By- Ashmita Goswami
I still remember the evening when I got the notification: JAT result is out. My heart was pounding against my chest, and had butterflies in my stomach. This was “it”; the moment. I finally checked the result, and there it was—Ashmita Goswami-SSCBS-BMS! I felt so elated; on cloud 9! I had arrived in life, but this was not “it”; It was rather the beginning of a beautiful journey. Little did I know what CBS had in store for me at that time.
The first few days were marked with adjusting to “college life”, all new experiences (which this year’s incoming batch is completely going to miss out on) getting to know the people, getting familiar with the college, academics, the societies. From day one, we were overwhelmed with society pitches, forms, recruitment interviews, etc etc. I applied to as many societies as I could and got into 9-10 of them. By the 2nd semester, I narrowed them down to the following 3- The Finance society, The Quizzing Society and the PR Cell.
As a college, SSCBS has so much to offer. BMS is a great course, but it is not the course that makes the college a standout, it is its people, its culture, its environment. SSCBS is nothing like a typical DU college, and I’ll briefly try to go over some of the points.
1. Societies: There are more than 30 active societies in the college. Although most of them are fairly new, SSCBS boasts some of the oldest and most prominent societies in the DU circuit. Societies are given a lot of importance in the college, and evidently, become an integral part of one’s college life. On a personal front, your society becomes your family. Going through so much together, you’ll find all your best friends and worst rivals here. Professionally, the kind of exposure you get through societies is unparalleled. In my 2nd year, I am a core member of all three of my societies and the head of the finance department in Communiqué.
2. Academics: Academics are given great emphasis in CBS. BMS is a great program, with a well-designed and structured curriculum. As compared to some other management/commerce courses, the focus is given on practical learning rather than bookish theoretical knowledge. Our super qualified teaching faculty (some of them being the pioneers of the program!) is really the icing on the cake. I’m blessed to have gotten such supportive teachers who go out of their way to help their students in all academic and non-academic fronts. SSCBS is probably the strictest college when it comes to attendance. Trying to maintain the minimum attendance requirement remains a constant struggle.
3. Students: The college boasts of having a diverse student population. CBS has students from all over the country and even abroad. Interacting with students coming from different experiences, backgrounds offers great exposure. In school, my teachers always used to say that you all are just frogs in a well right now, and that you have so much left to see. At that time, I didn’t take them seriously but they couldn’t be more right. In school, no matter what, our exposure, our competition remains limited to our classmates, schoolmates or coaching classes at the maximum. And compared to them, I used to feel that I was doing fairly well, academically and otherwise. Coming to CBS was a humbling experience. The college has some of the brightest and ambitious students in the country. Watching my seniors and friends achieving so much, excelling in different fields really helps put things in perspective. And I am personally of the opinion that our peers are our best teachers. Being surrounded by ambitious, like-minded people motivates you to grow (and this is what I believe makes CBS, CBS).
4. Environment: The college environment is very different from other DU colleges. There are only around 1500 students across 4 courses. The college building is fairly small but newly constructed, where so many things are always happening simultaneously. Some event, some workshop, a competition, a seminar, society practices, etc., etc. One can always spot students running from one lecture to another, attending society meetings, practices, taking part in sessions, competitions, making quick trips to Nescafé for a coffee break. Managing everything from your academics, internships, organizing events, maintaining attendance, projects, societies, maintaining decent grades, pulling all-nighters, while trying to maintain a social life becomes a part of your life.
5. Culture: The college is full of overachievers. Everyone here was the best in their schools, and in such a scenario, competition is bound to exist. An unspoken competition exists in getting the best grades, getting into the best society, landing the best internships or jobs, getting a society POR, winning the most competitions, getting into the best MBA program and doing the greatest number of courses. Everyone constantly tries to outdo others. Now it really depends on you how you perceive the competition. If you take it positively, it makes you want to grow and develop as a person. Just take inspiration from your peers and work on becoming a better version of yourself and this “competition” would do wonders for you. Many people lose themselves in the competition, trying to outdo others, manipulating, pulling others down, or as it is famously known as in the college, #SnakeCulture.
Now, I’ve barely covered the tip of the iceberg. SSCBS is so much more than all this.
This one year of college has transformed me entirely. One year back, I couldn’t have imagined doing the things that are routine for me now. Organizing national level events, taking initiatives, leading tasks, pursuing internships, managing teams, and having networked with big corporates has really helped me develop my decision-making skills, problem-solving abilities, providing corporate exposure, and has given me the confidence of proactively getting things done.
CBS was never my first preference; it was always IIM Indore for me. All throughout my 12th I used to daydream about getting into IIM-I, having had researched all about it and having worked my ass off for it. But finally, at the time of IPMAT, due to unavoidable circumstances, I had to miss my exam. I was fortunate enough to get into other prestigious Management programmes in India, but I gave up all the other opportunities waiting for SSCBS (as the results were declared extremely late). So, it was BMS or nothing for me.
Looking back, I’m so thankful that things turned out the way they did. I can’t imagine myself being anywhere else other than CBS. This just shows that life gives a lot of opportunities and in the end, things work out just fine. I’m blessed to have wonderful mentors, seniors, my teachers, my friends, and such supportive parents. Thank you, SSCBS, for turning me into the sincere, ambitious, proactive, and confident person that I have become from the carefree and immature person I was, although I still have a long way to go.
Lastly, I want to conclude by saying that although it may seem like it at the time, getting into that college, landing that job or internship, winning that competition is not everything. And not securing any of it isn’t the end of the world. If you’re ambitious enough, dedicated, and work towards your goals, nothing can stop you from achieving your dreams. Life gives opportunities at every turn, and it is on us to make the most of them.
