Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology Admission Experience

My admission story begins in the year 2021 – the year when the 12th standard CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) board exams were cancelled.

I always had an interest in Mathematics so I decided to pursue a career in it and opt for BSc Honours in Mathematics. Being academically good, I wanted the best for myself so I wanted to get into one of the best colleges Delhi University(DU) for the same.

I explored, researched and took counselling from many people who had already pursued the same course at DU. As a result, I concluded that instead of Mathematics, BSc Honours in Statistics would be a much better option because it’s an applied science and is more practical than theoretical like Mathematics. It was also the best choice from a placement point of view and had scope in the government sector as well (ISS-Indian Statistical Service).

This was what a 12th-standard student could figure out. Coming to the point, I secured 96.6% marks in the 12th standard in the Non-Medical stream which is a pretty decent score but it still doesn’t guarantee that you will get admission into your dream college which in my case was Delhi University.

It was not as if the journey from deciding Mathematics to Statistics was easy. I and my parents researched and consulted every single person we could to be sure about the decision. There are only 10 colleges out of 90 in Delhi University that offer BSc Honours in Statistics and the cut-offs for this course are pretty high. So even with 96.6%, I was not sure whether I would get this course at a good-ranked college in DU.

After waiting for the cut-off lists for several days and going through the tension of not being able to get into a college in North Campus, I got into Ram Lal Anand College, South Campus, Delhi University based on my score. I would not say I was pretty happy with it but I was somewhat contented with the fact that I got into Delhi University to experience the exposure everyone talks about, to get into the government university where thousands of students long to study and finally to get the most demanding course which I was excited about.

A few months before the session started, certain circumstances made me realize that I never considered B.Tech as an option. What if I am missing out on something that I could be more interested in? So, at that moment I could not get into the branch of my choice at Thapar University because I was late for admissions so I filled out the application form at Chandigarh University and paid the fee for 1st semester because it was refundable.

I got a 50% scholarship based on the CUCET exam that the university takes and because of my good score in 12th. I attended the online classes for a few days and at the same moment, my admission at DU in Statistics was confirmed. So, I was pretty sure that I wanted to go to DU. Studying there was like a dream for me. I was curious to experience the diversity and the exposure of Delhi University. I had a feeling that my future was secure and at least I was clear about my career path.

In November, classes started online because it was still the covid time. Till February the online mode continued and I was quite happy because I got into the societies of my choice -Placement Cell and National Service Scheme. I was learning German given the availability of time and I was happy with what I was learning in my course- Algebra, Descriptive Statistics Calculus etc. I even chose Economics as my elective subject because Statistics and Economics make a great combination considering all aspects and since I was not from a Commerce background I even took tuitions for Economics. I made assignments, participated in society events, and gave my 100% in everything.

On 17th February, the college reopened offline and I went for my first day. Exams and Internals for the first semester were going to take place in March so I decided to up-down from Gurugram for those remaining days. The first day of college was full of experiences- waking up at 6 am to catch a train to Delhi from Gurugram, learning to travel by train as it was my first time and taking an auto from the railway station (which was a struggle in its way) with 6 other students I finally reached college. As I entered the main gate, a feeling of unhappiness swept over me. There was a feeling that something was not right with what I chose. I thought maybe it was because I had never been away from home so I ignored that feeling because at last, it was DU and who couldn’t be satisfied?

Till the end of the first day, I met a lot of people and finally explored how to travel by metro(the yellow and the pink lines) to Gurugram and reach home. The same routine continued and in April I finally shifted to a PG in South Extension. At the beginning of the second semester, I had breakdowns as if I was not happy with my course. I made friends in college by that time, I was doing good in academics and if there were bad days then there were good ones too. But still, it felt as if I was being forced to study the course I chose myself. I could not feel the exposure I came to experience. It seemed as if I didn’t belong there and it felt very purposeless. I was doing everything for the sake of doing it. The satisfaction was missing. Being inside that college never made me feel it was mine. The most heartbreaking thing was -that the decision regarding my career academics or future was one thing I knew I would never be wrong about. I could not understand how this could happen to me and how could I be so wrong. I shared it with my parents who were in full support if I dropped out but I didn’t want to make such a big decision in a hurry that I regret it later. I consulted with my professor at college as well. I thought maybe it was because of some tough days and this feeling would disappear. The only step that I took was to fill out the form for Btech in case I had to take a tough call. I filled out the form for Thapar University on 14th April,2022-I still remember the date. Besides Thapar, I applied to Chandigarh University (the second time), Chitkara University and Jaypee Noida because I didn’t want to risk it this time.

To be eligible for admission to Thapar, a candidate has to appear in JEE (Joint Entrance Examination). In 2022, JEE was going to take place twice so I appeared for both. So in total, I appeared for JEE 5 times (3 times after 12th and twice in the year 2022). I don’t think anybody has taken this exam as many times as I did and for all 5 times, I had a score between 75 to 80%. It was an achievement for me in my way. The struggle continued and by the beginning of May, I was sure that I didn’t want to spend the 3 years of my life pursuing a demanding course even if it had great job opportunities if I was not satisfied and happy.

I still remember the day when I was on the balcony of my PG when I made a call to my mother and said -“I can’t do it anymore, mumma”.

That was the lowest phase of my life I could see my future and happiness being finished in front of my eyes. I had everything except my happiness. It felt so broken. Giving up your one year is not easy especially when you could be graduated with a degree in your hands after 2 more years of that course and that college where you gave your 100%. April to July were the hardest months for me as well as for my parents. They went through the same pain as much as I did In July -just one month before my second semester ended I came back from Delhi and explored the campuses of the above-mentioned colleges. My parents didn’t want to make any mistakes this time Every time I visited a college, people were like -“Oh my God, How can you leave a government college for a private one. It’s Delhi University after all”. Everyone was making me doubt my decision and scared me If I made a hurry Filling up the application forms so many times had become tiring. Keeping patience was becoming hard. It was difficult to pass each upcoming day.

Coming from DU I wanted to get a good college for B.Tech as well and my choice was Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology. But the struggle was to get a good branch that could match my choice- Computer Engineering Destiny was such that if I had applied in Thapar just after 12th I could have got COE(Computer Engineering) based on my PCM score but as I applied one year later the criterion was such that there would only be one cut-off list based on merit and this time I couldn’t get COE based on my score.

Today after completing one year in Engineering I can proudly say that I am happy with the decision I made. It takes guts to make a decision like that and go through the afterparts. One thing is realizing that you are not happy and your decision was wrong but standing up for yourself is a victory. I never thought something like dropping out of college would ever happen to me. I used to think will I ever be able to accept the fact that I dropped out and I am one year behind my batch now?

Delhi gave me so many beautiful friendships to cherish forever, the exposure of travelling and most important the confidence and the power to stand up for myself when I feel it is not the right thing for me. That one year in Delhi taught and gave me so much that cannot be expressed in any amount of words. Earlier I was nervous to share my story but now I cherish it I feel that if I hadn’t experienced studying at DU I would have felt that even if I was getting the chance then also I missed a golden opportunity. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents who not for a second were against my decision but only wanted my happiness. This would not be possible without their support.

I would like to end by saying -” Normalize and appreciate the change of career plans. There is always a hidden beauty within struggles”.