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Journey of a Final Year Student

By DU Beat November 16, 2019

The last year in the life of a college student comes and goes in the blink of an eye. But it brings with it a lot of ups and downs, highs and lows.

The final year comprises more of tension and panic than enjoyment. The stress and anxieties of college ending and a newer and more difficult life coming up is always there in the minds of a final year student. Amidst this stress comes a lot of other important events. Assignments, placements, semester exams, entrance coaching’s and the last fests are among them. It is the time when we want to catch hold of everything. This article will trace the journey of a final year student and talk about some of the events that most of the students go through in their last year of college.

Spending Hours in Coaching Classes:

All those who wish to take admissions in postgrad courses or LLB or plan to give any other competitive exams spend more time in their coaching centres than in colleges. Juggling between college and entrance preparation becomes a huge task as entrance preparations are just an add on to the already busy schedules. What are your weekend plans? being the most annoying question that can ever be asked to the students who take entrance coaching. These people do not have a weekend. They go and sit through three or four hours of classes and give mock tests and mock examinations on the weekends.

Internals for the Last Time:

After giving tests and submitting regular assignments for two years, we might become habitual to it but we do not like doing it. The regular assessment system is something that just keeps on pissing us off. The deadlines of assignment submission keep on coming every week and the dates for tests are always planned well in advance. But this also leads the students towards the one last internal that they give in their undergrad college life as the clock keeps on ticking bringing them towards the end of their college life.

Semester Exams:

Amidst all the things going on, the semester exams come on their time. December and May being the most difficult months. Scoring good marks in semester-end examinations becomes more difficult for students who are preparing for entrance exams or professional courses. One brain, one body but so many things to focus on.

Sitting Through Interviews:

Various colleges have Placement Cells that have collaborations with some great companies. Most of the time in the last year of college goes by preparing for interviews and sitting through them to bag a great job. Coming out of college as an employed person is an achievement in its own. The pressure that it builds is also something that needs to be talked about. The formal wear, the anxious atmosphere and the dreams of being employed with a great package are what a lot of people aspire for.

The Final Fest Season:

The fest season never sees a dull moment. Attending college fests for one more time before the ID cards become invalid for entry is what most of us aspire to do. The fun that the fest season brings with it is something that most of the students look forward to. a lot of students wish to attend the fests of all the known colleges before they graduate and final year is like the last opportunity for them to fulfil this wish. They want to make the most of their college life and the do the most in these three years. Making sure that they attend concerts of all the famous singers becomes a point in their lives.

The Final Day – Farewell

The final day in college, the Farewell arrives sooner than people think it would. Time flies faster than anything else and there comes the day that people would remember and cherish for the rest of their lives. The ‘Graduation caps’ and the ‘Bachelor Scrolls’ shows the paths to the future. This day tells the students that what future holds for them is something very bright and they need to keep moving ahead to embrace the beautiful experience of life. Farewell tells the students to ‘Fare thee well’.

The journey from the freshers to the farewell is a short but exciting one. Final year is the time when we all want to make the most of our college lives. At this time when we realise that there won’t be another year, another semester, we wish to do everything that we might have missed upon in the first two years. This makes it more difficult. The year is full of many important events and people go through many highs and lows throughout. But what is important is that we live our lives to the fullest and work for the future as well. All you need to know is that it might be difficult but you will sail through. At this time, everything might feel to be slipping out of your hands but you will find your way out and everything that happens is going to lead you to a more beautiful side of life.

Feature Image Credits: Let’s Intern

Priya Chauhan

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A Note to All Final Year Students

By DU Beat January 11, 2018

It is official that the even semester has begun with the countdown for your last semester tucked into your timetables. With this clock ticking away in our minds and amidst all the entrance examination pressure, feel the last moments of DU for one last semester as final year students.

Time is round, and it rolls quickly. This Nikos Kazantzakis reference is apt for all the third year students out there. It feels like only yesterday when we were slogging through day and night to make it into the esteemed University of Delhi. It’s a classic déjà vu now we are in the same mental space in which we had been during our class 12^th board exam preparations and at the same time, leaving our friends, our school, and family behind. This sixth semester fits well into that same mind frame, with the only difference being that we are older and wiser (well, maybe). Many of us will have our own set of grudges, disappointments, musings, fun, and frolic in our respective colleges with our mates, peers, and teachers while blaming our rent-seeking-hostel owners, wardens, horrifying internal assessments, Snapchat and Instagram buddies, meme-partners, crushes, societies, and college lawns and corridors for that matter. Some of us may wish to pack up our bags quickly and leave the campus premises as soon as possible to venture out into a new university abroad or take that gap year to prepare well for civil services or MBA or to gain work experience into our newly achieved placement opportunities. Others are too nostalgic for their own good, capturing all those last moments spent in classrooms and the canteen onto their phones. A few may act as hard nuts who couldn’t care less that one more chapter is coming to an end. Almost all of us, however, are trying to balance the ping-pong of emotions that we feel with the wrapping up of our penultimate semester now that we have to gear up for our future with all sorts of entrances nearing and getting our grade-point average one notch higher.

