June 2013

Admissions 2013

To every future leader DU lost this year

By Bani Bains June 30, 2013

Dear Future Leader,

Yes, I know you think this is easy for us to say. I know you think we have it all. We, with our fancy Delhi University degrees and sky high board results – what would we know about someone who couldn’t manage a seat in the country’s best university? No, we can’t possibly sympathise. And I’ll tell you why – because it’s our loss. It’s this University’s loss. The University should be pitied for being narrow in it’s thought process, almost to the extent of bigotry, and blamed for judging a student’s potential by something as unpredictable and as trivial as a board exam score.

It is this University, and it’s unbelievable cut off lists for 2013, that couldn’t comprehend your true potential. It is this University, apparently the best in the country which believes that your intelligence, ability, confidence and maturity can be reflected in simply one set of exams.

For every future journalist, writer, novelist, poet and literature enthusiast we lost this year, I’m sorry we didn’t even bother to see your writing – your wit, your insight, the books you’ve read and the things that inspire you. I’m sorry we thought that a 97% can encompass all of that.

All future entrepreneurs, business leaders, who needed a 100% to get through the best institutes of the country, you’re better than that. For everyone who missed out on a seat by a meager margin, I don’t even know where to begin to apologise. Apologise on behalf of the entire university. Apologise for never comprehending your true potential, for never even trying. For not giving you a chance – a chance at an entrance exam, a chance to rise up to your true calling.

On another tangent, I think the university’s loss of some of the best minds of the future is not it’s only loss this year. The much protested Four Year Undergraduate Programme and all its predicted downfalls might be a sign of falling standards. This is not my way of showing you a silver lining, but you probably do deserve better.

I will always regret not having a chance to be associated with you. I hope we have a chance to work together someday. Or just meet each other and learn from each other’s experiences. It’s sad that the University’s lost yet another chance to be associated with the Mark Zuckerburgs and Einsteins of tomorrow. You are the future, and this world is your oyster. So spread your wings, and go conquer. May you fly high, and may your flight be long.

With best wishes and a certain sense of hollowness,
A DU student

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Humouroscope

Humouroscope: June 30th – July 6th, 2013

By DU Beat June 30, 2013

Aries

Stay away from apples this week. Also avoid rice, cake, onions and meat. Best to just fast, actually.

Taurus

Beware!! Avoid wearing yellow pants; the person sitting beside you will also be wearing the same.

Gemini

Geminis will buy lots of insulin syringes for diabetic aunts, even when neither of their parents have sisters.

Cancer

Next time you travel by the metro, you will be stuck in the same coach as a loud, whiny kid. Oh, and you’ll forget your earphones at home.

Leo

Finally you will be able to say “it’s a dream come true thing”, when your Facebook profile picture will get the highest likes amongst your friends.

Virgo

Hurray!! You are the one who is going to make all decisions for date with your partner. So chill, you can finally take him/ her to Golu Chaat Bhandaar.

Libra

Born salespeople, overflowing with the gift of eloquence, they could sell a fur coat to King Kong in the middle of summer, convincing him of evening frost.

Scorpio

There isn’t much romance this week. Oh please, my crustaceous, yet bodacious, Crab! Read a novel! Romance went out with fuzzy dice and Clackers.

Sagittarius

You are mostly to get a part time job or an internship where you can fill your pockets a bit and obviously celebrate your weekend without any tension for your pocket money.

Capricorn

Any wrong statement about them may stir a storm in a teacup. Try avoiding conversations with these people. They may turn wild anytime, anywhere.

Aquarius

Who knows…maybe you enjoy wearing blame proudly? And also your home will be full of unwanted guests.

Pisces

Your hard drive will crash and you’ll lose all the episodes of that TV show you’ve been meaning to watch. You’ll lose your other ‘videos’ too.

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Sex Amma

By Sex Amma June 29, 2013

“Dear Amma,

I got committed just 7 months back. I’m in a long distance relationship. My GF lives in my hometown and my college is far away from there so we meet only during college holidays.

