Grapes are sour ;-)

No, no...I am not talking about the quality of grapes available in the market, I am talking about one so-called 'high fundoo B-school' in Mumbai. Now, one may wonder what has grapes got to do with B-school...well for understanding the relationship, you will have to read the entire post.

After 2 years of continuous convincing from my parents and 2 odd years of work experience, I decided to pursue my Masters in Marketing Management. I decided to apply in one of the so-called reputed Management Institutes (named here as 'x' college to protect the identity) in Mumbai. It was a 3 years part time course and was recognized by Mumbai university.

I filled the forms and sent it to them before the 'Last Date of Submission'. I also gave the mock tests conducted by them on a sunday and worked really hard to crack the exams. After 2 months of relentless practice, I gave the entrance exam (which I cracked confidently). Even the GD/PI had gone well and I was cent percent sure that I would become a student of 'x' college very soon.

A month after the huge procedure, the first list was put up on their website, sadly my name did not feature in it :-(

I waited for the second list, which was put up after 15 days...again my name did not feature in it. I was disappointed and was on the verge of tears coz I knew I had done really well. I called up the institute to enquire about the 3rd list (called the same lady whom I had spoken to before buying the admission forms) only to listen to a rude reply: "Don't call us like this...keep checking the website...jag lagna hoga list lag jayega" and then banging the receiver down before I could ask anything further.

Out of sheer Kunas and with lot of time on hand...I thought of testing the link and tadaaaaa I found some mistakes and was fultoo impressed with my discovery.

See the images of my discovery below (please view them in a new window or tab as they are not that clear).

Note: I have edited the snapshots in paint so as to hide their identity.

The spelling of 'Second' is incorrect...


 The duration of the course mentioned here is 2009-2012 when actually the duration is 2010-2013. Now I entered the wrong DOB.

Now, I thought a 'Invalid entry' or some such message would appear as the DOB is wrong...but to my surprise it showed the result:


Psst: check out the year here, it is 2010-2013

Initially, I was super excited and was jumping around in the office just as Archimedes jumped during the Eureka moment...only to be brought back to zameen by my developer dost who said that probably the form was made such that results are displayed on the basis of form no. According to him DOB must have been just an additional parameter. He also added that instead of showing some 'invalid input' message...it has been designed such that it just shows if you have been chosen or rejected. I accepted his logic quietly.

But I still have the following queries (which I will obviously be asking the institute when I go there):

a) if an individual has originally got selected...but has by mistake entered the wrong form no and DOB, should'nt the message be 'Invalid input' instead of the 'your name does not feature in the list' ? Would'nt such ambiguous result mislead him/her?

b) Is it a norm that a candidate who has not been selected by your insitute be treated with disrespect. Is polite behaviour only situational? Forget the spelling mistakes and other silly mistakes...my question is should'nt college 'x' be more responsible and more accountable? Has education become a mockery, a money minded business to them. How do I trust institutes such as these to mould the future of managers and entrepreneurs?

The above incident has aroused a serious question within my mind: will a certificate of masters program make me a successful manager or a better individual or am I just wasting my time and energy on this? Several more questions in my mind...but seeing the length of my blog..I decided to end it here.


P.S: O btw angoor khatte hone kaa reason toh bataya hee nahi. See, had I got selected, I would not have bothered so much to prove 'x' college wrong. I took all these pains to prove them wrong only because I did not get an admission there. Ho gaya naa a classic case of 'Grapes are Sour' ;-)

37 comments:

Ankita said...

hmmm! yes u r right, if u would have got selected u would have never pointed out the flaws. but on a serious note, big institutes just dont care. managerial skills can be polished by an MBA degree but i think majorly they are inherent.

Venkateswaran Iyer said...

nicely said...very true...by d way i kinda knw which management coll ur refering to. Its a sad state of affairs n 3 years back i went through d same thing while applying. I got selected for full time pg but they asked me n unbelievable 9lac 'donation'. My advice...college name isnt evthin...its u who scripts ur future. I completed my mms from st. Francis mgt, a little known coll in 2008. But im sitting in a desk of a well known company knwn as Goldman Sachs. I ll signoff now cos im tired typing on my phone.... I ll keep visiting ur blog from time to time... All the best gayu as ur old friend calls u. Thanks sangeeta for showing me ur best friends blog. Cheers!!!

