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Admissions 2016

DU Freshers- What to expect from college?

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First of all, you made it. Congratulations. That’s bright enough! Second of all, Delhi University is going to be everything you imagined. Okay not everything, but it’s going to be nothing less than three maddening, crazy and heartening years for you! But before you stop reading and start texting with anticipation and excitement, let us (your humble seniors) clear some of your misconceptions.

What to look out for:

  1. Jam Packed Social Calendar: Of the many things students will need to sacrifice this year, their social life is not one of them. With the new found freedom, the newbies can now go have a ball with their new found friends!
  2. Better societies and awesomer fests: As ECA and sports activities are as important marks, fests and societies will get a boost and improve drastically. With the fucchas working even harder to prove their mettle, it’s safe to expect each college putting up a grand show!
  3. College protests: As the hand of the ABVP and NSUI still looms large over DU, most freshers will be witness to their spectacularly conducted and overly dramatized protests. With political connections, there students will definitely try to bring the house down.

Busting Some Myths:

  1. Ragging: Contrary to the common belief of – ‘Tu kyu kar rha hai? Fucche se karwa lenge!’ DU isn’t exactly a frame out of 3 idiots and you will definitely not have to perform crazy stunts or walk around pretending to be James Bond just because a senior told you to do so. With strict anti-ragging laws, your worst nightmare should be cranky teachers and definitely not your seniors!
  2. The Ladies/ The Studs: For all those who stayed single to find their soul mates in DU, you’ll be waiting some more time. Contrary to popular beliefs, the girl’s colleges are not a pond of budding super models. And not all boys look like they were ripped off magazine covers. They too are humans, give them some credit for looking perfectly human and not like porcelain dolls.
  3. Equality Among Colleges: Okay so you’ve probably been expecting this all the way, but suddenly your best friend from the other college will become ‘them’ and your newly found united college buddies will be ‘us’.
  4. Completely Fudged up Timelines: If you had been cursing your friends, family, associates etc. for not being punctual all this time, you are about to experience a whole new level of procrastination. The University declares results exactly a month after its due date, if you’re lucky. Be glad that’s the only thing the university does. And if you have any other issues to sought with the administrative department, then god save you!

By Raghav Chopra ([email protected]) and Akriti Gupta ([email protected])

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The many firsts of college life

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College is the beginning of a new phase of life. You leave the often claustrophobic (read protective) environment of school and home and move into the ‘real world.’ As you get busy with admissions, moving out of home, moving into a hostel and then with the general life in this entirely new setting, here are a few a few milestones you pass as you meander through the three years.

1. First elections

Quite a lot of universities have a well formed political base with strong student unions. Delhi University has an extremely active political environment and a student union which remains in news throughout. As a fresher, you are literally thrown into the vortex of student politics when college begins as different political parties persuade you to cast your vote for them in the elections and campaign around day in and day out. And for most of the students, these are the first elections they witness, albeit on a smaller scale. Enjoy the elections; make an informed choice and most of all relish your first experience of taking part in your very first elections.

Image Credits: Youth ki Awaz
Image Credits: Youth ki Awaz

2. College Fests

The Delhi University fest season is crazy. The season which begins in February has each college organize a festival which involves a series of extra- curricular activity competitions, lip smacking food and a hectic line up of events. The fests also see a myriad of artists performing on star nights to close the fests. This year, Delhi University saw artists like Salim Sulaiman, Farhan Akhtar and many more perform. The fest season is like one never ending party and something that every fresher waits for with bated breath.

Image Credits: Chirag Sharma for DU Beat
Image Credits: Chirag Sharma for DU Beat

3. Freedom

College gives you a taste of unrequited freedom, a way to get away from the shackles of the protective environment of home and school. For many students this freedom is very new, something not a lot of them get to experience very often. Bunking classes is easier in college and helps students to explore the city and what it has to offer. It is often in college that many students realize their love and passion for travelling and exploring the unknown. I for one can vouch for that!

