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A Realistic Approach to an Exam Gone Bad

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Exams are the most exhaustive sets of draining procedures that a student faces at least twice a year; there is no escape from this vicious trap. Most of the times, unfortunately, owing to whatever reasons, exams don’t go the way we want. What can be done in such cases?

Exams paint a student’s face with grim expressions and usually account for the most horrifying experiences in one’s life. (cue: class 12th Boards.) Nevertheless, students push their limits by pulling themselves out of their comfort zones to study, and that too for weeks straight. They summarise, compile, re-write, learn, and re-learn their notes. They don’t sleep (so to say) and survive almost entirely on caffeine.

Most of the times, unfortunately, owing to whatever reasons, exams don’t go the way we want it. We walk out of the examination room feeling disappointed and dejected, getting into a self-loathing mode. The thought of not performing well in an exam dramatically reduces our productivity and affects our performance in the subsequent examinations too. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to get over a bad exam and we should get out of it as soon as possible.

Firstly, it is imperative that we remain positive throughout that time. Thinking about all the other invaluable knowledge that one gains in the process of learning through continuous reading can help in lessening the brunt. There’s a high possibility that whatever you are reading now will be applied under future circumstances, or you may even get an opportunity to study the same subject in the future. Bad marks don’t define the depth of your knowledge in that particular subject, and it certainly does not measure anyone’s ability to achieve success in their aspired fields. In the long run, nobody even remembers marks.

If the above seems outlandish talk to you, just remember that there are always methods to improve your performance in the next paper. If you have a gut feeling that your answers warrant an F grade, you can appear for the same subject next year.  Albeit it would be an added burden, anything is better than being rewarded a ‘back’ in any subject.

However, to arrive at the decision to reappear for any exam, you need to be thoroughly sure of your decision. Just because you think your performance was poor in any exam doesn’t necessarily mean your overall grade average would fall drastically too. For example, in the first semester, if there’s a possibility of scoring low marks in any of the Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses, your overall marks would not be as severely affected, because the weightage given to AECC subjects is given 4 credits in comparison to 6 for the rest. Moreover, if you score near full marks in your internal examinations, the extent to which your performance in the final exam would affect your overall score would be lessened.

Despite all this, the best way to deal with a poor exam performance is to introspect with an open mind. This is where we give ourselves space to analyze how things could have been done differently. Allow yourself some emotional ‘grieving’ but don’t torture yourself. Expect to feel measures of anger, disappointment, despair or nonchalance, but move on from each stage. The time has passed, it’s best to box-up that experience and be hopeful about the future.(i.e by putting in greater efforts in subsequent papers!)

Feature Image Credits: The Odyssey

 

Sandeep Samal

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News

Server Failure During CAT Exam Creates Havoc

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CAT 2017 was conducted last Sunday in 140 cities across the country. In the most parts of India, the exam ran without any hassle. However, around two hundred aspirants who appeared at a Kalkaji Centre in Delhi suffered major delay and confusion.

In a shocking incident, around two hundred candidates appearing for CAT 2017 at On line Edu Solutions, a test centre at Kalkaji, Delhi were unable to take the test in their designated slot due to technical glitches. Owing to the delay, students whose exam was scheduled for the morning slot (9 a.m. – 12 p.m) could write their paper at 4:30 after they were moved to other centres at Noida and Greater Noida.

Candidates at the centre had to sit for one hour after the commencement of the exam as the systems started failing. They were told that the technical glitches are being faced by all the centres in the country. Around noon, when the candidates started getting restless the head of the institution informed that only their centre was facing the server failure and not all the centres in the country. This irked the students and parents.

P.N. Shivani, a CAT aspirant who had to take the exam in the second slot in the same centre, witnessed the whole scene. Speaking to DU Beat about the state of confusion and stress which unfolded at the venue she said, ‘There was a lot of commotion and ruckus outside the examination centre. Parents were worried and wreaked havoc at the centre out of anxiety.’
At around 2 p.m. in the afternoon, six buses were reportedly arranged for the candidates to be moved to other test centres in Noida and Greater Noida. Out of 250 students, only 60 students could take the exam during the scheduled time period.

