Even in those laid back days when the University of Delhi wasn’t that big a deal, Stephens was always a dreamland. It was the centre of revolutionary beliefs and of idealism; a place where many thinking minds pondered over and hoped to find answers to pressing issues of the day. Over the years, that gleam has somewhat disappeared. That idealism has been replaced by a strange obsession with practicality and those thinking minds have found more accessible and equally stimulating spaces for themselves in many more colleges than ever before. Simply put, that much celebrated difference between Stephens and the rest has rapidly been shrinking. But despite that, it remains amongst the best- rated colleges of not just the university but even the country. A dreamland. Here’s a review.

Popular Courses

Everything is popular here, with limited seats and unlimited aspirations. The courses offered here are fairly diverse, mainly focusing on arts and science subjects. However, given the halo that seems to have stuck permanently on Stephens head, many of them are a bit of a disappointment. Yet, the quality of education imparted in departments like Economics, Philosophy and Physics remains exceptional.

Admission Procedure

General Category

Like it is across the university, admission into St Stephens is contingent upon the 12th grade board exam’s result. However, the process here is slightly more complicated for it takes into consideration the student’s 10th grade scores as well. After that, selection is based on an interview round where a panel quizzes the applicants on their chosen subjects and beyond.

Out of Station Students

The college has six hostel blocks, four for men and two for women; and houses roughly 300 students. Outstation candidates are preferred over students from Delhi/NCR, and the latter are generally not given rooms until later in the year, only if they are vacant. The girls’ hostel has a curfew of 10 pm, which is not bad compared to other north campus colleges.

Add-On Courses

St. Stephens offers a number of language courses, such as French, German, Chinese, Persian, Sanskrit, and Russian. Students from outside are allowed to enroll themselves in these, and a majority of the classes comprise of non-Stephanians.