarantee. The best option is a blend of all three options, but in the case of a Scaler School of Technology degree, placement guarantee is related to notable exceptions. Scaler initially started as a skill-building platform, upgrading working professionals, and now offers UG programs like B.Sc and other degree-aligned courses.

SST - Programmes Offered (Computer Science and AI)

The Computer Science and AI program offered at SST is a four-year UG program with a total fee of Rs. 22.99 lakh (including hostel, admission, and tuition fees). This fee is for the training and campus experience at SST; if students want a parallel degree, then there is a separate fee structure for the parallel university degree.

SST - Programmes Offered (AI and Business)

The total fees for the AI and Business program at Scaler School of Technology are Rs. 24.49 lakh, including hostel and mess costs. The detailed fee structure is listed above. Besides this fee, if a student wants to have a UGC recognised credential, then that student needs to pursue a separate online degree.

The two names highlighted in this image, Anshuman Singh and Abhimanyu Saxena, are the founders of Scaler School of Technology. Both are alumni of IIIT Hyderabad, and their technical expertise from Meta and Fab.com is adding value to the company.

This image shows the different sources promoting the false information of Rs. 1.7 Crore as the highest package offered at Scaler School of Technology.

As this is the first batch launched in 2023, final placements have not even started, and the first batch will graduate in 2027. Any claims of past final placement success for this program are false, as placements are not possible for this batch until they graduate in 2027.

The Placement Narrative: A case of ‘Passing OFF’

This is another marketing for Scaler School of Technology, which represents the proven track record of Scaler, showcasing the highest salary of Rs. 1.7 Crore and over 3700 scaler students placement. However, the footnote highlights that this data is explicitly from the scaler’s working professional course, not for the new UG program. The first batch for the UG course started in 2023, and the final placement will not even start before July 2026. Selling a UG degree by using data from professional courses is a placement narrative of passing off that students must evaluate carefully.

Do they ‘Offer’ an IIT Madras or BITS Pilani Degree?

IIT or BITS degree is not offered by Scaler School of Technology; rather, they encourage students to pursue parallel online degrees. Getting an online degree from IIT or BITS is not so easy. Many students enrolled for the course, but the completion rate of the course is very low because not all students are able to pass the exams. Only very few students with an academically strong background can get the degree due to the set standards of the universities.

IIT Madras Online Degree Completion Statistics

This table highlights the extreme difficulty level of completing the parallel Online BS degree from IIT Madras that Scaler students are encouraged to take. This table represents nearly 1.1 per cent of the completion rate in the BS degree, despite of the higher number of enrolled candidates, proving that getting such online degrees from IIT Madras requires dedication and a strong educational base.

• Internship rate- 96.3 per cent

• Total offered students- 158

• Total eligible students- 164

• Average monthly stipend- Rs. 31,362

• Highest monthly stipend- Rs. 2,00,070

• Average of top 10%ile of offers- Rs. 90,230

• Average of the top 25%ile of offers- Rs. 56,424

• Total no. of offers- 232

• Total no. of companies that made offers- 96

• Total no. of international offers- 12

Smaller Cohort - Batch Size vs Placement Metrics

Placement Statistics

This image shows the placement statistics and the cohort reality. The placement highlights demonstrate that 232 offers have been rolled out with Rs. 2 Lakhs as the highest monthly stipend. These are good short-term measures, but they are the measures of internship success and not measures of the success of a traditional course of study for a career pathway.

As of 2023, Scaler School of Technology has more than 1,300 students across three cohorts. The actual test of the model will be analysed when the batch sizes increase; these placements highlight internships, and the final placement outcomes will be maintained.

All these listed FAQs address the fundamental nature of the institution and the degree it awards. Crucially, Question 5 asks what degree SST actually awards you, reminding us that SST itself issues a certificate, not a degree.

The second set of FAQs dives into the reliability of placement claims, the 1.7 Crore package, and the 96% internship data. Question 10 asks the most important philosophical question: Is SST a college or a business? And does it matter?

Scaler School of Technology is best suited for students who want to upskill their knowledge in the technical domain. If students prefer to get in-depth knowledge and upgrade their skills instead of focusing only on a traditional degree, then Scaler School of Technology is the best choice for them. If students want to attain better placement outcomes and can afford to pay the Rs. 22 Lakh fee, SST is the right fit for them.