 

Feature Image Credits: India Mart

Sandeep Samal
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Campus Central

The Ongoing War: Attendance Vs Admit Card

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As mid-semester examination are approaching, the age old tension of attendance shortage is being clearly visible on many students faces. With lots of hustle and bustle, students manage to get a high percentage to land in India’s best university but then the monster of attendance still manages to get a 100% in every educational institution.
Let’s hear what the experts have to say on this at Quora:

“This really depends on which college you’re in. Some colleges are super strict about these rules, and some are super relaxed. To give you an example of the range, I know people who’ve had no problem collecting admit cards for their exams with 4% attendance, along with people who’ve had to sign bonds for 65% attendance, just to be able to site for exams. The fluctuations happen because even though the University has a common guideline of 67% attendance, colleges end up making their individual rules for attendance requirements. Depending on how seriously your college takes this matter, the possible consequences are: Relaxed attendance rules

Go ahead and collect your admit card, without any hassles.

Moderately strict rules

You’ll have to sign a bond that says that you’ll maintain the required attendance mark in the coming semester.

Very strict rules + Very low attendance%

You’ll be debarred from the exams, and parents might be involved. This situation might incite hunger strikes and protests from the affected students in the college.”

As per 2016, sources said that more than 100 students, whose attendance was below 66.67 per cent, have been detained across all colleges in the University. While some colleges such as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) College has detained 48 students, Dyal Singh College has detained 55 students across 15 courses. “We have detained 48 students this semester across all courses. Their continuation in the college is subject to two conditions — if they have cleared their first semester papers, then they will come back next year when the incumbent batch reaches the second semester. But if the student has not cleared his first semester papers, but has been detained in the second semester too, he will lose his seat in the college,” said SK Garg, principal, DDU College.

Now only the dates of receiving admit card will decide if medical certificates can still save the students’ careers!

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Naimisha

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Top Picks

Nap Your Way Through the Exams

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During exams, students go an extra mile to cover the syllabus in a time bound system. They burn the midnight oil to complete the course and neglect sleep altering their biological clock of the body. Almost no student that I’ve talked to has ever even thought about power naps as a means of augmenting their revision. A daily power nap can make a genuine difference to the exam prospects of all students.

The term ‘power nap’ is a bit misleading. Research by Harvard and other institutions over the past 30 years suggested that a power nap of around 20 minutes is generally considered to be the optimal length. During this short period, the aim is simply to lie down in a dark room, close your eyes, clear the mind of all thoughts, and relax. You might well find that you begin to lightly doze off after a short while, and that’s allowed, but we’re not aiming for full sleep. In fact, if you do have a power nap for much longer than around 30mins, then you’ll be much more likely to fall into a deeper state of sleep. Doing so will mean that you’ll feel groggy when you wake up, which is counter-productive. Setting a timer to quickly rouse yourself at the end of a nap will avoid this problem.

So if a power nap isn’t actual sleep, then why is it any good? Surprisingly, studies have shown that the body and brain benefits from a power nap in the same way as they do from regular sleep. Sleeping for a full 8 hours every night should be a major component in every student’s plan for achieving exam success. Since a power nap mimics the effects of overnight sleep, it helps recuperate the sleep deprive state of every student.

A power nap refreshes the body and brain, heighten alertness and promote a positive frame of mind. This in turn improves concentration and attitudes to study. A power nap relaxes the body and brain, helping to reduce stress. It boosts cognitive function (short & long term memory) and enhances the brain’s ability to absorb information. It is very luring to brush up the concepts right before exams, but taking a power nap before it will consolidate what you have studied and hence help you to bump the grades.

 

Feature Image Credits: Pinterst

Sandeep Samal
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DUB Speak

Before and After Prep Leave: A Comparison

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A comparison between those hectic days before the prep leave and the sudden tranquility of prep leave when you find yourself not always studying.

The last two weeks or so before the preparatory leave are very hectic for students as well as teachers. It is the time when everything has to be wrapped up on the teachers’ part while the students gear up to face the semester examinations again.