I am writing this to ask all the graduates-to-be to stroll through all those Hudson Lane cafes and Lajpat Nagar and Kamla Nagar markets for one last time, to sip chai at the nearest tea stall for another time musing and chatting with our peers, to walk to the nearest metro station one more time (and please do click pictures if you are one of those hard nuts), and to try attending those 8:30 a.m. lectures again for the last days because trust me, these days of struggle, stress, and serenity will never come back. Somewhere along the line, you will look back with nostalgia and longing (or maybe even loathing). As much as you would like to believe otherwise, Delhi University will stay imprinted in your memory, while the new thongs of freshers will continue to occupy the space in the corridors and classrooms that were once yours. Delhi University may forget you, but you won’t forget Delhi University.

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Oorja Tapan
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Placements

CV essentials for the Fresher and Sophomore

By Kriti Sharma January 25, 2017

As first or second year students, we seldom refer to our resume, barring the rare occasions of applying to college societies or for summer internships. But as the third year comes calling, the significance of the ‘Curriculum Vitae’ (CV), a document that can make or break your career, glares menacingly back.

Many a times, a CV can become the sole impediment that stands between you and your dream job. Most companies begin their recruitment process with ‘CV shortlisting’. A poorly conceptualised CV can altogether disqualify your job application, while a well-planned, coherent and smartly presented CV can catapult you through the subsequent rounds of selection.

Although you are exposed to campus placements only on entering the fifth semester, you cannot enjoy an oblivious and inert existence through the preceding four semesters. Agreed, the act of formally laying down content of a CV is done in the final year of college. But, development of that content is an on-going process that must span all three years of college. After all, the parameters on the basis of which you will market yourself to a prospective employer can’t be acquired overnight. Your net worth is the value that you acquire over a period of time, requiring consistent effort to hone and sharpen your skill set of employability.

Therefore, as a first or second year student who hopes to grab a meaty campus placement in the future, you must start working now. Essentially, a good CV format requires that you address the following heads: Educational Details, Internships, Research Project, Position of Responsibility and Achievements and Awards.

Following below is an attempt to guide you, so that when the time comes, you have ample content to fill the above heads:

1.Educational Details
Here, you must mention your class X,XII and college percentage. Thus, start working on your college marks. Aim for an aggregate of at least 80%, where anything above will certainly fall to your favour. The best of the best companies eliminate you on the basis of your marks, so doing academically well in college can put you in a comfortable position.

2. Internships
It’s important to productively employ your skills in a professional field of your choice during the long summer and winter vacations allowed by DU. Internships not only give you an opportunity to explore yourself and your talents, but also equip you with professional etiquettes that employers rank high on their checklist.

3. Research Project
Although not necessary, spending one summer or winter break on a research project can give you an academic edge over other contenders. However, to gain credibility, make sure that you conduct this project under a mentor.
4. Position of Responsibility
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And needless to say, no one wants to hire a dull employee! Ensuring a good academic record must not come at the cost of being a college nerd. You have to present yourself as an all-rounded personality and therefore, invest yourself in extra-curricular activities. For this, make sure you’re in at least one college society. Further, be proactive in assuming responsibility. For example, take charge of organising your college/society/departmental fest; stand for a society post; volunteer and perform social work etc.

5. Achievements and Awards
Nailing this aspect is consequential to how well you utilise your inherent talents. If you do well academically, you’ll become the recipient of academic awards given by your college. When you are actively involved with a society, you will compete at fests and other outstation competitions, coming away with participation certificates and experience, if nothing else. So if you tactfully tap your potential, this part of your CV will pretty much fill itself.

So come on, young ‘uns! Get to work now! Sow your seeds of ability today, nurture them with hard work and you shall reap the fruit of a great placement tomorrow!

I’m here to answer your queries. Feel free to drop in an e-mail.

Good luck!

Feature Image credits: chipright.com

Kriti Sharma
[email protected]

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DUB Speak

Five things a third year wishes they had done in college

By Kriti Sharma April 29, 2016

“When I look back now, that summer seemed to last forever; and if I had the choice, I’d always want to be there; those were the best days of my life!”

The lyrics to this Bryan Adams song do a dandy job at summing up the farewell sentiments of every graduating student. The three years that every student spends at college are some of the best of his/her life. Not only does he acquire a worthwhile education, but he/she also stands to gain some great life experiences. And that is probably why the last few months of the sixth semester make even the strongest of hearts weak with emotions of sweet despondency and yearning.

As the curtains to this phase of life are drawn, certain common thoughts swim through the mind of every graduating student. Retrospection not only refreshes pleasant memories, but also uncovers some nasty moments that are capable of haunting a person for life. Then there are those tiny, nagging regrets, things like “I wish I had done this,” “I wish I could have been that,” “I wish I had said this” and so on.

After talking to a couple of my seniors, I’ve put down a list of things that a third year student wishes he/she had done in his three years at college:

1. “I wish I had confessed my feelings to my crush!”

