Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies MBA Review By Vaibhav Sharma

After a mediocre performance at the UG College, I was worried about the future but then came to knew about SIMS. The college has an MOU with Defence Ministry and 90% seats are reserved for defence personnel kids. 10% quota is for open candidates and that made the college a great place to be in. I always studied in hostels as I hardly stayed with my parents so having students other than army personnel helped my cause. I immediately strike cord with some non-army background students and made them friends for life. After staying in hostel for 7-8 years, I was again left with no choice as MBA in SIMS is a compulsory residential course and if you want to join this college, you also have to be part of their hostel as well. Apart from studies there are various activities and proper cells are made that are student driven. The management or the faculty had no business and they never interfered. We were given opportunity to showcase what all we have practiced in our respective cells. I was a part of drama club and in our batch a combined fest of all the Symbi institutes was held. It was held at SIBM campus and we lost most of the competition but drama club was first and the one who judged our performance was none other than Bollywood heartthrob Arjun Rampal.

We always had an early start and students rushed from hostel to classes as most of them came from a laid back life. All that changed as the college was strict and discipline has to be maintained at all cost. If the students shouted or argued while the lecture was on the same school type punishments like get out of the class or stand all the while were the kind of punishments that we were given. After attending 4 schools and 3 colleges, SIMS was the first time that I entered an air-conditioned classroom.

Most of them were precise but not all were same. Some professors never came on time and we had to wait for an hour for the next class. The momentum was lost in such cases and there is a complaint cell but even after complains the teachers maintained their position. This was little disappointing as an institute of such stature just following the protocol. Their support was evident though as they pushed us to the limit.

IT pack, Banking sector and Pune corporate were the ones that were on the campus for the entire 2 years of my time. IT companies like MindTree, TCS, and Infosys had a great attrition ratio and therefore SIMS was an option for them given the marketing specialist that the college has produced over the years. The companies that have their base in Pune like Atlas Copco India, Tata Motors, and Bajaj Auto made sure that maximum students from our batch be it MBA, PGDM got placed. The average package was nearly 10 Lakhs and one among us hit the jackpot with a package worth Rs. 22 Lakhs CTC.

MBA has now become a residential program and therefore the hostel was there in the campus. Thankfully we had the choice in choosing the rooms as there were different sized rooms as per the members. The hostel life was great as the similar background made it easy to connect. North Indian is what you will find at the college in numbers and that made it easier at the hostel. The hostel also had a mess that served food that had North Indian menu in its list. Paratha’s for breakfast and a proper meal for lunch and dinner made our lives easier at the hostel.

The area of the college was not so great as Khadki has a great connectivity but slums nearby and the roads that were not maintained made the location a bit tacky but the campus was a standout one. The lush green campus made sure that temperature never rose above a certain degree as Pune is quite hot during summers. The college had almost all the facilities like library, sports center, TV hall, and common rooms. Sports facilities were special as snooker tables at the campus made our late night entertaining. I am highlighting that as love playing snooker and was worried whether or not I will get a chance to have my hands on that.

Life at the campus was chilled. The long and hard lectures did take a toll on our lives but once the classes were done and the never ending assignments were done we used to have banters. Groups were eminent as all of them were not on the same page and that made the competition even fierce. SIMS was a world within and during one such competition we even had to perform together as a college as it was all Symbi colleges locking horns against each other. I still can’t believe that a college like Symbi exists because you can’t have the life like you had in SIMS at any other college. I hardly missed home and my parents whom I called daily wherever I studied were taken by surprise as I hardly called them. The college has made me independent and disciplined.