Career opportunities depend on selecting the right college: Rohit Chokhani

iLEAD

I completed my secondary education from my hometown- St. Teresa's School, Bhagalpur, Bihar. I scored 87% in my Boards and seeing my capability, my father decided to send me to a big city so that I could get better exposure and I too was in search of a platform where I could showcase my other talents in a better way. Hence, I moved to Kolkata and applied for my higher secondary education in the commerce field at St. Lawrence High School at Ballygunje, Kolkata. Life at St. Lawrence was a lot different from my previous school as the previous one was co-ed while St. Lawrence was a total boys’ school. Coming from a small city and facing a huge competition around here was challenging for me, but still I tried my best to cope up with the environment and somehow, I succeeded in it. Yes, it did affect my results but I managed to score 73%.

Now, like each and every student, the biggest obstacle for me was choosing the course for my bachelors. Being a commerce student, I was very much confused between B.Com and BBA. I went through the course details of both the choices. I also looked upon the SWOT analysis which I made based upon my performance and the courses I would choose. After looking at all the pros and cons, I chose to do BBA. The major problem which I faced was selecting the right college which would provide me with good opportunities. Browsing for the best colleges for BBA in Kolkata, I found out three names - St. Xavier’s College Kolkata, J.D. Birla Institute and iLEAD. Being weak in Mathematics, I lost the chance to apply in St. Xavier’s but then I filled the form for the other two colleges. I also filled the form for Christ University and got a call from there for my personal interview round but due to some unavoidable circumstances, I couldn't go for it. Meanwhile, I got a call from iLEAD for my counselling session for the same and it was scheduled on 24^th May, 2016. Believe me, it will be one of my fondest memories of the college. My first day at iLEAD was so overwhelming. Our counsellor, Ms. Sanjukta Manna, took us on a campus tour and she had a very friendly conversation with me regarding my future career choices and other options available, which anyone would rarely find at any other college. I was amazed by the infrastructure of iLEAD and I made my mind that I was going for this college. I was furthermore informed by my counsellor that I had to sit for an IMAT exam for getting admission in the college.The IMAT exam consists of three main parameters-

1. A written examination consisting of questions regarding logical reasoning, mathematics and general knowledge.
2. Group discussion in which the candidates are divided into a group of 8 or 10 and are told to present their ideas on the given topic.
3. A personal interview round.

Based on these three parameters, the candidate is eligible to get admission or not. I found some sample papers on the college website for the written examination and I also kept myself updated with the news for it. I too read articles about the various incidents happening around for the group discussion and watched many interview videos on YouTube for the third round. My IMAT exam was just a week after my counselling day and I was extremely nervous about it. I cleared all the three rounds on the day and returned to my flat with a bit of confidence of cracking it. A day after that, I got a call from iLEAD that I had been selected. 

To explain in a word, life at iLEAD has been extraordinary. The faculty is really amazing and are up for help anytime when required by the students. The course structure is very informative and students who aren't from the commerce background get good assistance because of it. I have been a part of various events which were held at iLEAD. From dancing to cooking competitions, organizing a quiz based on Harry Potter and being the Assistant Head of the Alumni Department, I have had a lot of experience. I also got opportunities to do various internships. Currently, I am the Joint Secretary of the students’ body and my YGPA for my first year was 8 which only happened because I enjoy studying about the various subjects incorporated in my course and also, participating in other co-curricular activities being held at iLEAD. 

My suggestion to the students who have passed their higher secondary exams would be that don't look for big colleges but look for a course you would enjoy studying, because college life doesn't come again and again. So, choose the best alternative possible and try and make the best out of it. I hope my story would be helpful to at least 10 out of 100 people. 

About the Author

My name is Rohit Chokhani and I am pursuing my Bachelors in Business Administration (H) from iLEAD college located in Topsia. Currently, I am a final year student at iLEAD. My hobbies include dancing, cooking, sketching and creative writing, an insight of which you can find at my Instagram page.