Image credits: modifylifestyle.com
Image credits: modifylifestyle.com

4. The home away from home

Relevant mostly for outstation candidates, the home away from home- the PG or hostel experience is something the majority experiences for the first time. The mess food is a struggle of its own kind and the deadlines are often infuriating. But the PG/ Hostel life has so much to teach! For one, you become a pro at handling your expenses (keeping in mind the amount of times you have to order in.) Accommodating and adjusting are not words but virtues that you add to your skill set.

Image credits: Gettyimages/ Hindustan Times
Image credits: Gettyimages/ Hindustan Times

Featured image credits: bestofpictures.com 

Akshara Srivastava

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

Course vs. College: What should you prefer?

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Amidst the enormous cut-offs and high degree of competition, the common dilemma that arises in the minds of most aspirants is choosing between the course and college of their choice.

While the brand value of a popular college may lure any student to settle for a less preferred course, the long term results may not prove to be desirable. According to experts, the stress factor, indecisiveness, fear of judgement or family pressure may push a student towards a door that he/she shouldn’t really open. It’s important to know that the curriculum is the same in each college, irrespective of their ranks. Even if the percentage secured isn’t enough to get enrolment in the desired college, there are still high chances of maintaining a good academic record in another one. The reason lies in the obvious fact that we tend to perform better in our areas of interest. College alone can’t help in establishing a successful career. While there is always another chance to go for a preferred college after this degree, the short term decision of choosing a less preferred course may lead to cluelessness and failures after the graduation period.

However, it is also important to note that in case of professional courses like engineering and law, good colleges open doors to better amenities and placement opportunities. Facilities like a well equipped library, labs, quality ambience and Internet access may provide a healthy competitive environment and help in personality development. For those who’re more into co-curricular activities, more opportunities in the form of societies and activities may be provided by some specific colleges. Also, for those who’re unsure about their course preference, taking a better college may prove to be more advantageous.

At the end of the day, it’s up to the student to decide what’s best for him, considering his strengths, weaknesses, interests, passions, dreams and aspirations.

Lovleen Kaur

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

The Importance of Undergraduate Research

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With a bundle of high hopes, millions of students enter their college classrooms every year. Some think of changing the world while others swear to change themselves and acquire the skills which boundaries of school life did not allow. Be it History or Psychology, English or Metallurgy, students show a high interest in their subjects for the first few days of college but this fire dies out the second they are faced with long reading lists and a cumbersome syllabus to cram. Our University does not provide the option of an in depth academic exposure to a subject in the undergrad level. Thus, undergraduate research still remains that big elephant whom the system has failed to tame.

Undergraduate Research provides an exposure for students to explore the academic boundaries of the subject of their choice. They are told to choose a project under a supervisor (researcher) and under his/her guidance, learn to do a research. It includes their introduction to research methodology and various research tools that are used by researchers around the world. This academic exposure not only gives them an edge over the traditional Bachelor’s degree but also a preference over others while applying for a graduate school abroad.

The projects that are chosen by or provided to the candidates are mentored and supervised by a professor with a good background in the chosen subject of research. This in turn, builds a better rapport between students and professors and often helps the students to get good recommendations from their supervisors. Having worked with the student closely, the professor also gets to know him/her better which later becomes useful in filling out the recommendation letters of those applying for admissions abroad.

The research work that a student does can be presented at various conferences, paper presentations and even poster presentations in colleges of their parent university or other universities. This helps them form meaningful connections with other research scholars, working in the same field at an early stage.

Even though a majority of the students lack an in depth knowledge of their subject at this level, it is their curiosity to learn which becomes valuable to the research. Sometimes, their exploratory minds come up with incredibly breakthrough ideas or observations which tend to become a matter of further study.