Some teachers take extra classes which go on for four-five hours at a stretch and the students brave through them. With a break or two in between these continuous classes, teachers as well as students grab a bite and get the crisp fresh air of winters, rejuvenating the mind; and then you are back to the same text or book.

During these long days, students often neglect their health. Burdened under the pile of assignments, normal studying hours have to be stretched and if you are somebody living in a PG, you don’t have your mother forcefully feeding you those dry fruits, fruits and snacks. Assignments and tests have coinciding deadlines or dates and the students have to deal with it and try to excel in them. In a way, it prepares us for the future when we have to manage multiple things simultaneously.
With all these deadlines comes the exam admit card work. The ID card work does not take long but too many students jamming the office in the last days can be vexing and exhausting.
On the last day or two, internals’ sheets are signed and you get a reality check of your attendance and your marks. The instant calculation of percentages and wondering whether you’ll be called for signing the undertaking are the first thoughts during signing the internals.
Then come the last day goodbyes, hugs and photographs. It dawns on the last day of the semester that the entire semester went by. For the first years, its feels like the orientation day was only yesterday or it was only yesterday that they were auditioning for those cultural societies.

We leave from college absolutely determined to study diligently in the prep leave and score good grades in the semester exams. But the first day of the prep leave begins and you find yourself binge-watching that episode or some new web series. Subsequently, you find yourself constantly on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
The health freaks get back to their exercising routines and many outstation students go back home. Most of the outstation students may just want to relish the home-coming for a few days before they kick start their studies. Whatever situation of passing time you may find yourself in, I hope reality kicks in before it’s too late. DU Beat team wishes you all the very best for your exams.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Prachi Mehra
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DUB Speak

Winding Up the Odd Semester

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With Diwali just having gone by, reality hits us and we realise that the official current semester will be ending soon and our very ‘dear’ semester examinations are coming close as the internals’ fever has died down. We are all huffed and puffed about our attendance issues, looking for ways to increase it or at least manage it to come at par with the ‘so-called’ 67% standard set by the University of Delhi, either through medical or internship certificates, or through extracurricular activity (ECA) slips. We all have one Rambo mission to attend all classes henceforth, especially the horrifying morning 8:30 a.m. lecture, trying our level best not to zone out in the middle of the lecture. We fight the urge to collect every possible reading material and book there is to extract as many sources available and save ourselves from drowning in the upcoming exams. Of course, all of us are engaged in discussions with our peers like, “Boy, that escalated quickly”, “How time passes by”, “Dude, I am having a mental breakdown as to how many more assignments I am still left to submit”, and so on.
Pause for a minute to think and retrospect. How did you spend one-half of the year? Was it according to your customary need to go clubbing at Hauz Khas, hang out at the Hudson Lane food joints, shop at Kamla Nagar or Sarojini Nagar markets, beg your parents to allow you to attend a sleepover at one of your friend’s house or PG, spend another evening at India Gate making Boomerang videos for Instagram, or create that one awesome memory with friends that you failed to capture on Snapchat but laughed out all night about it with your hostel mates? Or were you busy studying the entire semester, preparing for entrances like CAT or JNU, keeping up with the notes, doing various internships, or learning a language? I am sure we all had a coalescence of all the aforementioned activities. How many of these do you consider worthwhile? How many of these do you regret and how many are you still aspiring to do? Students in their freshman year must still be in doldrums regarding adjusting to the new city and will surely plan to carry out all remaining Delhi ventures in the next season. Sophomores must be in a state of shock that they have already reached the intermission in their college lives and should now get serious about what to do next. And my dear seniors, you are very well treading upon the teary path of farewells next semester, so get your grip for the dreary path of a hardcore competitive world outside the walls of your college-cum -cocoon.
As for exam -related tips, I am sure you all are smart enough to figure out how to sail through exams. Just in case you are not accustomed to the exam fever, prepare a fixed target-oriented schedule and try to stick to it in order to micromanage your core and elective papers. Try to avoid all sorts of group-studies as now is the time for individual, prioritised studying. Emphasise on what to read and even more on what not to read. You are the best judge of yourself.
Believe me for one thing – that however you have spent your time since July, be pleased with yourself, because life, and for that matter, college-life is too short for regrets. Have faith in your capabilities and get your guns ready for the next half of the year. Do not let the approaching winter deter your happy, sunny, and young minds.
Image Credits: Icebreakerideas.com

