Maharaja Agrasen College B.Com Review By Nidhi Kumari

As a student of one of the most sought-after courses in the Delhi University, that is B.Com, (Hons), I found myself entering one of the decent off-campus colleges of the esteemed University. Maharaja Agrasen College was famous for its close-knit community of students. I was part of the new campus, however. I graduated in 2013. New campus implied new challenges. It was not fully developed and hence lacked the sophisticated paraphernalia of the education world. But the campus has since then evolved and is one of best new colleges in the off-campus arena!

The college has an average standing when it comes to academics. B.Com (H) is accounted for having one of the toughest and extensive syllabi among other coveted courses facilitated by the University. Commerce students who intend to build their career in the field of accounting and finance must opt for it. The performance of students has been slightly above average. The students of B.Com (H) would agree when it comes to deliberately giving lesser marks for internal assessment for some reason which makes them always lag behind the supposedly elite class of the on-campus students. I always wonder about the discrimination from the teachers’ end. There would always be a slight gap between the toppers of the elite colleges and our college. However, the things changed and got better after the introduction of the semester-system.

It was an interesting mix of professors. While the professors of some of the main subjects like economics, law, statistics, business mathematics etc. were relatively decent, the teachers of the supplementary subjects like ethics, e-commerce etc. were quite disappointing. One teacher in particular was verbally abusive even and exploited his privilege of being employed from the minority division. That was the most revolting experience of being a student as we all felt helpless because he openly challenged that no number of complaints can do any harm to him because no one will take action against him. Only a few teachers were helpful and encouraged taking guidance from them. I remember being heavily dependent upon external tuitions. Needless to say, majority of the learning was self-induced because it was not a really ideal place for learning given the reluctance from the teachers’ end and from most of the students’ end as well as their priority was C.A and they were merely participating in this course to ramp up their career prospects, thereby making the whole learning experience drab for non-C.A students like us.

The placement cell is pretty below average. Only a few companies turned up for hiring. And they were not the elite companies like E&Y, KPMG etc. but the regular consulting firms like Protivity, Genpact etc. The AMCAT examination was also not properly informed about and conducted haphazardly when it could have been wonderful platform for students to make good use of in the long term.

Though I was not part of the hostel, I know it is a small building loaded with all the necessary basic amenities. It is perched quietly by the end of college ground. It has good safety measures in place especially for girl students.

The infrastructure is one of the best in the new-campus category as the old elite colleges are a product of British Dominion. Hence, it stands out for being a proud Indian contribution. It has a pretty extensive admirable auditorium that is big enough to host a medium-sized audience for a college. The library is decent; covers academic books well but hosts poor stock for fiction and pleasure. The computer lab is below average. The canteen serving savory meals at super cheap prices is the best thing about the campus. If only its layout was of superior quality but I cannot stress enough on the mouth-watering, cheap, delicious meals!

The college and other cultural fests are organized well. They improved gradually; initially were a torture though. What the college lacks in its academics, makes up for in its other environmental and cultural projects and activities like SPIC MACAY etc. The trips are organized after deliberately requesting the administration and no investment is made to invite celebrity musicians to the college fest despite consistent requests. However, the crowd was not much active, scattered and lacked a sense of belongingness. Probably because it stays away from the realm of elections and has a quiet, sensible, small Students’ Council as its replacement and no other interaction with surrounding sister colleges.