My GF is quite shy but I still manage to do some ‘sexting’ with her. We haven’t done anything yet other than hugging; I asked her if we could do anything more so she replied that she can’t do anything more than a kiss. I want to something more but on the other hand I’m also quite shy and don’t know how to ask her for a kiss in front of her.

Please give me some advice so that I could try to be more open with her without making her uncomfortable.”

Amma can’t tell you how good it was to read some of your eye popping questions after such a long time. And amidst that, this young macchi, who posed his question in such a nice way, thangkyu da! Yennyway, cracking my knuckles here I am, Amma’s home my chirpy little crickets!

First of all Amma would like to pat your and your Gurlfriend’s back for overcoming the problem of long distance by adding sum oomph to your texting. Now you know why Amma hates keypads that require 2 hand operation? Tracking back, it is yolso great to see how you have openly talked about how far you want to go physically. Now the problem has arisen because the 2 partners are coming from varying sexual needs. While one wants to rock the boat a little more the other one wants to yennjoi the scenery. THE ANSWER is that give her some time. If the openness in your relationship continues then there will come a time when she will show the same amount of interest in physical commitment as you are showing.

In conclusion, it is nice how you want to be careful where you tread, Amma suggests that you add the spice in limited quantity first, bring her up to the boil and save some spice for when she is steamy and bubbly for it.

LASTLY macchis, you know how much Amma likes to be the trending subject everywhere, that has lead her to create a Twitter handle too, so follow @sex_amma!

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Admissions 2013

Commerce under FYUP: Course Analysis

By Aishwarya Chaurasia June 29, 2013

The University of Delhi has always been innovating and experimenting with the courses it offers. This time, however, the change is even more radical and in spite of millions of speculations, protests and uncertainty the University has carried out its four year undergraduate plan, which on the face of it, seems entirely different from all previous attempts.

Almost all the courses are divided into Discipline course, Foundation course and Integrating Mind, Body and Heart course. B.Com (Hons) likewise has eight semesters altogether with first two years dedicated to Diploma, 3 years offers bachelor degree and fourth year bachelor with honours degree.

Difference in topics
The syllabus includes the commerce component business laws, financial accounting and auditing, business mathematics and statistics, human resource management and financial management in Discipline 1. While new papers like corporate governance and social responsibility, industrial law and foreign exchange management have been introduced, papers like indirect tax have been dropped.Discipline 2, which comprises six papers, includes setting up a business, marketing for beginners, financial reporting and analysis, personal tax planning, investing in stock market and insurance and risk management. However, the optional papers like financial market, institutions and financial services, compensation management, corporate tax planning and business data processing found no place in the new structure.

Diluted or Enriched
A section of teachers has alleged dilution of the B.Com (H) course as full-fledged papers on indirect tax (VAT and service tax) and international business have been dropped. However, the mix of different subjects in Foundation and Discipline course seems quite promising in giving a more intensive touch to Commerce as a whole.

Knowledge- Theory or practical
The four year course, definitely, has more practical side than the previous three year system. With subjects like Setting up a Business, Marketing for Beginners, Financial Reporting & Analysis, Personal Tax Planning, Investing in Stock Market, Insurance & Risk Management in discipline 2 the students are expected to have more exposure to actual business and market condition.

(Commerce 2013 cut-offs)

Work Load- swell up?
The first year has 11 foundation subjects which the students have to take. There is no other way out. Naturally the work load has increased. However, the pressure on students will fluctuate with every semester. In addition the Foundation course offers subjects like Science and Life which a commerce student might not be interested in, which in turn increases the work load.

Co- curricular activities
With increased workload and diverse subjects, focus on extracurricular activities will demand greater effort and time. The students might face difficulty in coping up with these. In the second, third and fourth year however, one cultural activity has been made compulsory.