In fact, nowadays, even employers across several hiring platforms look for candidates who can brilliantly take a lead in various projects for their companies. A successful undergraduate research spanning for a couple of months in summer or an experience of an yearlong research would be like an icing on the cake for all the students in search of employment opportunities after college.

Therefore, students in India can explore the opportunity of Undergraduate Research at various Universities like IITs, IIMs and other Universities. Delhi University offers the option of Undergraduate research in form of various Innovation projects to its students.

Image Credits: www.shutterstock.com

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

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How choosing a course different than your stream in school is completely acceptable

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If you’re a student who has studied in India or is currently studying here then, you are one of the many thousands who are asked to decide their career path when they’re only in 10th standard. The choices given are the usual Science, Commerce, and Humanities with little or no scope for the student to choose together a group of subjects which might belong to different streams. For example, if I am a student studying History, I cannot opt for Business Studies. Under these circumstances, choosing a course may prove to be a challenging task.

As a result of this, and many more shortcomings of our regressive education system, the student ends up choosing a stream after being influenced by family/friends, lack of research and no knowledge of the repercussions of such a misinformed decision. Then, the real battle begins. The student who thought Maths was all about surface, area and volume is soon introduced to Integration and the one who thought Chemistry is all about balancing equations is made to study topics like Organic Chemistry and P Block.

After these two difficult years of school, one thing is certain, that even if you might get confused about what you really want to do in the future, you get to know what you don’t want to do. Suppose, if you struggled through the years and didn’t like the subjects, it is only obvious that you don’t want to continue studying them throughout your college life as well. Now, this is the crucial point. Because of the pressure we feel, and our constant thinking of what others will say, we don’t want to raise our voice to show how dissatisfied we are. We are completely okay with repeatedly failing at something we’re not good at, rather than taking a difficult but necessary decision to recognize that this is not our calling.

Here is where I come in the picture. Through this article I am going to tell you how many of the people I know (Including myself!), are pursuing careers completely different than the streams they chose in their 12th standard and trust me, we’re happy.

I had a 10 CGPA and ended up choosing a Non-Medical stream with Computer Science. I never took any coaching for IIT and soon realized that I don’t see myself being part of the race to become an engineer. I focused on CBSE and thought DU is my calling. Today, I’m pursuing English (H) and I like every bit of my course. After having studied formulae and equations for so many years, this course was refreshing. The University provided me with a space to build my personality and even after my graduation, I can take up any field ranging from Law to MBA. So, my decision gave me freedom as well as time to explore myself.

I have friends from a science background who are now doing Law from National Law Universities. I know people pursuing Psychology in spite of having come from a Commerce background. So, basically, it all boils down to ‘What do you want to do with your life?’

Take college as a fresh start or a clean slate. Forget the pressure that people are putting on you. Research about the different fields, and realise what you want to do. Introspect. It is okay if you took a different stream in school. Ask yourself, what would you rather do- change your career prospects now to mark a stable future or change it after 5 years of struggle?

Image credits: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-

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An introvert’s college experience

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Introverts may perceive college experiences differently from extroverts

According to Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, “Introversion-along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness- is now a second class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology.”

Your college experience is likely to vary drastically from that of your peers’ based on your individual personalities. More so if you identify as an introvert in a society that applauds extroversion. While you ride on the roller coaster that is college, remember that individual experiences in college are subjective, and need not conform to a set standard of what ‘college life’ should or should not be like.

Here are some ways an introvert perceives life in college-to convince other introverts that they are not alone, and to give extroverts a glimpse of what it feels like to be at the other end of the spectrum.

“Where’s the party at? I’m running in the opposite direction!”

Introverts are not particularly fond of forced interactions or excessive external stimulation. Therefore, large crowds of noisy people, drinking and dancing to loud music, would make an introvert intensely uncomfortable. This implies that the parties, which most people think are integral to college life, are not where you will find introverts. Invite an introvert to a party and they will immediately think of a 101 imaginary reasons not to show up. They would rather spend their evening indoors, pursuing their favourite hobby, or spending time with a few close friends.

