Why DU colleges must start with reasonable cut-offs

The release of the third cut-off list by the Delhi University (DU) saw me transferring to another college yet again. Not that the atmosphere of each of the previous colleges were not welcoming enough. But then all this relocation is influenced by minor perceived differences. However, my perception of Gargi College led to this final change and my initial interactions in the college seemed to justify it. Of course, such interactions mainly take place with the college volunteers. But these really can have an impact on the initial impression one forms of a college.

The week also witnessed the release of the fourth cut-off list. I had thought that the constant downpour would lead to the thinning of crowds around colleges. How obviously wrong was I! Even a tornado probably wouldn't be enough to hold back the college aspirants made desperate by high cut-offs. I wonder if the release of the next set of cut-offs will see students continue to mill around looking for a better bet.

But that seems a little less likely after looking at the fourth list of cut-offs. A number of DU colleges are already closed for admission in quite a few courses, for example the Bachelor of Arts (BA) Honours English course. Colleges which introduced lists with reasonable percentages seemed to have filled up their seats quicker. In contrast, the others which started off with practically unreachable figures are still dropping their cut-offs even further.

I think this is an important indicator of the bracket of percentages within which most students lie. It might be better to start the next year of admissions with similar reasonable cut-offs.

This week also marks the end of the admission period for me. I can't believe it's over. Not that I'm going to miss this phase. While the crushing fear of not knowing where I was going to end up was tremendously fun, I do look forward to settling down. Not having been involved in any academic work for almost three months, I actually look forward to studying. I know, I'm more surprised than you are.

Preparation for going to college has also demanded a lot of thrifty shopping for clothes. Heavily discounted online stores have been particularly helpful with that. Shout out to Myntra. No, they are not sponsoring me (if only). However, a more invaluable asset than clothes was my recently purchased trusty umbrella, an irreplaceable support during this week of admissions. God bless these tiny nylon roofs!