You know what they say about young love, don’t you? The presence of it makes your life beautiful, and the absence of it- a living hell. Especially when everyone else you know is falling in love and you’re just falling into a bowl of chocolate ice cream (emotional eater, eh?). Things become so much worse when you’ve harboured feelings for someone all throughout college, but never have had the courage to confess to them. But then comes your last semester. You’ve got nothing on you anymore and you’re finally ready to declare your love. Alas! Life isn’t that easy. Because by now, your crush already has a hot girlfriend. And they’ve been going super strong. In fact, they’re the next big thing after Brangelina. Sigh. Talk about ‘relationship goals’.

2. “I wish I had joined a college society!”

Maitreyi College performiong at Tempest, the annual festival of Miranda House

You’ve been an introvert all your life. However, that has never bothered you. But then comes the farewell season. You get invited to your college farewell. And your departmental one. If you’ve known enough ‘cool’ people, maybe you’ll get called for the unofficial farewell too. But you never came out of your comfort zone, made an effort and joined a college society. Not only did you miss out on making lifelong friendships, attending house parties, learning a new skill and competing at fests, but you also missed out on one of the best farewells: a society farewell. Naturally, your sense of regret will grow stronger during this period and you will just have to gracefully take the blame for your own doing.

3.”I wish I had gone out more often!”

As you spend your last days on campus, the frequency with which you visit your favourite food joints will increase. But something funny will happen as a consequence: your eyes will suddenly open up to all those eateries and food addas in and around your own hang-out spaces that you never went to during your college life! You’ll find yourself wondering: Did this lounge/restaurant/club recently come up? Or was I just too regular at my own lounge/restaurant/club to notice this one? Whatever may be the reason for your sudden awakening, the point is, you’re going to be deeply sorry. And you’ll wish you had gone out more often with your friends, exploring new places and having new adventures.

4.”I wish I had dressed better!”

Image Credits: beautydramaqueen.wordpress.com

A ‘no-uniform’ policy and the initial excitement of college gave you an incentive to dress your best in your first year. But by the end of the second semester, your enthusiasm began to pale. By the end of your third semester, you couldn’t give two hoots about what you wore for your drab lectures. So you spent a majority of your college life in chappals, pyjamas and basically what lazy bums like to call ‘casual and cool’ clothing, which, for your information, is just a lame excuse for lacking initiative, creativity and a sense of style. But now you’ve got a placement. And you know that your future wardrobe is going to be limited to formal or boring attire. That’s when you will feel remorseful for not making an effort to dress up when you had the opportunity.

5. ” I wish I had attended that professor’s lecture more regularly!”

Farewells bring out a welter of emotions in most people. They soften you up: old vendettas are forgiven and forgotten and you begin to see everyone and everything with a new-found appreciation. Even certain professors, whom you never liked before, now seem so kind and endearing. In fact, your interest in their subject suddenly increases and that’s when you wish you had been more regular and attentive for their lectures!

So at the end of it all, here’s a little bit of advice for the second year and first year students reading this article: You’ve still got one year/two years with you, respectively. Please wake up to the multiple opportunities that college offers you. Make hay while the sun shines and you’ll have no (or at least fewer) regrets when it’s your time to leave.

Amen.

Feature Image: judson.edu

Kriti Sharma

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A letter to all final year students from a final year student

By Kritika Narula January 1, 2016

Dear fellow final year student,

What are you feeling right now? What thoughts cloud the otherwise agile mind of yours?
Let me guess. You’re either waiting for the results of an entrance test you took last month or are preparing for one that’s scheduled later next month.
Some have bagged a placement already and some are contemplating a change in stream. Commerce students might be deciding to take up a career in painting. Literature students might be preparing for a job in marketing. Entrepreneurial ventures await yet others. Some are going through the laborious process of applying abroad for further studies. (My heartiest wishes to you, the entire process leaves you weary)

Irrespective of where we are headed, one fact binds us all: we are just trying to gather enough courage to get through these trying times, strewn with choices and decisions and their repercussions. Overthinking has become the order of the day, and there is no respite from the incessant nagging doubts about the future. Where would we be 6 months from now. Would we be just as confused a year down the line? We don’t want to hear a yes to that because well, we would not want to live through it again. But let’s not let the thought of having to live through it again prevent us from living through it the first time.

We are doing everything we can to land up in a good place- whether it is an institute of higher education, workplace or professional studies.

But let us not forget- this also marks the beginning of the last semester of undergrad college. Let us promise ourselves to make every moment count. Let us make a bucket list. Explore the city, go on an outstation trip. But most of all, let’s be spontaneous. Let us not be intimidated by the possibilities and uncertainties.

We all realise by now that we have made some great friends, and after 6 months, no one knows where we’ll end up, whether or not we’d meet again, so cherish this, for this is the time of our lives.

Lets make the most of the last days of undergrad studies?

Wishing the best for all of us,

Your batch-mate.

Featured Image credits: geeksoy.com

Kritika Narula

[email protected]

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