Multiple exit points
Many professors feel that multiple exit points will encourage dropping out and actually lead to greater inequity among students. If a student leaves after two years, it will be of little help to him as far as employment is concerned. With multiple exit points it is unclear how students will be accommodated in other colleges outside Delhi.

Final Verdict
Although the FYUP offers more choices and greater diversity, if we look closely, a student has little choice to make and most of foundation subjects might not prove to be worth it. However, if a student completes all the four year he/ she will have a better employment prospect. The study is in depth if we ignore the subjects which have been dropped.

(For analysis of other courses click here)

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Admissions 2013

Journalism and Mass Communication in DU receives over 59,000 applications

By Gurman Bhatia June 28, 2013

The conventional courses that have long been the choice of most students, might be a thing of the past. According to a report by the Hindustan Times, the applications for the Journalism and Mass Communication course in Delhi University have risen to 59,583 this year, taking a huge leap from last year’s 2,200.

Whether the sudden popularity for the course is due to the lack of an entrance examination or due to the course incorporating mass communication into the curriculum is something only applicants can tell.

It is perhaps the high demand that is leading onto the cut-offs for the course also being so demanding. While the lack of an entrance is being criticized, the fact that it didn’t happen as a lack of time is known to few. As a clarification to all existing beliefs, the syllabus for the FYUP in Journalism and Mass Communication has been a taxing process for the faculty. It was only in the first week of March that the syllabus with all the theory bits intact was finalised. With no time for the preparation of an entrance left, the only option for the University was that of opting for a cut-off. This does not at any point mean that there will not be an entrance for the course in the future

The fact that 59000 aspirants are vying for less than 250 seats is one statistic to be concerned about. Moreover the fact that most students have filled in the course as a second or third preference leads us to believe that the professional degree seems to be a back-up favourite for the aspirants.

The course is offered in six colleges namely Lady Shri Ram College for Women, I.P. College for Women, Kamala Nehru College, Kalindi College, Maharaja Agrasen College and Delhi College of Arts and Commerce. While LSR’s first cut off is at a high 97.5 for Humanities/Science students and 98.5 for Commerce students, Kamala Nehru College is offering the course at 94-96%. Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, which is the first choice for most male candidates is again at a high 97.5 for the first cut-off. Maharaja Agrasen has a cut-off of 95, while Kalindi has a 93 cut-off for the course. I.P. College for Women, the latest addition to the ‘gang’ of Journalism colleges in Delhi University has set the bar at 93-97 for the course.

What is rather astounding is that while the ‘back-up’ course comes with a 97.5 percent requirement, courses such as Political Science and Sociology which are the first preferences of many top candidates are at a lower cut-off between 95-96. The reason for the unrealistic inflated cut-offs happens to be mere paucity of seats. The entrance based past of the course doesn’t help either, as the teachers were also unsure of what to expect.

Other apprehensions revolving around this year’s procedure are around the lack of aptitude for the course in the applicants. One might have scored more than 95% but that does not in any place mean that the person has a sound understanding of the media or of current affairs.

With such high cut-offs, sources tell us that the course has not found many takers after the first cut-off in colleges such as LSR and DCAC.

With 59,000 plus applications, does it mean that the ‘professional’ degree is suddenly hugely popular? Or does it refer to the fact that earlier only the students who were genuinely interested in the course gave the entrance examination and now with that rider away, many candidates have simply kept it as a ‘choice’?

Image credits: Guillaume Brialon

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Admissions 2013

LSR cut-off out, English at 97%

By Gurman Bhatia June 26, 2013

Lady Shri Ram College for Women, one of the leading college of arts in the country has declared the first cut-off for this academic year.

As expected, the cut-offs are extremely high and almost all courses have increased the bar in a significant manner. Courses such as English and Journalism (Now Journalism and Mass Communication) that had admissions previously through entrance examinations namely CATE and CJET respectively, see cut-offs that might be somewhat unexpected. While LSR’s English cut-off is the highest for the subject as of now (except for Miranda’s cut-off for Commerce students), for Journalism LSR’s is one of the first announcements to come.

