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Admissions 2017

DU releases list of students selected for final round of ECA trials

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The University of Delhi has released the list of students who have been selected under various extracurricular activities. The lists of students shortlisted for the final rounds are available on the University of Delhi website.

Some ECA categories are yet to announce the results. Meanwhile, candidates applying under the ECA quota for the following categories can check their status on the online portal:

  • Animation
  • Creative writing (English and Hindi)
  • Debate (English and Hindi)
  • Divinity music
  • Film making
  • Indian instrumental
  • Indian vocal
  • Photography
  • Sketching and painting
  • Sculpture
  • Quiz
  • Western instrumental
  • Western vocal

There is also a set of guidelines that has been released which the selected candidates for debate must refer to. It outlines regulations such as the amount of preparation time allowed and the types of certificates considered valid.

The results for dance, theatre, NCC, and NSS will be announced soon.

While a schedule of the dates and locations for the final round has already been uploaded, the specific time slots for the students will be released tomorrow. All the details for ECA quota candidates can be found here.

DU Beat wishes you all the best as you prepare for the finals!

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Vineeta Rana
[email protected]

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Fandom

Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived: Twenty Years Later

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On 26 June 1997, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first published. Twenty years later, we celebrate two decades of the joy that the Harry Potter franchise has given to millions of people around the world. I will not talk about the plot of the franchise. Nor will I talk about how the books are superior to the movies (which they totally are, by the way). Instead, I’ll write about how Harry Potter was – and always will be – my most profound teacher and, in a way, my best friend.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone starts off with “The Boy Who Lived”, the first chapter of the fantasy series. From here, JK Rowling takes us on an adventure with Harry, one of the most relatable characters of our generation. Sure, not all of us live in constant fear of an evil wizard who’s out to kill us. But we do face many of the same troubles and tribulations that Harry does over the years – the emotionally taxing ones like being lonely at school and facing situations you aren’t ready for, as well as the mundane ones of too much homework and exam stress (the few times when Harry actually gives his exams). At some point, we’ve all identified with Ron’s feelings of inadequacy and envy. We’ve encountered racism and casteism and empathised with the Muggle-borns of the wizarding world, and we’ve seen that even Hogwarts isn’t immune to the plague of rote memorisation.
It’s no wonder, then, that I’ve learnt how to navigate life through the Harry Potter series. Hermione Granger was my first role model when I started reading the books at age 7. She followed rules and prioritised knowledge above all else, but she also taught me to value “friendship and bravery” over merely “books and cleverness”. For the first few years, Rowling taught me through direct dialogue, often that of Albus Dumbledore – how it does not do to dwell on dreams, how our choices reflect our true selves much more than our abilities, and to ask for help when needed (I’m still struggling with the last one, but I’m indebted to Rowling nonetheless). As I grew older, I started looking up to Minerva McGonagall for her no-nonsense attitude and affinity for fairness. The lessons I learnt now were more through my inferences from the literature and my own judgment of characters. Sometimes, these were even contradictory to what the plot implied. The most apparent example is that I concluded that Severus Snape’s love for Lily Potter could not excuse his abuse of children (and I will fight anyone who claims otherwise). Perhaps the biggest lesson we’ve all learnt, though, is that no matter who you are, there’s always a place where you belong.
In addition to the countless pieces of advice Harry Potter has offered me, it has also been a source of comfort and friendship. It’s my go-to feel-good series and I’ve ran to it umpteen times when I’m feeling low. I cannot speak for older people, but I know for a fact that our generation has been through it all with the golden trio. We grew up together and stuck with them through thick and thin. We experienced butterflies in our stomachs in Goblet of Fire when romance first became a part of the books, and suffered through whole pages of Harry shouting in Order of the Phoenix. We even made peace with the fact that the movies completely ignored the existence of Peeves. And for this Hufflepuff-worthy loyalty, we were rewarded with a fandom that keeps on giving – a textbook initially written for Comic Relief that was itself turned into a movie series, an online wizarding world where we can get our own wand and brew Polyjuice Potion, even a glimpse into the future where Harry and Draco’s sons are best friends.
Twenty years later, the fantasy world continues to heal people of all ages around the world. And six years after the release of the last Harry Potter movie, Rowling has stayed true to her word – whether we come back by page or by screen, Hogwarts has always been there to welcome us home.
Here’s wishing you a happy 20th anniversary of the Chosen One. To conclude, I’d like to say a few words, and here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