Aliyah said...

Spelling of 'placement' in the first pic. FAIL
'college names and ranks' are the most misleading criteria these days.
-A soon to be veteran sufferer.

raMmY said...

Firstly, mast jhakaas post after long time!!
A B-School might give you a degree and a ticket to the big league, but the qualities have to be inherent in you. A B-School cannot make a manager, it can only shape the skills managerial skills present in you.

The X college you spoke seems to be a rather "hyped" college. No truly reputed college will treat anyone with disrespect. Infact great institutions treat anyone and everyone with dignity as they have a reputation to protect. The college you are talking seems to be a product of money making ideology.

So dun worry about the khatte angoor, they were not worth your trouble!!

as i said .. tadaaa kind of post!!

cheers
rammy

myonlyphoto said...

Interesting read, thanks for sharing. Anna :)

AB said...

I am quite used to sour grapes by now.

Yes, there was something wrong with the form. Actually. DOB should have been omitted if its not a necessary validation parameter.

Anyways Gayathri, you wouldn't like to study in a college who is so rude and irresponsible.

Insignia said...

Hahahahahaaha!!

Im sorry I am not laughing at your situation. I am only laughing at the way you put it in. Amazing!!

Yeah, why do you want to get into a college which shows no respect and are rude, however reputed they might be.

Bikram said...

he he he hehe I wanted to laugh .. AND you still want ot go to this college after finding such mistakes.. a professional college would not do so . just imagine what the studies would be like .. you might come out with your own vocabulary :)

Lots more good colleges i am sure .. and dont worry always a next time ...

Blunt Edges said...

sour grapes indeed! ;)

but then i don't think u being selected would have them behaving any differently...the govt. babu attitude is overlooming in most educational institutions like this!

HaRy!! said...

ha ha the way yu put it is more merrier! :D...

Useless Bugger said...

Abey achcha hua nahi gayi is stupid college mein... So many spelling mistakes, seriously, is it a B-school or a primary school? You seriously don't deserve such useless colleges. Next yr, aim for IIM-A.

Hugs :)

Neha said...

ewwwwwwww, poor u re..

sch glaring errors from such an institute..but I guess I know which institute you ar talking about..such an unprofessional management..sigh!!

but, awesomely narrated :P

mOhan said...

awl is vell...congratzo!!

scarlet pimpernel said...

കിട്ടാത്ത മുന്തിരി പുളിക്കും

Scattered Thoughts... said...

Hah.. thats the irony.. people just dont pay attention to their website and software.. just now I ended up screaming at indian rail guys on why can't they put a half decent website in place.. anyways, thats not the point here.. point is your college and angoors.. so well, better luck next time.. :) I think that course wont make you a better person or something but somehow the traditional system in India like that only.. you need those degrees as a stamp to get a nice job.. to add bells to your resume.. though what keeps you there once you are selected it just your talent.. :)

Shanu said...

Yeah I know, this college is totally hyped..feels like a hotel jyada and college kam..Lekin tu kyun darr rahi hai...admission nahi mila na..bata de duniya ko ki yeah sada hua college Welingkar hai :P


PS: Mere cousin ne wahan se Part time MBA kiya hai..trust me its not worth it!Try for JBIMS..its way better!

Sid said...

Hey u know abt SQL injection ;)

Harini said...

The way you narrated was awesome! But yeah, if i were you i would be celebrating for not getting in :P or I would be doing exactly what you are doing :P.

Makk said...

wont you save my future by telling me he name of that Insti??


May be grapes are sour for that college. what say??

:)

Makk said...

lollzz....I have not been to comments first.

:)

gayathri vishwanathan said...

yaa AS even I believe the same, but sadly corporates feel that a degree can make you a great manager

Hi venakat...that was a nice advice...will bear it in mind. thanks. and thanks sangi for showing venkat my blog...tera cheque pahuch jayega bank mein ;-)


oh yes aliyah placement's spelling was wrong too ( i missed that error)...all the best for your future endeavors

Thanks rammy...as rightly said by you: A B-School cannot make a manager, it can only shape the skills managerial skills present in you

Thanks Anna :)

haan abhi have lost all the inclination to join that college

nahi bindu I dont want to join the college now...but yes wanted to point out the college's stupid behaviour through my blog. I was hurt coz I had worked hard to crack the exams...felt very terrible about this

