How to convert your dreams into reality

If the Board exams have taken away your time and energy, and if you are now wondering what lies ahead, this is the time to introspec and evaluate as to what would be the best path for you.

If you have completed 10th standard you need to take a choice of subjects for +2, and whether to take up PUC, CBSE or ISC.

Those who have completed +2 face a much deeper dilemma, mainly because the choices before them are so wide, and also because everyone advises them to take up either engineering or medicine.

Commerce and Arts students, who were earlier free from the hassles of entrance exams, now find themselves burning the midnight oil for admission tests for Law, Design, Mass Communication, Chartered Accountancy, Hotel Management, Business Management, and even integrated five-year courses in Social Sciences in the best institutions.

On the other hand, those who have taken up science are generally aspiring for the traditionally most popular careers –engineering and medicine. The doors to these fields open through various competitive exams.

For engineering they are – JEE for admission to IIT’s NITs etc, BITSAT for the three campuses of BITS, and on-line/offline tests of many other private universities. Added to that are tests like NATA for Architecture, AIPMT for medicine and other exams for pure sciences.

In Karnataka the most popular test remains the CET, conducted by the Karnataka Examination Authority. This year over 1,23,000 students appeared, the vast majority of them aspiring for an engineering seat.

Though the number of engineering seats in Karnataka has grown phenomenally in the last one decade, there is always ahigh competition to get into the best and most reputed colleges.

The CET is a very well organized and transparent test, which is used to allot seats in all government colleges, and the merit quota seats in private colleges.

Fees for students who are admitted through CET is significantly lower than for those who come through the COMED-K or management quota.

The CET is also used for admission to Architecture, Agriculture, Veterinary, Dental, and Indian systems of medicine. Hence a good rank in CET is a passport for a good future. Many students who have studied for two years or more, now reap the fruits of their hard work.

If you have secured a rank in three-digits in the CET, you are alucky student who can take your pick of college and course, but if your rank is beyond 1,000, then you should be doing some preparatory work to face the counseling and take the right decision.

Step-by-step procedure 1. Ask yourself whether you are sure that you would like to take up only engineering or medicine. Keep in mind that there are innumerable other good career alternatives also.

2. Check if you are dependent only on CET admission, or whether you have applied to other autonomous institutions, or are willing to go through management seats. If so, you can be a little liberal in your choice.

3. Go through the list of all the branches of engineering available to you (given in BOX 1), and try to find out as much as you can about each of them. Do not restrict yourself to the traditional and most popular streams.

4. There are some 200 engineering colleges in the state. Make a list of the ones that you know, the ones that have a good reputation, and check which ones offer the branches of engineering you prefer.

5. Be open to moving to any part of the state. Though you may have to tolerate bad hostel food, there are many advantages of going away from family and becoming independent. There are some very good colleges located in districts to which admission is easier than for Bangalore colleges.

6. For those who do not have a specific passion for a particular branch of engineering, it is better to give importance to the college you select, rather than the branch.

Be aware that many branches (e.g. electronics, medical electronics, instrumentation, information science, etc.) have quite a few subjects in common, and you can take any of them if you are getting a good college. Often the unknown branches are available even if your merit rank is not very high.

7. Keep monitoring the seat allotment once the counselling process starts, and you will know beforehand what you are likely to get and what you may not.

8. Those who are not likely to get either the college or the branch of your choice due to low rank, explore other options e.g. medical aspirants can go for homeopathy, ayurveda, or even para-medical courses (see box of Medical Alternatives), engineering aspirants can go for BCA, BSc(IT), integrated M.Sc., military service, or Agricultural engineering in University of Agricultural Sciences, or even move into non-science fields.The CET selection process has proven itself in the past many years of being completely transparent and fair.

Now it is on-line so the crowds at the CET cell and running up and down has been eliminated. Do not get misled by touts who promise a “backdoor entry.” Only private colleges in their Management Quota have the discretion to give seats to students of their choice, but in the merit seats the allotment goes strictly by rank (with of course, the reservations for special categories – check if you are entitled to any of them).

There are many trusts and philanthropic organizations offering scholarships to deserving students.

Even the Government Corporations have schemes for specific categories of backward or minority students.

If you are likely to get a seat but have constraints of finance, find out beforehand if you can get a scholarship, or at least a bank loan, so that you do not lose out at the time of seat allotment.

This year the government has announced a very attractive loan scheme of up to 5 lakh rupees (for entire course) at a low interest of 6%, to pursue any of the professional courses. Details are available from Karnataka Examination Authority, 18th Cross, Malleswaram, Bangalore 560012. Phone: [phone] and website www.kea.kar.nic.in

(The author is a career counselor and a life skills coach)

Engineering branches offered in State - (Box)

Architecture, aeronautical, automobiles, biomedical, biotechnology, ceramics, chemical, civil, computer science, electrical & electronics, electronics & communications, environmental, industrial engineering & management, industrial production, information science, instrumentation technology, manufacturing science, mechanical, medical electronics, metallurgy, mining, polymer technology, printing technology, silk technology, telecommunication, textiles, transportation.

If You do not get an MBBS seat - (Box)

You can still become a qualified physician in the alternative streams of medicine viz. Homeopathy (BHMS), Ayurveda (BAMS), Unani (BUMS), Naturopathy (BNYS), etc., which are also professional courses of 5-1/2 year duration

You can become a dentist by doing a five year BDS course, and then choose out of nine specialization in dental surgery i.e. a three year Masters in Dental Surgery (MDS).

You can become a veterinary doctor by taking up a 4-1/2 year BVSc course offered by colleges affiliated to Karnataka Veterinary University.

You can take up nursing by a four year BSc (Nursing) course, and later specialize by M.Sc. in Operation Theatre, Pediatrics, Psychiatric nursing, etc.

You can take up various paramedical fields. There are four year degree courses in fields such as physiotherapy, speech & hearing, optometry, radiography, dialysis technology, etc. and also three year BSc courses in medical lab technology etc.

You can study nutrition and dietetics at the undergraduate and post-graduate level.