Oorja Tapan
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Bazinga

Bazinga: With the JNU Entrance in December, DU Prepones Semester Exams to Mid-November

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In yet another shock to the final year students, who are still recovering from the fact that Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is holding its entrance exam in December this year, the University of Delhi (DU) has decided to prepone its semester exams, which were to be held in December to mid-November. This shuffling of dates comes in the wake of the JNU entrance scheduled to happen in December. Some sources in the examination department claim that this change occurred because DU doesn’t want its students to suffer, and wants them to prepare for the entrance without any stress. The revised date sheet has been uploaded on the website.

An official source confirmed that the decision for the change of dates was taken in the academic council meeting which took place on 21st September. One of the council members proposed the change on the grounds that many colleges have received requests for the same by students. This proposal was later supported by the majority of the council members and passed subsequently. Since JNU is one of the most prestigious universities, all major universities desire to send the highest number of students to it. “This is not just a matter of pride, but also confirms that the academic merit of your institution is at par with the best of this country”, said Prof. M.K Khanewala, who is the dean of academics in another major University, situated in the temple town of Varanasi.

Meanwhile, the decision has received a mixed response from the student community. While some are rejoicing on account of the fact that they can finish their exams early and study for JNU’s entrance in peace, others are not happy as now they have to study for the semester exams along with the preparations. Prachi Dedha, a final year student who was not happy with the decision, says, “Now, this change of date will make our teachers give us more assignments and will kill all the time we have got to prepare for the entrance.”

Even some of the other departments of the University, which play a major role in organising the semester exams, like the Finance Department and the Transport Department, are surprised because of this sudden change of dates. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the officials of the Finance Department said, “This decision has put all of us on our toes. The pace of our work was in accordance with the previous December date sheet. Now, all of us have to work day and night for the exams to take place in November.”

Although the surprising decision has received mixed responses, the real consequence of taking such a step can only be gauged after the results of the semester exams and the JNU entrance are declared.

 

Picture Credits: JNU website

Srivedant Kar

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Admissions 2017

Delayed Results At SOL Puts the Lives of 4 Lakh Students At Stake

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Almost 4 lakh final year students enrolled in the School of Open Learning (SOL) stand at a loss of losing a year of studies, as the University of Delhi has not released their results yet. The varsity has already begun to declare results of final year students admitted in regular colleges.

Admissions to most post-graduate courses, including those in DU, are already underway leaving SOL students at a huge disadvantage. According to the Hindu, SOL officials have said that the results are likely to be declared in October. This leaves the students with a prospect of having to drop a year of studies.

In a statement to the Hindu, Ravinder Kumar, a student of B.A. (Programme) at SOL said, “Admissions to most universities will close in September. However, our results will not be declared before October. This means that I will have to waste one year.”

Many such students have accused the University of negligence towards SOL students, and of deliberately delaying their results.  Students of SOL see this treatment as an act of blatant differentiation from regular colleges.

Moreover, students from SOL have been trying to get their concerns heard for many years. SOL student, Harsh Gautam says to the Hindu, We have been requesting the university for the last four years to resolve the matter. We have even submitted memorandums and met the Vice-Chancellor. However, nothing has been done to rectify the issue.”

Officials blame a large number of students for the delay in results. However, students believe that it is not a valid reason for them to miss out on a year of academics.

With inputs from The Hindu

Swareena Gurung
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DUB Speak

The Art of Binge Watching (and how to hold it off)

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As the exam season engulfs us and we find a myriad of ways to escape from studying, we often gravitate towards the ever-inviting TV screen or website. This allows us to deviate from our study schedules and escape reality for a more comforting cocoon of pillows and blankets in which we can sip our hot tea and watch our favourite shows.