An escape plan is always on our minds

If we do show up at that society farewell/celebration of the annual play production, we have already thought of a plan to leave 10 minutes into the event. Trust us to come up with the most innovative, loophole-less excuses.

“Why don’t you talk more?”

This is a phrase that an introvert encounters every other day. Introverts do not enjoy small talk ergo, they will say nothing unless they have something significant to share. Susain Cain puts this in the most lucid way-“In school, you might have been prodded to ‘come out of your shell’- that noxious expression which fails to appreciate that some animals naturally carry shelter everywhere they go, and that some humans are just the same.”

Introvert 1

It is sometimes an internal tussle to be part of college societies

This probably applies to every extracurricular activity in college. Introverts may be faced with the dilemma of wanting to do something productive with their time in college, yet not wanting to subject themselves to too much social interaction. This leaves an introvert with two alternatives-exclude themselves from such activities entirely, or participate to a limited extent. The introvert might be the person in the society who will enjoy the work, but not show up to the meetings, celebrations or parties.

However, despite the above, college is also the space where introverts find acceptance. For most of us, college is that secure environment where one is allowed to be whoever they want to be, no questions asked. The interests you pursue and the paths you choose are entirely your own and judgement is very easy to ignore. An introvert is given the freedom to selectively participate in society activities or hang out with just a few close friends. While your teachers or parents might force you into activities you do not enjoy in school, college allows you the space to make your own decisions and come to terms with your personalities, among others who are coming to terms with their own.

Featured image credits: theawkwardyeti.com and buzzfeed.com

Abhinaya Harigovind

[email protected]

 

 

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DUB Speak

What it actually feels like when you’re about to graduate

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Farewell

Nearing the last leg of my last semester in college, my days resonate with echoes of the words ‘farewell’, ‘future plans’, ‘what’s next’ and the like. While I happily dodge such questions by humorously stating that this is an erroneous question to be put to a final year student, at the same time I realise it is indeed a prominent query and justifiably so. And that is when the reality dawns on me. After having the time of our lives, we have to graduate and abandon the routine of running late for lectures, finishing assignments at the last moment, and turning up to internal examinations thoroughly under-prepared.

And here’s what it is like when you know you’re about to graduate from college and into an uncharted territory – it is scary. I can’t think of a better way to put this. It is scary to say goodbye, knowing full well that as all the friends venture out to pursue their own plans, staying in touch might be difficult after all. It is scary to think of a new setting, a new role that you’ll be playing.

And most of all, it is scary to make decisions that are supposed to define your life. There hasn’t been a thunder storm, there hasn’t been any epiphany – how are 50,000 students supposed to have the defining moment of their lives simultaneously? It is scary when everyone expects you to have figured out your career plans, your goals. It is scary to think of the impending farewell speech you have to give in your department/society farewell. It is scary to think of all the goodbyes you’ll have to say, and pretend to be okay with moving on. It is indeed the practical thing to do – brace yourself for the life ahead, and move on.

But, it is also important to know that it is okay if you feel emotionally drained at the end of it all. It is okay if you think it will be unbearable for a while to not wake up with your roommate. It is okay if you think you’ll miss the thrill of bunking lectures on a whim. It is also okay if you think you will not miss much of college where you practically missed one lecture to prepare for the next. It is okay if you will miss everything so much that you’re taking a year off. It is also okay if you will miss none of this. It is scary to let go of the things and people you hold so dear, but it is still okay. It is scary to lose the one reason to meet your friends every day. It is scary to look back at the three years that have passed by and think about how you could’ve done so much more. It is scary to look back and think that you’ve lost so much time and of the numerous different ways you could have spent your undergrad days.

It is so scary that even this article which wasn’t intended to be a tear-jerker, ended up being one.