 

Feature Image credits: The Independent

Vineeta Rana

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Admissions 2017

With one week to go for the LLB entrance exam, DU announces changes in the exam pattern

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In a surprise to the students preparing for the LLB entrance, the University has changed the syllabus and the pattern of the entrance examination for the LLB Course. According to this change, the number of questions for the offline exams has been reduced to 100 from 175. With the test scheduled to be held on 2nd July, the news comes as a shocker to the students who had been preparing according to the previous pattern.

According to the notification which came up on Saturday from the office of Dean Law Faculty, the new pattern will consist of  100 multiple choice questions on English language comprehension, general knowledge and current affairs, reasoning and analytical abilities and legal awareness in the aptitude test. This is in contrast to the previous pattern wherein a major portion used to be on Polity and Constitution which comprised of 50 questions in a paper of 175 questions. This section has been majorly scrapped in the new pattern.

As per a report in The Indian Express, a senior law faculty official mooted centralised University examination as the cause of the change. “As it is the university (which is) conducting the entrance along with other entrance based programmes so uniform question pattern was followed. We really cannot do anything about it”, he said.

While these changes are bound to create further anxiety in the student community, with less than 7 days to go for the exam, a current student of the Law Faculty does not see this the same way. In a dialogue with our correspondent, he opines “The university should have come up with these notifications earlier. However, this should not be a cause to panic as most of the aspirants do cover these newly introduced topics in the course of their preparations.”

This news comes in the light of the fact that the University has brought down the number of seats to 1,440 against 2,310 last year after concerns raised by the Bar Council Of India.

 

With inputs from The Indian Express.

Image Credits- DU Beat

 

Nikhil Kumar

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Admissions 2017

Day 1 Report Card: Overloaded website, high cut-offs, and confusion pall over the turnout

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As more than 2 lakh candidates across the country collectively waited for the release of the University of Delhi’s cut-off lists on June 23rd night, hopes ran high and anticipation reached its peak. June 24th officially marks the first day of the admissions process for the academic session 2017-18 and was met with a series of hurdles which led to lower turnouts as compared to previous years.

Technical glitches

Amongst the documents required for securing admission in the colleges, candidates were supposed to present a college-specific form/acknowledgement slip which had the name of the college and course on top, along with other documents. This form could only be generated through the undergraduate admissions portal, which was unfortunately not updated on time. As the list released, those who cleared the soaring cut-offs were eager to fulfil all the formalities and appear for the process on the first day. However, the site failed to reflect the option to generate this form on time. The process was scheduled to begin from 9:30 am and continue till 1:30. Many candidates were unable to access it even till 12 pm, making it impossible for them to secure admission in the college of their choice. “The admission portal of the varsity was not accessible. Thus, students could not take the print out, resulting in less number of students turning up for admission. However, it was still a normal crowd, considering the high cut-offs and the holiday on Sunday and Monday,” said a professor from Ramjas College, in conversation with Press Trust of India. The operational hindrance paved the way to anxious students and a dampened spirit.

The sky-high cut-offs

The University manages to bemuse the academic world every year with its soaring cut-offs, and while this year witnessed a marginal dip in the trends of popular colleges, the bar was set high. The highest cut-off has been released by Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College at 99.66% for B.Sc. (Hons.) Electronics, 99% for B.A. (Hons.) Political Science, 98.75% for B.A. (Hons.) English, and 98% for B.Com (Hons.). Shivaji College has set the bar for B.A. (Hons.) Economics with a requirement of 98%. This year also witnessed various off-campus colleges announcing an equal or higher cut-off than North and South campus colleges. The high percentage requirements limited the admissions uptake. This was also coupled by the muddle surrounding the best of four calculations, with many students uncertain about the method.

