Mystory@Uday Kumar Konathala: How I chose my course and college

Mystory@Uday Kumar Konathala

I was very much interested in Science and Mathematics since childhood and wanted to do engineering from reputed institutes like IIT’s , NIT’s , Andhra University etc. hence I chose to study MPC from Sri Chaitanya Junior College as I thought that institute would help me achieve my goal in scoring good rank in competitive examinations. After completing my Engineering I joined Infosys, but I wanted to pursue MBA in Systems, Marketing or operation domain. I wanted admission in Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIM A, IIM B, IIM C or MDI Gurgaon as these colleges are well known for the above domains. Eventually, I chose SJMSOM because while studying in this college I could get technology support from Bright Engineering students of India as I could easily convert my ideas into reality with their support. Also, it is one of most renovated institutions for studying operation domain. I enquired about the industrial exposure, program curriculum, infrastructure, teaching staff etc. of the college and finally chose to study Master of Management in SJMSOM IIT Bombay as it offers more of practical knowledge rather than traditional theoretical knowledge.

How I cracked college admission

When I was in my 2^nd year of Engineering, I wanted to crack CAT. I started preparing for the entrance exam right from the 3^rd year by taking coaching from one of best coaching centers in Vizag called Conduira. They guided me on how to prepare for the exam, Personal Interview, GD’s and WAT without deviating me from my Engineering curriculum. But I somehow realized that I can give my best in MBA only after having some exposure in the corporate world. Hence, I chose to work in Infosys after obtaining my Engineering degree and focused more on gaining Industrial exposure. Later, I started preparing for CAT along with job. I gave online tests and I prepared the basic concepts of Quant and Verbal through various books provided by my coaching institute where I had enrolled earlier during my graduation days. I started to benchmark my score in Mock tests and aimed at improving the same with every test.  As the exam pattern changed that year, I changed my strategy on how to prepare for various topics and how to clear the various sections. I applied for various entrance tests like CAT, XAT and I cracked CAT that year with good scores.

What I gained from my college experience  

I attend almost all the classes at my college. Some days classes commence at 8:30 am and sometimes they start at 2:00 pm. I like to attend all the guest lectures that are conducted at our college as there lectures share their experiences and the problems they faced in the industry – all this is very useful as we get to know the problems prevalent in the industry problems and also learn how to deal with them.

I also like the Marketing and Statistical Methods classes as these are more based on practical approach. Our professors discuss about cases and ask for our opinions and suggestions to solve the problem. Apart from the regular academics I also participated in various extracurricular activities. During my college days, I was also the core executive body member of our Cultural fest. If given a change I would like to be a part of the Executive body member of Mood Indigo which is Asia’s largest cultural fest where one can gain a lot of exposure.

My experience in college has changed my perspective and my personality. Now I think on broader terms and my thought process has also changed drastically on how I look and solve problems. I have also improved my team building skills. When we as a team discuss about presentations, projects, and assignments the result that we get are more efficient – we get to know different perspectives of a common problem and finally it helps in providing an efficient presentation. I think that my college experience in SJMSOM IIT Bombay has been excellent.

About the Author:

I am Uday Kumar from Visakhapatnam, and am currently pursuing Master of Management from SJMSOM IIT Bombay. I have 25 month of work experience in Infosys where I was involved in 2 different projects and I worked in different technologies like BI and Reporting tools. Coming to my nature, I am an extrovert and get along with people easily. My interests include travelling, playing badminton and reading books.