Mystory@Shubhangi Sinha: How I chose my course and college

Mystory@Shubhangi Sinha

My course of study during higher secondary was mostly self-study. Despite all the modern coaching centres that recently developed in Patna, with a fantastic turnout of students finding a shortcut to pass the examinations, I rather chose to develop my self-competencies on my own and devoted specified number of hours per day for this purpose.

But moving ahead in life towards professional educational institutes, Mumbai was my dream option. This was the main driving factor behind my admission in S.I.E.S College of Management Studies, which is a unique blend of values and modern city like environment.

I am currently pursuing Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) in Marketing as the specialization. This is a highly professional course which focuses on dynamic approach towards education and current real life scenarios. This was also a major motivating factor, behind my decision of joining this course. Also, the multi-dimensional approach of the course and the college is a key driving factor for any student who desires to learn and explore. This converts into a great exposure towards simulations and live examples that we can relate to very easily.

How I cracked college admission

Admission procedure in S.I.E.S. College of Management Studies is a bit different from other B-Schools in and around the city. Apart from the weightage to academic scores, it comprises of a group discussion and two levels of personal interviews.

My academic background is strong enough as I have a great score in graduation. This was a helping factor in converting the call. Also, my group discussion topic was also quite interesting. And thus helped me to engage with the entire group. As far as my personal interviews are concerned, they were decent enough and the panellists gauged me on my knowledge as well as my skill set.

As mentioned, I am more of a self-study kind of person, hence I did concentrate mostly on practicing the problems on my own. And hence towards the end of the year, I had compiled a huge stock pile of written notes and data collection which helped me to retain what I had learnt earlier.

Other than CAT, I had also appeared for CMAT and CET. And apart from SIESCOMS I had applied to a few B-Schools from Pune and also some other colleges in Mumbai as well.

What I gained from my college experience

It’s my PGDM Marketing is full-time course, I don’t need to switch between work and studies. But I will have to complete a two-month summer internship in a corporate to gain some field experience. SIESCOMS has a great reputation of its own when it comes to academics. Academic regulations at SIESCOMS are very strict and they also have a very stringent evaluation system. Some of the exams are on Moodle, which is the online platform of the college to conduct mid-semester examinations.

Other simultaneous certifications and foreign language learning is another aspect of the rigorous course of the college. Also, on the co-curricular activities front, the college is very supportive and keeps the students engaged in some or the other tasks or activities. At the same time, opportunities for competitions at various apex institutions are also open to the students to participate. Many student teams visit different top B-Schools for the final rounds of various competitions and have exceptionally performed, also winning a number of awards.

In fact, there are various competitions organised within the campus which are open to all. Diverse conferences, conclaves and meets are also organised by different departments within the college, to expand the horizon of knowledge sharing.

Definitely, the concepts and other important attributes learnt on the campus are of great help when we are off campus, which means the theory and simulations are completely relatable in the outside environment. For example, proper management of time, may it be academic or extra-curricular, is very important, since this is the only factor that depicts your diverse range of interests and that too without harming your studies. As it is rightly said that for a management graduate, 24hrs are also very less to properly chalk out and execute everything exactly as planned. Since, we operate on diverse fronts, it is advised to manage everything properly, as a successful manager is expected to do.

About the Author:

This is Shubhangi Sinha, a BBA graduate from Patna, Bihar and currently pursuing PGDM from S.I.E.S. College of Management Studies, Navi Mumbai. I have done an internship at Pepsico International. Being a fresher I am keen to explore diverse sectors of the corporate world.