In collaboration with collegedunia
I am soooo sorry for doing the disappearing
act. Totally unpardonable….but I have been so uninspired and lethargic lately
that it seemed like a severe case of writer’s block. So I did what is most
prescribed in this situation…took a break. I took a couple of days off from
work and went to a city where I lived; Mumbai, but this time as a tourist to explore
the city like I never did while I was living there (I know I was pretty boring
while in college :D). And this trip down memory lane (literally!) has fully
charged me with the inescapable Mumbai energy and I am ready to roll! :D
Mumbai
being a melting pot of people from varied backgrounds, cultures, education and
professions, gave me a chance to gain an insight into this cross section of
population from close quarters (One word – Mumbai locals, ok two words but it can’t
really get any closer than that! :D). What really fascinated me was the sheer
number of career options people were considering and following and the sheer
number of institutes/courses available (information gleaned from random chats
with strangers in the locals and considerable amount of eavesdropping:D). I
cringe every time I think back about how I made my career option. Before even
exploring other options, I just decided that I was going for Engineering
because I was from “Science” stream and most of my classmates/cousins were
doing the same. As per the usual drill I wrote a few entrance exams; IIT JEE
(who was I kidding :D), AIEEE (proud CBSE student :P) and MHCET (backup :D).
The final admission process was literally a blur as I had no clue what I was
supposed to do (did everyone but me know about the so called “Vacancy Round”!!).
Finally I stumbled upon SIES college and after a brief chat with a girl who did
her MBA from the same institute (yup that was all the research I did about my
college :D), I hopped and skipped into the college.
Back then I don’t know if I was naïve (rather
dumb actually) or really there was no information available but through some
sheer stroke of luck it did work out for me. But in this age of cut throat competition
(ok I am not as old as this sentence sounds :D) and cutting age students for
lack of better word, I don’t think this kind of haphazard planning is going to
work out. In fact the overload of information available now can be quite
overwhelming (as I found during my brother’s admission five years down the
line). There is a lot of information available out there but to weed through
all of it to come to any conclusive decision is a herculean task. And that’s where
portals like collegedunia come into the picture. This amazing site is a ready reckoner of colleges across
various courses and streams with detailed information from cutoffs, fees, eligibility,
placements, and amenities available etc. One can find college brochures, find
application deadlines and even get phone alerts and also get questions answered
by counselors. It has information on colleges for Management, Engineering,
Medical, Arts, Science, Commerce, Law as well as Agriculture, Architecture, Fashion
Designing, and Vocational courses. Do check this website out if you are a
student or a parent. It truly looks like it will ease up the decision and the
admission process to a great extent.
Image from here
