Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce B.Com Review By Anil Kumar

BMCC (Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce), Pune is a wonderful college especially if you want to pursue extra-curricular activities. I belong to Nepal and since Pune is known as the Cambridge of the East, I came to Pune. There is a central admission process wherein through one form you apply for various colleges of Pune to get admission to junior college. My first preference was BMCC and fortunately, I got admission there. When I joined the college was affiliated with the University of Pune but after I completed my junior college, the college was made autonomous. The students who passed out junior college from BMCC were given direct admissions for B.Com but for other courses such as B.B.A., one has to go through entrance exams. BMCC is a brand name in Pune as it is arguably the best commerce college in Pune. Yes, some might differ as people coming from outside prefer Symbiosis over BMCC. However, I will always cherish that I joined this college as this is where I have spent the most memorable 5 years of my life. The College campus is awesome.

The college is huge and the structure is made of stone walls. Since BMCC is the best college, it attracts the smartest brains from all across the country. Students from various states enroll in BMCC. Talking about the crowds, we had students from nerds, to sportsmen, this college has the top students. Attendance is very strict but if you are pursuing other interests such as drama, sports, or dancing, you can skip classes. You will find all-rounders and high performing students in this college. The college is going through a renovation and soon it will have a state of the art boy’s hostel. The college has the best teachers and has a very peaceful environment. Unlike other colleges of Pune where incidences keep happening our college had slim to none. The teachers in our college were strict and any sort of violence or consumption of tobacco and smoking was totally banned. If students get caught they were immediately suspended and therefore no one dared. In a nutshell, the college is ideal for studies and the students who want to try their hands at other activities as well.

Earlier the syllabus was in tandem with the University of Pune. However, we were the first batch after the college went autonomous, and trust me the syllabus was advanced then B.B.A. courses that the University of Pune offers. Even the students who were pursuing C.A. found it difficult to crack subjects like accountancy and economics. Thanks to the wonderful staff who helped us with the syllabus. The college though never emphasized on studies alone. The main aim of college was to make its students knowledgeable and therefore they developed the skill-set that working culture requires.

Our teachers told us one thing that studies will not apply in the practical world. Studies will help you enter the practical world. I still remember these words and after working in one of the country’s finest banks, I can proudly say that the reason why I have been able to survive in this environment is because of the knowledge that my college gave me.

Do I even have to say this? Where will you find a faculty which is so young yet so knowledgeable. Most of the teachers in our college were in the mid-30s and treated students like friends. The age factor was a key thing as we never found it awkward to approach the faculty who was in a way so supportive. Our principal Dr. C.N. Rawal was strict but also defended the college students if any wrongdoing happened in fests or sports events. He took the charge himself and was equally involved and engaging.

I still remember when my parents visited Pune and I made them meet my principal. The way he welcomed them I was shocked. A special mention about Salunke sir who passed on some useful tips on how to crack interviews and what are the key things that you should incorporate to survive in the world that we will enter after passing out.

I never saw companies coming to our college to hire B.Com students prior to our batch. Hence turning the college autonomous was indeed a game-changer for this college. Many top companies such as Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Reliance, Religare, and Sharekhan among others hired various students from our batch. Nearly 60% of the students got placed. The students who maintained good grades got the placements. It’s as simple as that.

The package that I got was of Rs. 3 lakhs and the highest package from our batch attracted some big moolah’s as she got the package of nearly Rs. 8 lakhs.

The college in our time just had a girl’s hostel and the boy’s hostel was getting constructed. Hopefully, it must have been built now. The college hostel will have air-conditioned rooms and rooms with twin sharing capacity. The girl's hostel looks good at least from outside as I have not seen from inside.

For boys though there are various hostels nearby college. Firodia Jain hostel is next to our college. Lahoti Boys hostel is also an option but only for Maheshwari’s. There are numerous PGs and flats nearby the college and hence you will not find it difficult to find accommodation.

From the face of it, the college looks old. However, the architecture is something to admire about. All the nearby colleges can only envy our college as nearby colleges such as Symbiosis, Modern College and MMC don’t have the playground that our college has. Inter-college football and cricket matches are organized on our college grounds. The college has a huge library and students are seen spending a large chunk of their time in the libraries.

The college canteen too is huge and offers some of the tastiest food. From Wada Paav to Punjabi Thali the canteen provides them all. The cost of Thali 3 years back was INR 80 and trust me at that price it is difficult to find a good meal in Pune. The location of the college is one of the posh areas of Pune. F.C. road was at a touching distance and is certainly one of the best places to unwind as you will find some good coffee shops, food joints, and shopping arcades. The college also has a medical team in the college and that helps.

As I already said you will find some of the sharpest brains in our college and therefore I am still trying to figure out how 5 years passed by. Every day I learned something new and that was the best part about campus life. Seniors were so helpful and made sure that everyone treats the outsiders well. We had students from all across India and from abroad as well. Though not as much as Symbiosis of F.C. College has for that matter.

College used to host cultural fest and some of our college students also joined the Film & Television Institute of India. Hence that helped our college score well in drama during inter-college competitions. In sports, there was no competition as our football team was way ahead of other colleges of Pune. Major learning in our college happened through a peer network rather than class-rooms. Joining this college was certainly the best decision of my life.