Thanks bikram for your motivating comment...I hope i get a better deal in some other college

bluntu atleast I would not have felt bad had I been selected...I would have been like theek hain yaar chillane do mujhe kya padi hain i have got admission. But aisa case nahi hain naa yaar. But then now aal izz well...I will try again for a better institute

thanks hary

haan parry accha huva nahi gayi...thanks itna motivate karne k liye aur kya IIM-A? Arre aise sada huva college mein admission nahi huva...IIM mein mein kidhar hoga yaar?


thanks neha...i know even I am surprised itne mistakes kaise kar sakte hain yaar? They should test such things. I wonder anybody brought this to their notice? I guess I will myself do the honors of showing them the mistakes.

thanks mohan :)

scarlet...i dint understand that comment...please translate in english plz thanks


ST...rightly said the course wont make me some better person...afterall talent and smartness is what counts more than a degree certificate. But then the problem is to prove ur talent u have to have the right educational certificates...sad but this is exactly what i am encountering :(

Shanu tu toh shani hain yaar...pata chal gaya tujhe institute kaa naam...kitne mehnat se maine chupaya tha naam uska. Case daala mere pe toh chudane pls aa jaana yaar, thanks kii tune bola tht it is not worth it. I tried in JBIMS and got thru written test also, but did not get selected. Experience mera uthna nahi tha as compared to the other candidates that's why i did not have high hopes from there. But I will try again next year.


Nahi Sid wht is it?

Thanks harini not just for cheering me up with the comment but also for giving me the idea to celebrate...chal aaj hee jaake mc donalds mein kuch khake celebrate karti hoon :)

gayathri vishwanathan said...

Makk...u r saved refer to shanu's comment u will know the name of the institute :)

Venkateswaran Iyer said...

know what...u have alternative career avenues instead of a borin mba. Chill out being a cfa or a frm for finance; join xaviers 2 get into d glamourous adv arena or give gmat n get in2 any euro or us coll for masters in any 1 of their million specialzations in mktg! Its not as costly as ppl thnk...its gonna cost u nearly d same doin an mba here n u get paid higher whn u graduate!! Research girl....n pls call me vinod or venky...

gayathri vishwanathan said...

hi vinod thanks for the concern...I have been doing this search for past 2 years...I had zeroed on this program after weighing all the pros and cons only.

Venkateswaran Iyer said...

hmmmm....hope u get a meetha angoor soon...any reason y u wnt 2 do a 3yr part time mba...ur njoin ur present job? u wnt 2 do in mba in mktg na

Venkateswaran Iyer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shaunak Mukherjee said...

Yaar, angoor khatte ho naa ho, it's always satisfying to find some flaws in something that's giving you so much tension. Itna pakaya toh there should be a little payback too right? :D
Fun post! Even I went thru something like this sometime back when I was checking my GD/PI results.

Oh, btw, First visit! And me likes. I'm following ya :)

Sid said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sid said...

SQL injection can be used to hack a website which doesnot validate form input (like this website :))

Ramya said...

Hmm.. Hota hai.. Even I've had such experiences.. Its ok.. Happens....

BIG Omi said...

I don't think going to insti will help!

Btw nice post! am in kinda same shoes you're wearing... three years experience and nw planin to (read as forced to) get into some good B-school..

U can try ISB .. admission opening in september... minmum GMAT score of 700 and two years of good workexshall get you thru...

Tc

Omi

Ire said...

Nice read.

P:S -- I think MBAs are a big farce!

Bikram said...

angoor khate to theek hain ab meethe kab honge.. you disappeared after this ...

gayathri vishwanathan said...

I m back bikram :)

Ashwin said...

I jus happened to stumble upon your blog, and boy am I glad I did... An amazing analysis you got there...

But basically i believe that an MBA definitely makes a difference, but true managerial skills unfortunately cannot be bought, they can only be inherited...

Just My opinion...
On a general note, loved the posts... Would definitely keep visiting...

Cheers
Kash...

Unknown!!! said...

to some extent agree with Nikita :)

Dont worry G, ur efforts will never go wasted.

My sincere suggestion to everyone ..dont go blindly by the placement figures of colleges, none states the exact figures

annucool15 said...

he he... i think if i were selected i'd hv pointed the mistakes anonymously!