Documentation requirements

One of the documents required to be presented at the time of admissions is the Class XII marks-sheet as provided by the school authorities. Due to the delay in the announcement of results this year, there was a disparity in the timeline. Many students from Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Tamil Nadu Board were unable to show their original marks-sheet as they had not received the document from their respective schools yet and were denied admission to some colleges. Some colleges have resolved the issue by allowing them to enrol in the college by signing an undertaking that the originals will be submitted within a stipulated period of time. Students who were unaware about presenting the anti-ragging form or the medical certificate (as required by some colleges) also faced issues.

This is the first cut-off list which has been released by the varsity. Eligible candidates can appear for admissions till June 28th. You can refer to more details about the procedure here.

The next list will be announced on the midnight of June 30th, with the process commencing from July 1st.

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Alex Arthur for DU Beat 

 

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]

 

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Campus Central

Delhi University to start a new course on ‘Yoga and Meditation’

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Delhi University is all set to start a new certificate course on ‘Yoga and Meditation’ from this year onwards. The course which would begin as a part time course would be a three-month long course. Alternatively, the course can also be done for hundred hours.

The course which all set to begin from the 1st of July has invited applications by floating the application form online. The form for the course can be found here.  The form for the course needs to be submitted at Gandhi Bhawan on or before 29th June, 2017.

The course will be taught for four days every week namely Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The time for the classes would be from 3PM to 5pm on each of these days. For any further regarding the course, aspirants can contact Gandhi Bhavan office which is located at 32, Chhatra Marg, University of Delhi, Delhi-7. They can also mail their queries regarding the course to [email protected].

Gandhi Bhawan is working as an institute under the University of Delhi, dedicated to the study of the words of Mohandas K. Gandhi. The centre has organised several initiatives to propagate the ideas of Gandhian values and practises.

 

Image Credits: DU Beat

Radhika Boruah

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Admissions 2017

Journalism School, Transnational Studies, and Cyber Security receive the green light for DU

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The Academic Council (AC) of the University of Delhi, in its third meeting which began yesterday and culminated today morning, has discussed and deliberated on the proposals which were in the pipeline. It has announced decisions which shed light on three prospective courses which should be introduced in the varsity soon: Journalism, Transnational Studies, and, Cyber Security. These courses have received the approval of the Council in principle; with the nitty-gritties of these proposals being left to be chalked out in clarity later.

Delhi School of Journalism

The Council has decided to drop the self-financing clause which had been previously planned, and agreed to send the proposal to the UGC for approval of government funding. Earlier, the Vice Chancellor also suggested that the course would function on a no-profit no-loss basis. Meanwhile, the Council will also consider other avenues for funding; like resorting to philanthropic organisations for scholarships. In addition to the monetary factor, a three-member committee will also be set up to delve into the practical aspects of the course structure, along with the other intricacies of the proposal. The Council has decided to employ teachers on deputation from other colleges to serve as the faculty of the institute, along with those working in eminent media houses to serve as consultants. AC member Pankaj Garg said that such courses are “necessary and important as they enhance the reputation of a university.” The VC proposed Rs. 30,000 per semester for the five-year integrated course, a decision which was met with resistance. The AC members have decided that the committee will deliberate on the fee structure. It will also provide reservation for SC/ST candidates, and offer scholarships to facilitate admissions from the weaker sections of the society.

