Mystory@Meenal Bhosale: How I chose my course and career path – Challenges and learnings

Mystory@Meenal Bhosale

I am loving this opportunity given by shiksha to put forward our stories, our struggles and how we managed to choose the right career path.

My father is a doctor and my mother is a teacher. I simply loved watching my father work and handle his patients so calmly. I was pretty sure that I wanted to be a doctor. I was so sure of it that in spite of the aptitude test I appeared for which said I would be great in Commerce, I still went ahead and took Science (PCMB) for HSC.

One year into college and I understood I wasn’t cut out for a career in medical science. However, I had no other choice but to complete college. I still went ahead and appeared for medical entrance exams (my batch

was the experimental one since NEET got introduced that very year) and after seeing the results I was damn sure I would not be doing MBBS :D

I don’t regret it because the decisions were taken by me and not at all forced by my parents. I was just happy that I got to learn something new and I can move on with it! This was my wakeup call and I knew that a career in commerce was calling! Finally, after research and finding out about various options and careers in Commerce, shortlisting and eliminating through them, I found my love in Business Administration.

Finally, I decided to pursue Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and this move was whole heartedly supported by my parents.

How I cracked college admission

I would not be completely honest if I said that only Department of Management Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University (PUMBA) was on my mind. Yes, I did try for the Big CAT (IIM), TISS as well as PUMBA. I had shortlisted my options and appeared only for CAT 2015, TISSNET 2016 and CET 2016. I had my goals set, through CET I would aim for – Jamnalal Bajaj, SIMSREE and PUMBA.

IIMs are the best and the toughest to get into. I did not score well in CAT and therefore could not secure admission in any of the IIMs. But there was hope with TISSNET and CET. I had my heart set on the Tata Institute of Social Services (TISS) since it is a more socially inclined Institute and there’s the Tata factor which reflects in their values and principles and also because they offered a degree in Human Resource Management.

But destiny had other plans for me! :D

I had joined a coaching class with Career Launcher Pune for CAT entrance exam. This helped me with my preparation for other exams as well. I scored 10 marks less than the expected cutoff for TISSNET; I was saddened but determined to score in CET. I had practice papers and mock tests to prepare for CET. I secured a decent percentile and landed in Indira, but PUMBA was what I longed for. Through a long process and waiting for almost two months I got into PUMBA. So happy was! And still am!

Though PUMBA was not my first choice to pursue MBA, it still was pretty good keeping in mind the ROI, lush green campus (I love greenery) and its goodwill in the corporate world. PUMBA also has extraordinary alumni doing very well in their careers. And now six months into PUMBA, I have realized that it is the most awesome college filled with awesome students, awesome faculty and the most awesome person is our HOD Dr Praful Pawar. We just concluded our Annual Fest Dhruv 2017, which was a grand success.

Though many of us here did not have PUMBA in mind, when we wanted to pursue MBA, but I am pretty sure by now no one here wants to pursue MBA from any college other than PUMBA.

What I gained from my college experience

PUMBA is a Pune University Department of MBA and one the best Management Departments in Pune. It  is a strict as well as fun department. Time at college flies by since we a have a unique trimester pattern. The days

are filled with lectures, guest sessions and other activities. The guest sessions provide exposure to the corporate world. We are always encouraged to participate in various co-curricular and extra-curricular activities and a lot of opportunities are given to students to showcase their talent through Summers – an annual summer internship project competition, Nexus magazine – for the writer within,  Annual Fest Dhruv, etc.

I am part of our Cultural Cell – the spirit of PUMBA. Cultural Cell is a creative place and does a lot when it comes to organizing Dhruv. The work is tiring but also rewarding! We might miss lectures and stuff working for Dhruv but the hidden motive here is to make each and every student so capable and skilled that they will bring laurels to their alma mater in whichever field they wish to pursue further.

I love spending time in the Cultural Cell doing work since there is still a lot to learn. Helping out and coordinating events with seniors is ultimately going to benefit me in my life! Handling people, getting work done, managing time, completing work on time, completing various tasks at the same time; this is what MBA is ultimately all about! Learning new skills and enhancing the existing ones.

Till now PUMBA has been awesome and am sure it’s going to be even more awesome in the coming days!

About the Author:

I am pursuing MBA from Department of Management Sciences (PUMBA), Pune University. I like to read and would also love to try my hand at writing! Till now my journey in PUMBA has been great and wish it turns out to be even greater in the next one year.