Commerce goes even higher than SRCC at a 97.75 for the course. The cut-off for economics at LSR is at par with SRCC with 97.75. Hence, it is expected that a second list should come out atleast for these two courses. The same pattern followed last year, with college declaring a high first cut-off that didn’t find many takers. Perhaps, we might see a more realistic second cut-off.

Other subjects such as History and Political Science have also risen considerably from 90.25 and 93.5 respectively last year, to 95.75 this year for both the courses. Psychology, which happens to be a B.Tech course this year sees a somewhat similar cut-off to last year’s 96.

Here is the college cut-off for various courses:

English: 97%
Commerce: 97.75-98.75
Psychology: 96.75
Economics: 97.75
History: 95.75
Political Science: 95.75
Sanskrit: 55
Sociology: 96.5
Statistics: 96
Journalism and Mass Communication: 97.5 – 98.5

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Admissions 2013

Admissions 2013: Checklist for applicants

By Sakshi Arora June 26, 2013

Amidst all the chaos of cut-offs, we have a list of few things you should keep in mind while going for admission into a college.

Please carry the following things with you:

1)    4-5 recent passport size photographs (coloured or black and white doesn’t matter). But it will be better if they are recent since your college ID cards shall be prepared using them only.
2)    Passing Certificate from the institution last attended.
3)    Mark sheet of class
4)    Mark sheet of class 12.
5)    Secondary School Certificate (Class 10) issued by the Board/University for date of birth.
6)    Character certificate from the institution last attended.
7)    Provisional certificate from the institute last attended.
8)    Migration certificate form your school.
9)    Certificates in support of reserved categories or medical certificates for handicapped students.
10) Certificate/Proof for PWD Category candidates.
11) Candidates seeking admission should bring following Certificates in Original along with the two sets of self attested photocopy.
12) Also carry the admission fee as it is required to complete the admission process.
13)   If you are seeking admission in a girls college than please have some female as your companion as males might not be allowed in some colleges.
14)   If you want to take up hostel don’t forget to take and fill hostel forms and enquire about the interviews (if any) or any other necessary requirements.
15)   Do look up at the website of the college before going to that college.
16)   There might some extra requirements for sports quota and ECA which can be required from administration department of respective colleges.
17)   Receipt of Preliminary Application Form.
18)   Affidavits by the Parent and Candidate for Anti Ragging and Sexual Harassment as per Ordinance XV (C) and XV (D).
19)   In case you face any problem or there is any confusion while filling the form there shall be teachers to help you out, and a team will also be sent by University people to assist students in admission, you can also seek help from them.

ADMISSION PROCESS

Once you reach the college make sure to get college admission form as well as University Enrollment form.

Fill the form carefully (No overwriting/cutting/fluid is allowed on the Admission Forms. If such things happen, candidate has to fill the form afresh) and check the notice boards of the college, it might mention where you should proceed as per your course for escalation to the next step of admission. Get your registration done and form verified from there. Than there shall be verification of the documents mentioned above, after which you will need to move to the cashier from where you will get your enrolment number and the final step of the admission process is fee submission. Submit the fee, collect fee receipt and you are now a student of your college.

Make sure you reach your college as early as possible best time would be by 9:00; this is because admission process is too long in some colleges so if you go late you might not be able to get your admission done in one day.

All the best candidates!

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Shri Ram College of Commerce

SRCC declares first cut-off, FYUP in Commerce goes up till 99%

By Gurman Bhatia June 26, 2013

Shri Ram College of Commerce, popularly known as SRCC has declared its first cut-off. The college will offer two courses- FYUP in Economics and FYUP in Commerce.

FYUP in Economics

General: 97.5%
OBC: 95.75%
SC: 95.25%
ST: 94.25%
PWD (VH) : 95.25%
PWD (HH): 97%
PWD (OH): 97%

The cut-off has been declared the same for all streams. Hence, humanities, commerce and science students will compete with the same cut-off. As a rider, students in the general category need to have a minimum of 70% marks in mathematics. With such high cut-offs, a 70+ in Maths should certainly be a given.