The establishment of the school has, however, been met with opposition from some members of the Academics for Action and Development (AAD) and University Teachers’ Forum (UTF).
Transnational Studies and Cyber Security

Both these courses have received the nod from the Academic Council. The course for Transnational Studies has been agreed to be developed in layers, with the aim of its establishment as a premier research centre. In the first phase, it will be a virtual platform where scholars and faculty can engage in discussions on a spectrum of research ideas. The University may then approach the UGC to put in money for research and create an exceptional and unique school on established lines. The Cyber Security course is facing debate on securing the UGC funding. A member of the Academic Council says, “You cannot run the specialised courses, like Journalism and Cyber Security, through a self-financing mode.” The Council has decided to approach UGC to obtain funding for the same.

 

The Delhi School of Journalism, which is scheduled to undertake applicants from this academic cycle, will not become operational from July 20th. It would take some time to untangle the web of decisions which are yet to be made. Meanwhile, the varsity will be releasing the first-cut off list for admission into various merit-based courses tonight. You can check the lists here.

 

 

Feature Image Credits: University of Delhi

 

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]

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Features

Love Matters India launches India’s 1st Virtual Reality film to generate awareness on ‘Intimate Partner Violence’

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Keeping in tune with its agenda on creating awareness on key issues among the youth in the country, Love Matters India launched the first 360/VR film on the issue of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Delhi and Mumbai on the 17th June 2017. The film ‘Kya Yahi Pyar Hai’ uses virtual reality to narrate a powerful story and connect with young people through immersive storytelling experience.

The film ‘Kya Yahi Pyar hai’ was conceptualized by Love Matters India to generate awareness against controlling relationships that are seen and understood by the young people as caring ones, reiterated by the popular culture. Intimate Partner is defined as “any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviors.” Social norms are identified as the dominant drivers for IPV in India. However, there is a high level of reluctance from both men and women victims to talk about violence in their relationship.

Bollywood celebrities like Swara Bhaskar, Gul Panag and Konkana Sensharma took to twitter to support the campaign and talk about this issue.

Speaking on the above initiative Vithika Yadav, Head of Love Matters India said”-“We managed the film launch in both Delhi and Mumbai simultaneously and it feels great. The response to the film has been very good. People are interested in knowing about more screenings that we’ll organize across the country. Next we”ll be organizing free screening of the film across Delhi Metro stations using VR booths, from 21st to 30th June (2017) . The panel discussion on popular culture was really engaging and though provoking views shared on how it can inspire, guide, motivate, rule the mind and even sometimes mislead people.”  

Sharing her experience while making the film, Co-Director of the film, Gayatri Parameswaran said, “Directing this 360/VR experience was challenging on many levels. Firstly, we had to leave the scene every time we hit record because we couldn’t be in the film. In 360, everything is captured. So it helped that we trusted the actor, Arjun, quite a lot. And for him it was difficult too – acting with a camera as your opposing character, isn’t easy! But I’m glad about how it has all shaped up.” 

As part of this campaign Love Matters India  partnered with Social Offline in Delhi and Mumbai, a chain of pubs/ restaurants, to install 360 film viewing booth with VR headsets. The Delhi Metro will also have film viewing booths set up across 10 metro stations in Delhi for 10 days. The launch was kickstarted by a Panel discussion on the topic “Control and Care in popular Culture in India” followed by the screening of the film.

About Love Matters:

Love Matters is a global multimedia project engaging young people to talk about love, sex and relationships, with a presence in 5 countries around the world: India, Kenya, China, Latin America (Mexico and Venezuela) and Egypt. Love Matters believes love, sex and relationships should be a right, a choice, and a pleasure. The first step towards making this possible and having an impact on young people’s lives is offering access to information. LM India is the first bilingual sexual reproductive health (SRH) site to offer comprehensive youth-friendly information in English and Hindi. Since the launch of the bilingual site on January 14, 2014, it has had over 20 million yearly visitors, and has the current website monthly reach of 2 million visitors. Their Facebook community has a following of more than one million making it the most popular sexual health Facebook page in India.

 

By Love Matters India Team

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Admissions 2017

DU announces First Cut-off list; highest 99.66% for Electronics, minor dip in cut-off

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As the clock ticked off the last second of June 23rd, more than 2 lakh undergraduate aspirants in this country collectively typed in the magic letters to open the first phase of the offline admissions process. After policy alterations, timeline postponement, and logistical glitches, the University of Delhi has finally released the first cut-off list for its undergraduate merit-based programmes.

