Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies BBA Review By Brij Mohan Rathi

SCMS Pune just has one course, and that is BBA. There are 3 options in that, and they are general BBA, dual specialization, and normal specialization. One has to clear the general entrance exams that is common for various graduate programs of Symbiosis group of institutions. The campus of Viman Nahar that started its journey in 2005 with SCMS is now home to 4 other institutes of Symbiosis. Coming from Rajasthan and entering a college that has a crowd like SCMS was beyond my imagination of wildest dreams. There is a dress code where we had to wear the blazer but can wear a shirt and jeans of our choice. This was interesting and unique at the same time. I met people from many states of India and also got the opportunity to share the classrooms with some NRI students. Rubbing shoulders with them on the football ground and learning few tricks with the ball was how I made the best use of my foreigner friends. English is the most widely spoken language on the campus, and it took me a couple of semesters to mingle with people as my English was arguably the poorest on the campus.

Academic wise the Symbiosis group of institutions are not that strict. At least the graduate ones, but SCMS was different. Attendance was compulsory like hell, and the academics were such that we had to be quite interactive in the class. Professors could ask any student to come and make the presentation or explain the topic taught in the previous class. Thus, if we are not attentive, we can make a fool out of ourselves in front of our classmates. Of course, this didn’t happen daily, but at SCMS, one has to be ready for surprises. Case studies, presentations, and going off-campus for practicals are how the academic system was at SCMS.

I wish I could have made friends with them. They were the ocean of knowledge and were ready to share as much as they could. They kept on asking us to ask whatever we wanted. My shy nature never let me open up as my poor communication skills let me bothered asking things I wanted. I did approach them secretly whenever possible, and they never walked off without giving a gist on my questions. I was overwhelmed by their simplicity as their degrees and position could have flattered anyone.

The figures of average placement of 7-8 LPA annum are little modified. The placements, without a question, were good as mostly it were the MNCs that came for recruitment. The Symbiosis group directors have friends incorporate and brought companies like Amazon, Calvin Klein, iPlace, ZocDoc, and many others to hire students from the campus. 50% of the students were pre-placed and some 30-35% on day zero. Thus 80-85% of students had placements through campus. The average CTC offered to BBA students with regular specialization was 5-6 Lakhs. The highest package bagged from our batch was 12 LPA. Placements on the whole were outstanding, and from what I know, SCMS offered the best placements for BBA not just in Pune but in India.

This part saddened me because boys hostel capacity is not even half the students that join Viman Nagar campus. I was denied admissions and therefore had to stay fairly far from the college at my uncle’s place in Koregaon Park. KP is one of the most happening areas of Pune, and a number of students from the college stay from KP to Viman Nagar as there are many buildings and societies that offer residential facilities to the students. Pune is not easy on the pocket, and therefore staying independently in flats can be pretty expensive. Always try to apply for the hostel first as the hostels for Viman Nagar campus students are outstanding.

The campus is significant as it accommodates five colleges. Some colleges share the buildings, but SCMS has its own and also a canteen in its own building. Most of the facilities at the campus are common, like the sporting facilities, auditorium, amphitheater, and others. There was a music room that had headphones and a playlist that we could create manually. Music can be a stress reliever, and it can help you overcome a tough day at college. SCMS library was in its own academic building. There were libraries in each campus building, but SCMS library was more than enough for us. There’s also a grocery store, stationery at the campus. The buildings and the campus are cleaned twice a day, making the campus look picture perfect.

We used to call an annual function in our school, but they are called fest in college. I learned this at SCMS, and oh boy, the fest was the next level thing for me. The fashion which I have seen only on TV, I saw it live for the first time at SCMS. The dance performances and the acting performances in the drama that happened on stage were just too good. I was approached to participate, but honestly, I enjoyed them more watching them from the bleachers.