FYUP in Commerce

The most prized course in Delhi University does not come at 100% this time. The cut-off starting at 97% for Commerce students and going up till 99% for students without a Commerce background, comes somewhat expected from SRCC’s track record of high cut-offs. When compared to Kirori Mal College’s 99.75%, SRCC’s 99% is certainly justified better.

Eligibility Categories
A: 12th with all four papers of Accounts, Business Studies, Economics, Maths
B: 12th with any three papers from Accounts, Business Studies, Economics, Maths
C: 12th with any two papers from Accounts, Business Studies, Economics, Maths
D: 12th with any one paper from Accounts, Business Studies, Economics, Maths
E: Others

All the best candidates!

For cut-offs of other colleges, please refer here.

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Admissions 2013

Ramjas declares first cut-off ahead of other colleges

By DU Beat June 26, 2013

Ahead of all other colleges, the first cut-off for Ramjas College is already out. The cut-off lays resemblance to the previous trend of sky-high cut-offs. Seeing the insanely high cut-offs for B.Com, English and Economics, it can be expected that a second cut-off should come out.

Along with the cut-offs, the college has also released the room numbers where candidates seeking admission will be supposed to go tomorrow. Along with that, the college has also listed the admission-in-charge for particular departments.

Here are the cut-offs for each of the courses:

Image credit: ramjas-college.learnhub.com

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Miranda House

King’s and I: Studying International Relations

By Akriti Gupta June 26, 2013

With the onset of the summer vacations, probable activities that are worthwhile start lurking in one’s head. It was then that I came across a flier which read “King’s comes to you! King’s College London and Miranda House welcome you! Apply now!” And it certainly was one of those moments when I realized the perks of studying in a prestigious college like Miranda House and in the University of Delhi.

The King’s College London Summer School at Delhi was organized in collaboration with Miranda House, University of Delhi and Think Education, an educational organization which works to create opportunities for promising students worldwide. It was a high quality and intensive academic programme open to students from around the country. The session 1 was held from 4^th June-14^th June 2013, and the session 2 from 17^th June – 28^th June 2013. It was in the first session that I studied the spectacularly interesting subject of International Relations. The concept of a ‘summer school’ being a new one to the students of the University of Delhi was met with looks of apprehension; yet the KCL session saw around 80 students from various universities in attendance. Our tutor for this course was Dr. Diana Bozhilova, a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Hellenic Studies at KCL, and also a dynamic lady with amazing knowledge in a subject which takes one years to study.

Being an absolute newcomer to the varying subjects of Political Science, Economics, Philosophy, Law and Sociology; most of us had trouble adjusting to the hefty curriculum, but the interactive approach and the alternating group activity plus lecture schedule made it all easily understandable and also enjoyable. We all breezed through heavy duty subjects like ‘global governance, international relations theory, the workings of the United Nations, historical origins of the European Union etc’. One afternoon we would make strategies to overcome problems in the European Parliament, whereas on another, build a clean city from scratch. We saw documentaries and videos ranging from sea piracy to that of a gender bias, which was definitely a wonderful break from the monotonous classroom sessions we all usually have to endure. The experience was one both mentally and emotionally enriching, as I made friends from places I never thought I would, with many of them here to stay. The summer school gave us an excuse to eat out, have fun, discuss theories over coffee and laugh over anecdotes recited by many of us.

The summer school not only taught me what the study of International Relations means, but also helped me decide what I would want to pursue later on in life. It helped me experience what it means to study in a foreign classroom, in a completely different setting and with a vast curriculum. It really helped broaden my horizons; while having fun. This summer school is one experience which I would never forget. Given a chance, I would definitely attend it again. I can proudly say that I returned with a greater sense of self after attending The King’s College London Summer School at Delhi.

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