The cut-offs for Arts and Commerce courses can be checked here.

The cut-offs for Science courses can be checked here.

Contrary to the cut-off trends which have been haunting students and teachers alike for the past few years, the scores have seen a marginal dip this academic season. The highest cut-off has been released by Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College at 99.66% for B.Sc. (Hons.) Electronics, 99% for B.A. (Hons.) Political Science, 98.75% for B.A. (Hons.) English, and 98% for B.Com (Hons.). Shivaji College has set the bar for B.A. (Hons.) Economics with a requirement of 98%.

Various colleges began releasing their individual lists in the late hours of the evening today; including Hansraj College, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Kirori Mal College, amongst other popular choices. The cut-off for SRCC, a premier institute which is targeted by the majority of candidates, saw a slight drop in the percentage requirement, set at 97.75% for B.A. (Hons.) Economics and B.Com (Hons.).

St. Stephen’s College and Jesus and Mary College, while following the same schedule as that of the University’s, have a slightly different process. The lists will be available on their respective websites and can be accessed there.

Documents to be carried tomorrow

The applicants shall be required to produce the following documents in original with two sets of self-attested photocopies at the time of admission:

  • University admissions form
  • College-specific form
  • Anti-ragging form (signed by the candidate and parent)
  • Class X Board Examination Certificate
  • Class X Mark-Sheet
  • Class XII Mark-Sheet
  • Class XII Provisional Certificate / Original Certificate
  • Recent Character Certificate
  • SC/ST/PwD/CW/KM Certificate (in the name of the Applicant) issued by the competent authority
  • OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) Certificate (in the name of the Applicant) as in central list
  • Transfer Certificate from school/college as well as Migration Certificate from Board / University are required from those students who have passed senior secondary exam from outside Delhi
  • At least two passport size self-attested photographs.

For students who are eligible for admission through the first cut-off list, here is a run-down of the important points to keep in mind:

  1. The dates for admission will be 24th, 27th, and 28th June, since Sunday and Monday are holidays. The timings are 9:30 am to 1:30 pm for morning colleges and 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm for evening colleges.
  2. Ensure that you have confirmed the requisites for the Best of Four calculation before you proceed.
  3. You are required to log in to your undergraduate admissions portal. The screen should show an option to select the course and college you are eligible for. By clicking this, an automatic form should be generated. Take two copies of this college-specific form/acknowledgment slip, it is the primary document of use tomorrow.
  4. The primary purpose of tomorrow is to get your documents verified. There will be long, multiple lines. Be prepared for two/three rounds of authentication and running around from one place to another.
  5. Once verified, you will be required to make the fee payment till the forenoon of the next day. Once you return from the document verification process, your admission portal should reflect an approved status from the college authorities, and should then show the option of payment of fees. The transaction can be made through college-specific gateways. Remember to take a printout of the fee receipt for future purpose!
  6. The admission days are going to be a long and exhausting. Remember to carry the following essentials with you: water bottle, refreshments, stationery (pen, stapler, glue stick), umbrella, and anything else you feel might be necessary. Reach on time to the college; the crowd will be overwhelming.
  7. Don’t fret. We understand that your mind might be troubled with questions about what to do once you reach the venue and any other admissions requirement. You can find volunteers and help desks at the college who are there to solve your queries. Also, look out for us; we’ll be there to cheer you on with pieces of important information!

For more details on the aftermath of the announcement of the lists, you can read our full report here.

