Mithibai College of Arts B.A Review By Maya Singh

I have studied in Mithibai College of Arts for 5 years, starting from junior college and must say Mithibai is undoubtedly a great choice. Teaching faculty is the best, infrastructure is great and provides you the best placement opportunities. Along with studies the college always promoted the importance of getting indulged in extra-curricular activities as well. If you want to join Mithibai, I would say, you should join it from the junior college itself. The reason is once, you have done HSC from Mithibai then you become eligible for their graduation courses automatically. The cut-off list even for courses like B.A. goes all the way to 85 percent. I witnessed students from diverse backgrounds and people coming in from all corners of India.

The college didn’t just provide me the opportunity for academic exploration but helped me in my all-around growth as well. College held various programs where they taught us organizational capability, managing skills, discipline, and leadership qualities. The college campus is fully Wi-Fi, electronic blackboards, and fully air-conditioned classrooms. Many graduates who have passed out from this college are working in multinational corporations. The list doesn't end here as the college has given some national level sports players, Bollywood stars, and international beauty pageants winners as well. In a nutshell, Mithibai reminds of the old ad tagline of Pepsi 'Yahi Hain Right Choice Baby'.

While I was in junior college the classrooms were not digital. Then the college went into complete transformation and all the classrooms now have interactive smart boards. The junior college syllabus is as per the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. The college is affiliated with Mumbai University and the syllabus for B.A. was in line with the university. However, Mithibai had included some extra subjects just to burden the students as I felt they were of no use. The best part is the fees. The junior college fees for girls in my time were just 30 rupees. The college fees too were quite nominal and talking about the teachers that we had were amazing.

Not just the kind of knowledge that they had but were also skilled and knew how to bring out the best in each one of us. The only sad part was compulsory attendance. If you miss a single lecture, you will be absent for the entire day and this is something that needs serious attention. College lecturers have always taught us to give importance to practical sessions as well. Hence, the college ensured that the student is industry ready, post their graduation. The graduate B.A. in English is divided into 6 semesters and the subject which started at 2 in the first semester increased to 6 in the 6th semester.

Needless to say but the faculty is highly experienced and knowledgeable and even with strength of 1800 most of the lecturers knew all their student's names. The college has taken care of its faculty and our department consisted of one associate and nearly five assistant professors. The lecturers were easily accessible and always ready to help. Dr. (Ms.) Vidya Premkumar was the head of our department and used to interact with students from time to time.

The professors in the college always encouraged us to improvise and were available in case of any help required. Seminars, conferences, and guest lectures were common practice at the auditorium to help us attain a deep knowledge of arts.

Unfortunately for B.A. students, not many were lucky enough. Nearly 50 percent of the people got placed through campus while the remaining ones had to search outdoors for the job. The companies like Morgan Stanley, Kotak, Edelweiss, KPMG, and Darashaw came in to recruit. The average package that was offered was of Rs. 4 lakhs per annum and the highest one grabs the package worth Rs. 10 lakhs per annum.

However, the case is different when it comes to commerce and science students. The placement that they got is something we arts students will always envy.

Mithibai College doesn’t have its own hostel. There is Bright Youth Girls Hostel nearby and Bright Youth Boys accommodation which is right next to the college. However, there are various PG and residential accommodations nearby college and hence you can stay there. Also, the college canteens start early and are open till late at night so you can have your meals there.

The college is located in Ville Parle and the area is considered among the safest areas in Mumbai. Hence, you can stay nearby the college as there are numerous paying guests and residential flats available on a sharing basis.

If there is something for which you can rate 11 on 10 then Mithibai’s infrastructure is certainly one of them. The Jitendra Library which is inside the college campus has a humungous collection of books, journals, encyclopedia, and other research material. The college is centrally air-conditioned and has also installed CCTV cameras. The college is completely Wi-Fi and the library went through a complete transformation 6 years back and it’s now safe to say that is now an E-library. In addition to the library, the college has an activity room where you can bring all your creative thoughts to display. The campus also has health services inside the campus to look after students in an emergency. Mostly all the colleges have a canteen but in addition to the canteen, our college has one cake shop as well. The canteen is quite spacious and offers good food at a reasonable price.

The college has a Gymkhana where indoor sports like Chess, Carrom, and Table Tennis is played. The students usually come to unwind at gymkhana and you will witness a large crowd at the gymkhana during evening hours. The college’s laboratories are spacious and have all the types of equipment required. Since the college is 5 story building the lift facility is also there and has separate washrooms on every floor. Water coolers are also installed on every floor. In addition to CCTV cameras, the college also has firefighting equipment in place and hence one can say that you can't find a safer environment than at Mithibai. The college also has a sports ground though located at a different place it belongs to the college trust where cricket and football matches are held.

The most hi-tech and advanced college campus you will see in Mumbai is of Mithibai College. Many colleges have transformed in recent years while Mithibai was one of the earliest. Talking about life at the campus was just fun. The college allowed us to explore all the interests that we pursued. The cultural festival of Mithibai College is called Kshitij. The event is graced by some Bollywood superstars and renowned sports personalities. The fest lasts for 4 days and I will always be thankful to college as in all 3 years during my graduate course, I wrote the script of the skit which was highly appreciated by all.

Studies were always given the first importance and our teachers always empathized with the importance of good grades. Our college was rated the best college of Mumbai University during my final year in 2016-17. In addition to the cultural fest, the college also organized technical week and literature weeks. The college makes sure that its students are industry-ready and by the time they enter the corporate world they are no less than a pro.