Mystory@Rohith R: How I chose my course and college

Mystory@Rohith R

During school days, I had a flair for Science and Math more than Literature. Everyone, right from my parents to teachers had advised me to take up Science group in Class 12 as it will open a door of opportunities even if I lost interest in the course eventually in due course of time. I secured 96% in standard 10, and I opted for Science stream. I knew that the journey was going to be tough, but the pressure of the upcoming entrance exams kept me going. When the first attempt at engineering entrance for IIT didn’t go well, I decided to take a year to prepare again. But unlucky me couldn’t qualify for the same, but managed to get a seat in the Government college. It was during the third year of Engineering that I understood that Engineering is not my forte. It was then that I thought about pursuing an MBA program and decided to attempt CAT and as fate had it, I got selected to Amrita School of Business Coimbatore, one of the oldest B-Schools in South India, and one I could associate myself with, in all means.

How I cracked college admission

The preparation for CAT had started in the final year of BTech, but my Engineering university exam dates clashed with the CAT dates, and both could not be postponed in any way. So I had to give up on my dream of cracking CAT, and rather concentrated on XAT. The material from Career Launcher helped me largely to crack XAT. The tests were in the exact same pattern as that of XAT exam paper, and you could get a simulation of the real environment while attempting the questions.

After scoring 65 percentile in XAT, I applied to Rajagiri Centre for Business Studies, PSG Institute of Management, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Thiagarajar School of Management, and ASB. I got admission in all the B-schools, but ASB had caught my eye – the location, faculty and ambience was too good, and I chose ASB as my MBA School.  Multiple options was a really good idea, since you could research on the current scenario at college and know the actual stats of the placements, facilities, and talk with the alumni about their experiences. All this largely helped me to choose ASB.

What I gained from my college years  

ASB is a perfect place for learning and fun. After joining ASB, I got the privilege of becoming the campus ambassador for Shiksha.com to help and guide candidates about the college and work closely with the admissions team related to the queries of students and parents. Amrita Campus is huge and is spread across 500 acres of scenery of Western Ghats and me being a photography enthusiast, could click a lot of pictures of the campus. Also, the photography club is a place no person with a camera would want to miss.

Classes were always boring, but not here at ASB. The library, the swimming pool in Olympic size, 2 big grounds and the gym make it a perfect place for learning and fun. The annual Gokulashtami celebrations, The Cultural fest Utsav and the Business fest Pragati are the greatest opportunities where one could showcase their talent at multiple levels, be it showing leadership, crisis management or people handling skills, or sticking on time, these events are the ones which changed my life, personality and my view towards life.

The industry interaction sessions as ‘Colloquim’ gave us the opportunity of meeting experts of various fields. In these sessions, we were explained about the current scenario of the market which provided a deep insight into the reality. The blurred picture about the corporate life becomes clearer once you get a real account description of what he/she has been through. In that sense, the experience is worth it.

‘Live in Labs’ programme, a rural management project that took us to various parts of India was something that no ASBian will ever forget in their lives. The hard reality of the rural India was an awakening for all of us. Using the learning of the course, one could develop an initial business plan. Looking back at the final days of my program at ASB, I don’t think there are any regrets here. With an excellent academic atmosphere and numerous placement opportunities, I would firmly say that ASB was the right choice.

About the Author

I am a final year MBA student at the Amrita School of Business Coimbatore. A BTech graduate from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam, I decided to pursue Management Studies as I felt it’s the right field suiting my aptitude as a marketer. I am an amateur photographer and love to capture candid moments. Also, I am an avid reader of novels and a TV series addict.