Kritika Narula

[email protected]

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DU Annual Fest Season

IP College inaugurates Troika ’16 as a precursor to annual fest Shruti

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Indraprastha College for Women hosted in its first ever edition of Troika, a three-day festivity. It brought a mélange of events, from Panel Discussion to Kavi Sammelan to Stand-up Comedy and Battle of Bands during a period of three days from 28th January to 30th January. Troika has been introduced this year with the echo “Teen din teen rang, Kavi vicharo Aur gayak ke sang.”

Radhika Dua, the college treasurer explains how Troika is a precursor to the annual fest Shruti, “Troika’16 is first of its kind inter-college festival of Indraprastha College. As its name puts forward, it’s a three day event organised by the Students’ union to encourage fellow students to exhibit their talent and gain some food for thought. Additionally, Troika is also an opportunity to foster relations between students of different colleges and interests. The idea behind the event was devoted to creating a platform for students to enjoy, experience and explore. Troika is just a trailer for our annual fest Shruti.”
The festivities were ushered in with a riveting and engaging panel discussion on the topic, “Impact of Dating Applications on Youth”. Attended by a packed audience in the college auditorium, the Panel discussion was moderated by Suanshu Khurana, Music Correspondent/Critic, Indian Express.
The other panelists included Shalini Evelyn Shah, Head of English Editorial, Ratna Sagar, Manish Malik, Director, Manifest Training Solution and Aakanksha Maheshwari Sewani, Head of Knowledge Management, Microsoft, who is also an alumna from the same college.

Photo by Shivani Malik
Photo by Shivani Malik

The panel discussion brought many facets and quirks of modern-day dating. While some remarks made the audience double up with laughter, some serious questions were raised. Followed by a Q&A session, the discussion was engaging with the right amount of scandalous remarks and controversial comments to make the audience fire up questions like bullets.

Wannabe Anonymous after their performance, Photo by Shivani Malik
Wannabe Anonymous after their performance, Photo by Shivani Malik
IMG_4089
Wannabe Anonymous

The first day ended with a stand-up comedy act by Wannabe Anonymous, a first of its kind Stand-Up Comedy community started in Delhi by Siddharth Singh and Prakhar Maheshwari. They made all the right jokes, from  mocking the burning topic of modern dating to cracking meticulous jokes about the idiosyncracies of the college.
The Second day’s highlight was Kavi Sammelan, which saw participation from colleges like Hansraj, Hindu, Kirorimal, CIC, SOL, among others.

 

Photo by Shivani Malik
Photo by Shivani Malik
Photo by Shivani Malik
Photo by Shivani Malik

The first prize was bagged by Manju for her poem Mazdoor, while the second prize went to Nidhi Kumar Jha from Kirori Mal College. The judges for the event were Dr. Sanjay Seth and Mr. Pranjal Dhar.
Troika culminated in Battle of the Bands on the third and the last day of the round of festivities. The last day saw performances by Slaves of Rock, The Hindu College Collective, Alanwesha, Ricochet, Hightime, Zhankaar, Chapstick and Rubberband and Playtime. Playtime from Hansraj College bagged the first position, while Hightime from Kirorimal College came second.

Sanchita Makkar, the President of the Students’ Union, says it has been a successful endeavour, “We wanted to increase number of events and level of participation in our college. These three events  in troika were a mix of experience,enjoyment and learning. We wanted to give a different experience to students of all colleges.”

All Image credits: Shivani Malik

Kritika Narula
[email protected]

 

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Arts & Culture

Why you should visit the Book Fair at least once as a student

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This time arrives every year, when all book lovers excitedly queue outside the gates of Pragati Maidan, waiting to treat their eyes and minds to an abundance of books and all things literary.

