It’s not just about cut-offs for some
It's not only cut-offs that matter. These days students keep a lot of things in mind while choosing a college.
Everyone applying to Delhi University wants to pursue the course of their choice at the college of their dreams. There are, however, many different reasons behind a student judging a college as his or her best bet.
With cut-off percentages at most colleges at par for sought after courses, the cut-offs are not the criteria to determine a college’s stature anymore. Aarthi Vasudevan (name changed on request), a resident of Lajpat Nagar, had queued up at an admission counter of PGDAV College.
A Commerce student, Aarthi has scored 89 per cent and wants to pursue B.Com (Hons.). If she wanted, she could have easily enrolled in other South Campus colleges like Maitreyi, Atma Ram Sanatana Dharma or Acharya Narendra Dev College, all of which have same or lesser cut-offs than PGDAV’s 89 per cent.
The reason she chose this college is its location, Nehru Nagar. Explains her father Narayana: “I know that North Campus colleges are good and that Sri Venkateswara College is a good south Delhi college. I do not have much idea about other colleges,” he said.
“I chose this college because it is near our residence and bang on Ring Road.” Different people have different ideas about which are “good” and “bad” colleges in Delhi University. Fresh out of school, a student’s choice is mostly determined by what his or her parents think is best, what their friends think is good or what their parent’s friends, colleagues or neighbours say is the best choice.
The first choice of Robin Chauhan, like most others, was to study B.Com (Hons.) at any North Campus college but on Wednesday, he was enrolling at DCAC. “I am only getting B.Com (Pass) at Ramjas College. I have heard that DCAC is good for B.Com (Hons.),” he said.
Aditi Sharaf has got through Maitreyi but prefers doing B.Com (Hons.) from nearby Moti Lal Nehru College because she wants to study in a co-educational college, not an all-girls college. Naman Kathuria, a student from Gwalior, also chose Moti Lal over others because seniors from his city reside in nearby Satya Niketan, where he plans to take a PG room. Experts say there should ideally be a grading system for DU colleges to help students decide.
“Rankings give students an idea about which colleges are better and their absence in DU is a problem,” says career counsellor Usha Albuquerque. “People select colleges on familiarity and that is why everyone wants to be in St. Stephen’s, Hindu or LSR,” she said.
Albuquerque says that ideally, students should do some homework before taking admission. However, DU’s dean students’ welfare, S.K. Vij said that the university cannot have a grading system. “For us, all colleges are equally good. We cannot rank them as per policy,” he said.