The only problem with this fantasy is that it is leads us into a spiral of watching entire seasons in a week, when we should be focusing on our semester exams. It is therefore imperative to hold off watching the latest TV series whilst caught up in the eye of the tornado, or as we know it, DU exams. This is, of course, easier said than done. We give you these handy tips to refer back to whenever you have a moment of weakness this exam season:

  1. Work on an incentive-reward basis

Schedule your episodes in a way that you only watch them after having completed a significant portion of your work. Set yourself a goal – finishing a chapter, or making notes for a reading, etc. Study for a couple of hours, then take a lunch break and watch a couple of YouTube videos or a 20-minute sitcom episode to reward yourself. If you feel you’ve been extraordinarily productive, go ahead and watch a 40-minute drama series, or two back-to-back episodes. This not only positively reinforces your work ethic, but also incentivises you to work towards completing your goal.

  1. Don’t download or make a list of pending TV shows

If you’re planning your summer binge list and note down all the TV shows you’re desperate to watch, it’ll be a constant reminder of everything you can easily access. You’ll fall down a rabbit hole which is almost impossible to get out of. So refrain from downloading all the shows you’re planning to watch and don’t have torrent links ready for these. Instead, work on a moderation basis (see Tip 1) and then go berserk on the final day of exams.

  1. Scare yourself

If all else fails, keep reminding yourself how terrifying it is to fail. Put up post-its around your room, block certain entertainment websites, and hold on to the comforting fact that your TV shows will always be there for you (unlike these exams). This works even better if you tell your friends to remind you constantly of this reality. Make it an exercise to positively reinforce (and scare) each other on a regular basis.

Good luck following these tips. Happy studying!

 

Feature Image Credits: BuzzFeed

Vineeta Rana
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Exams

The Road to a Satisfactory Result

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Is your mind perturbed by the painful woes of passing/doing well? Here are our pearls of wisdom which might help you in steering this turbulent flight!

Wavering perseverance, faltering ambitions, and innumerable existential crises – welcome to college, where everything is not merry and wonderful. Owing to the human virtue of futuristic thinking, the journey through the months of November and May are spent foreboding the day the results would be out and your misery would be enhanced. To alleviate the stress and grapple with the boulders which might lie on your way, here’s a beginner level guide on how to navigate the worrisome cycle of examinations.

  1. Knowing the breakup of your grading system are the baby steps you need to take. Amidst your core papers, generic elective, and ability enhancement compulsory courses, the Choice Based Credit System can often lead to ambiguity regarding it all. Out of the 100 marks of a paper, 25 marks shall be credited to the Internal Assessments category and 75 marks to the Theory Examination. Out of the 25 marks, the ideal division of marks entails 10 marks for assignments, 10 marks for test, and 5 marks for attendance. This breakup might vary between courses and college.
  2. Valuing every mark is of essence. The main theory examinations are uncertain and have a penchant for surprising students. However, the opportunity to score presents itself in the form of the internal assessments; a hurdle which can be manoeuvred around. The tests and assignments have us exhausted and vexed by the end, but a dash of time management and effort can enhance your success recipe. The five marks of attendance which ultimately are not achieved can also make a difference in the total result.
  3. All play and no work makes Jack an on-the-verge-of-flunking-and-asking-for-notes-from-the-class-topper boy. Between the fest, farewell, and other sources of merriment, try to squeeze in the occasional study schedules.While every semester begins with high ambitions and ends with emerging unsuccessful at those and forming new ones, try to make this semester ‘the one where you soared high’.
  4. Between those extra classes and morning lectures lies the perpetual conundrum of every student of acquiring notes. Before you proceed to purchase the handy guides of your respective courses, the effort to self-study and comprehend what your education entails is more important than you can comprehend. Once you attain a full set of notes from every source of existence, try to connect the dots and begin the journey. Your teachers are your best friends during these troublesome times; hence, utilise their acquaintance and refer to their preparation strategies if needed.

 

Image Credits: 123RF.com

Saumya Kalia
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