As is evident, we are talking about Book Fair (one that happens in the month of September is Delhi Book Fair and the one in January-February is the New Delhi World Book Fair), but why restrict it to the hardcore readers? While there’s no gainsaying the fact that the halls are a haven for readers, the fair also holds  the promise of making the non-readers fall in love with reading.
And as a student, we need to absolutely pay a visit to the fair at least once. Once is enough to make you return every time.
Here’s why:

1. Wide variety

The book fair houses a multitude of books, from novels to educational books, to comics. You name it and the fair has it. As college students, it is necessary for us to read more than just course books, and reference books for preparation of entrance examinations.

2. Cheap Bargains

Last time I visited the fair, I managed to lay hands on books for as cheap as ?20. It just takes some sorting and searching, and you can save a lot of money, and still get to own a decent collection of novels and non-fiction books.  And since college students are always broke, this seems a good way to save up.

3. Book launches and author meetups

The book fairs have, from the past few years been a hub for author meet-ups, book signings, panel discussions and book launches. This makes them the intellectual arena for literary exchanges and fangirling.

4. Stationery fair

The book fair is almost always accompanied by a stationery fair. Who can appreciate stationery as much as students do? Beautiful diaries, pens, folders, notebooks, among other things, all under one giant roof.
Featured Image credits: Newberry.org
Kritika Narula
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6 reasons why participating in outstation fests is a must- do in college

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college trips

One of the many perks of being in a society is travelling for outstation festivals much different from that of regular Delhi University fests. Most common being the festivals of Indian Institute of Technology`s (IIT), Birla Institute of Technology (BITS) and Indian Institute of Management (IIMS). These trips are definitely lifetime experiences filled with fun and memories.

However, there are a set of emotions and thoughts that every participant goes through on these outstation trips. So here is a list that follows it.

Travelling in sleeper class

You may have passed judgments on people you meet in college who confess of never having taken an auto or a metro in their life but traveling in a sleeper class of the Indian railways is some serious public transport case.  Most trips are budget restricted so AC three tier is usually not an option and flights almost never. It’s a definitely a first time experience for many, eased by the comfort of company and fun.

That feeling of adulthood

As you are laughing and having a good time, a terrorizing thought comes across your mind. ‘I think I forgot my costume’, ‘I think I forgot my instrument’, and almost always, ‘I think I forgot my college ID card’. That nagging feeling of having forgotten something gets you worked up, making you imagine of alternatives in case it turns out to be true. Most often than not, everything is in place but no matter how prepared you are, these questions always pop up. Travelling with a college society forces you to take care of yourself and your belongings.

Accommodation

After travelling in a sleeper class you seem prepared to challenge any hardships in life but you start doubting that when you come across the accommodation arrangements. A Servant quarter, dorm, hostel rooms, just anything and everything becomes accommodation with lined up mattresses. In case you are lucky you may get a comfortable place otherwise it is a constant struggle for using the bathroom and charging ports, not to forget sleeping on vintage mattress.

Late nights

Soon you realize that the campus never sleeps. At many places competitions run through the night with events at odd hours such as 2:30 am and 4:00 am. People are on the roads chatting, singing, dancing having a gala time, its 24×7 party out on the streets and sleep is for the weak

Competition and Exposure

In festivals of above-mentioned institutes, participants come from all over India bringing in eclectic forms and variations. It makes you realize the kind of competition out there and exposes you to innovative ideas and methods. It’s a learning experience and an opportunity to recognize your standing in the league.

Exploring the city

Going for competitions to places such as Goa, Mumbai or Bengaluru, the fun extends beyond the campus to the sights of the city. Indulging in local food, clicking photographs and trinket shopping make it all worthwhile. This is also the time when you bond with the members of the group and get to know each other that is otherwise missed out on regular college days.

Outstation trips naturally match you up with your kind in the group, on the basis of sleeping, eating and partying patterns. Its purpose becomes more than the competition you came for. It becomes the memories you create, the first-times and the last-times, the games of ‘Never Ever Have I’ and ‘Truth or Dare’.

College trips are times that bring excitement and glee every time you recall them and going to one with a purpose just makes it better!

 Image credits: http://yourstoryclub.com/

 

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