Stressed students turn to DU Mind Body Centre

“Should I choose the college over the course, will I be able to qualify for a regular Delhi University college or will I be able to meet the high cutoff?” these are queries flooding the Mind Body Centre of the university. The centre, run by the Delhi University Women Association (DUWA), has for the past few weeks been attending to the woes of stressed aspirants.

“Should I choose the college over the course, will I be able to qualify for a regular Delhi University college or will I be able to meet the high cutoff?” These are queries flooding the Mind Body Centre of the university.

Out of the total calls received, 40% are related to admissions of which 60% are by female students. Apart from the admissions, 50% queries are related to panic attacks, social phobia and depression. (Raj K Raj /HT file)

The centre, run by the Delhi University Women Association (DUWA), has for the past few weeks been attending to the woes of stressed aspirants.

This centre, which was started in 2014, has also been meeting students regularly. For those unable to visit the centre, they are providing help over phone and email.

Astha Jain, who works as a counsellor at the centre, attends the calls between 3-5 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and responds to emails within a week.

Out of the total calls received, 40% are related to admissions of which 60% are by female students. Apart from the admissions, 50% queries are related to panic attacks, social phobia and depression.

Jain shared how most students are confused about the choice of course. “Students do not know whether they should choose the course or the college. I usually tell the students that college name does not matter. They should focus on the career they want to pursue by choosing the right course,” said Jain.

The centre receives calls from students in Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. The centre is only for women, so queries from male students are answered over phone or emails. Officials at the centre shared that once the college starts, a lot of outstation candidates share problems of home-sickness, adjustment and accommodation.

“Last year, we had a student from Gorakhpur who had completed her graduation from her home town and was doing Masters in Physics here. She was having problems adjusting in her hostel. It was more of a cultural shock,”said Amita Kapoor, a DUWA official.

Now the centre is planning on having camps at Vishwavidyalaya metro station to help fresh out of school students to adapt to the changing environment.