 

Feature Image Credits: University of Delhi

 

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]

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Admissions 2017

SRCC declares first cut off at 97.75%, sees a minor dip as compared to last year

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India’s premium Commerce College, Shri Ram College of Commerce has released its first cut-off list for admissions in the academic year 2017-2018. Surprisingly, the cut-off percentage has undergone a dip as compared to last year. Following is the cut-off:

B.A. (H) Economics
General: 97.75%.
OBC: 95.75%
Scheduled castes: 95.00%
Scheduled Tribes: 92.25%
Kashmiri Migrants: 94.75%
PWD: 95.50

B. Com. (H)

General: 97.75%
OBC:95.25%
Scheduled Castes: 92%
Scheduled Tribes: 88%
Kashmiri Migrants: 89.25%
PWD: 87.75%

The admission process will commence tomorrow at the SRCC campus. The schedule for reporting for admission is as follows:

June 24, 2017 – General (98.5% and above) and OBC (96% and above)

June 27-28 – All other candidates

(During 9:00 am to 1:00 pm)

Candidates belonging to other categories are advised to contact personally for completing the admission formalities on any day (during the admission schedule for first cut-off  list) between 9:00 am to 1:00 pm with the prescribed documents.
You can find an original copy of the cut off here. 

 

 

Swareena Gurung

[email protected]

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Admissions 2017

Mission Admission 2017: Tracking the journey

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And hence, the journey begins. A journey which was preceded by chaos, confusion, and excitement, and will be succeeded by a similar emotional trail. The journey to a new phase, a new set of experiences, and a new you.

entry-4

Phase 1: What to do after the first cut-off list 

  • 24th June: Check the first cut-off list on du.ac.in. The registration period commences from 24th June and ends on 28th June.
  • 1st July, 7th July, 13th July, 18th July: Check subsequent cut-off lists, and select the college and course of your choice based on your Best of Four percentage.
  • If you wish to cancel your admission in one college and get admitted into another based on the new cut-off lists, you will be required to withdraw the admission from the previously chosen college. After collecting the original documents, you will be required to repeat the admission process in the subsequent college of choice.

Phase 2: Admissions Procedure

  • Print college-specific admission form. Post the release of the cut-off lists at midnight on the scheduled date, you will be able to select the course and college you wish to admit into, and will be presented with a college-specific form. The form requires the signature of the candidate and a parent, which needs to be taken along with the other documents on the day of admission.
  • Visit college for verification of documents and Principal’s approval. You are advised to reach on time on the admission days along with the required documents and sufficient refreshments due to the overwhelming response and the delays caused. Once the original documents have been submitted and you have received a receipt of admission, your offline tasks have been successfully accomplished.
  • Visit the DU website and pay through college-specific gateway. Log in to the admissions portal, and the screen will reflect the confirmation from the college authorities. You will be required to pay the fees till noon of the next day. Once the payment has been made, ensure that you take a printout of the fee receipt.

Phase 3: After successful enrolment

  • Look for accommodation. With the college identification task exuberantly struck off your list, it is time to map the externalities of the third phase. For outstation candidates and those commuting from afar, the housing situation takes prime importance as the next agenda in this mission. Various colleges offer hostel residency; applications for the same can be viewed and filled on their websites. You can also identify paying guest accommodation (PGs) in the neighbouring areas of your college. Consult with your seniors, people living in the area of your choice, and other sources to help you choose the right accommodation setting. Begin this process well in advance to avoid last minute fiascos! (Refer to Page 2 of this issue for an accommodation guide!)
  • Pause and explore. If your timeline is perfectly on schedule, you can conveniently move towards easing yourself into this new phase. Between the board examinations, result woes, and the admission chaos, take out the team to breathe and assimilate the eventful changes around you.
  • Keep an eye out for the orientation dates. Various colleges organise an orientation ceremony a day before the commencement of the academic session, while some do it on the very first day of college. Visit the college website to find out the date for your session.
  • 20th July: Get, set, go! Forget everything you think you know about how this phase is going to pan out. The night before usually involves experiencing a motley of emotions, and for good reason. As you walk past the gates of the place you shall hopefully allude to as your home for the next three years, breathe all the ‘firsts’ in – you’re going to want to remember it.

All the best!

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Saumya Kalia
[email protected]

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