How to choose a campus or course

Sashi always wanted to do something different.  He is intelligent and well informed. But he is fed up of his elders telling him that engineering and medicine are the only options for a safe and lucrative future. His mind refuses to believe it, for when he looks around he sees so much happening — tremendous advances in the retail and marketing sector, legal experts thriving, creative designers getting paid astronomical fees, and managers with no formal qualifications rapidly climbing the corporate ladder.

Such a scenario, while very encouraging and exciting, raises the doubt in many youngsters about where their future lies.  As someone said in a seminar recently, “There is a problem of plenty.” Too many career choices, too many advisors and too much at stake. Sharp youngsters like Sashi also know that if they make a wrong move, they can be pushed off the fast track.

What’s on offer

Usually, students find themselves at the crossroads when they have completed their 10th standard.  A few who are not academically oriented, or cannot afford higher education, move on to diplomas, ITI courses or other job-oriented training prog-rammes. The vast majority move on to PUC/+2 and mark time for two years preparing for admission into degree courses that will define their career.

Here comes the first dilemma: how to choose the stream for higher studies (See Box ‘Where and how do I complete +2?’).  Not only does a student have to select the stream of study, but also the subjects.  The +2 courses in general can be divided into three major categories: Science, Commerce and Arts. Though some streams do offer combinations between the above three, most schools and colleges have clearly defined optional subjects.

Except in NIOS (or if a student has obtained exemption due to Learning Disability), one has to study another language with English.  The most common choices offered are Kannada, Hindi and Sanskrit, while select colleges do offer French and other languages. The four “core” or “optional” subjects define which category the student belongs to.

The most common combination of optional subjects are PCMB (Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology, the most popular choice of those who wish to “keep all career options open”), PCM + Electronics, PCM + Computer Science.

Select colleges do offer Statistics as the fourth subject. Not many know that for those with a Maths phobia, there is an combination of PCB+Home Science. While more than half-a-dozen girls’ colleges have been offering this combination for many years now, there are colleges like Cathedral, Indian Academy, Green Country and schools like Vidya Niketan which offer this combination to both boys and girls.

It is significant that Science is also a popular choice among bright students who are not interested in a career in Science or Technology, since it is possible to switch from Science to Commerce or Arts, but not vice-versa.

Commerce is the popular choice of students who feel that they are not oriented to Science (or find the subjects too difficult), or even those who wish to have some free time in their daily routine to pursue other courses or extra-curricular activities. While Business Studies and Accountancy are compulsory, the other two optional subjects can be selected from Maths, Statistics, Economics, to History, Geography, Political Science, etc. 
Commerce subjects are found to be more interesting even by students who eventually wish to make a career in the Humanities.

Traditionally, the Humanities or Arts has been the “poor cousin” of the other two streams, pursued by those who find Science or Commerce too tough, or do not have good enough marks in 10th standard to get admission, or are financially constrained.
The scene has changed remarkably in the past decade, and many bright students are opting for Arts at the +2 level.  Here again there is a fairly wide choice of subjects such as Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Logic, and so on, but most colleges offer only one or two of these combinations, hence one has to be careful in selecting the college.

Look for the unusual

A few colleges offer combinations from the above three major streams, and even away from them. These include combinations like Home Science+Psychology+  Sociology, or Computer Science +Commerce subjects. Courses are offered in design fields, environmental sciences or physical education, but in very few institutions.

Admission into schools or colleges for +2 is highly competitive only among the few reputed institutions that have made a name for themselves over the decades.  However, one should keep in mind that many new junior colleges have opened in the past few years, backed by good management and infrastructure, and since they have not yet gained wide exposure, admission is available.

Many schools have also upgraded themselves in the past few years to either add on CBSE/ISC 12th standard, or to add on a PUC college to the existing school.  Check out the latest lists and then explore admission to the best possible institution.

Coping with peer pressure

You need to keep in mind that when institutions mention a particular cut-off percentage for admission, it is usually for their first list.  Not all students take admission, and hence there are second and third lists where students with much lower percentage do manage to get in.  If you are specifically interested in an institution, it may be wise to keep checking with them till all their lists are out and admissions are closed.  Make sure  that your college is not too far from home as valuable time wasted in travel can be used for further coaching or studies, particularly for the competitive exams.

There is some amount of confusion whether a student can change colleges after the first year of PUC, and whether a change of stream is also possible — for instance, switching from Science to Commerce.

Some of these concerns are under judicial appeal, and we will have to await the judgment.  However, it is better not to rely on the possibility of change, and select the right stream straight away. As a counsellor I have come across students who knew that they couldn’t cope with Science, but opted for it in PUC under peer or parental pressure, thinking that Science is superior to other streams.

After a very poor performance in 1st PUC, they’ve had to run from pillar to post to get a change to Commerce or Arts.

Do not treat the first year of PUC as “earned leave” after your hard work for the 10th standard board exams.  You should start building up  regular study habits since portions increase significantly in 2nd PUC, and you have to do more of self-study compared to the spoon-feeding that you received earlier. 

Think about your career goals because you can concentrate on preparing for the board exams and the entrance exams that you will soon have to face.

While students who have studied in the State Syllabus (SSLC) opt for the Pre-University Course (PUC), those who have completed their 10th standard under the ICSE or CBSE curriculum often wonder whether to continue in one of these central syllabus schools, or switch over to PUC.  With the coming of the National Institute of Open Schooling (details available on www.nios.ac.in) and International Baccalau-reate (IB), the choice has widened. Unfortunately there is no ‘right’ answer, but a few points taken into consideration may help the student take a decision:

- PUC is comparatively the easiest, and average or below average students can hope to clear it without too much difficulty.  There are almost 200 PU colleges in Bangalore City alone, and the choice of both colleges as well as optional subjects is widest under this stream.

Since CET is based on the PUC syllabus, a student can hope to get a better rank for admission to engineering or medicine in the state.

- CBSE has a standard pattern all over the country (and in many foreign countries where Indians are in large numbers), hence a student can find easy admission in case of sudden transfer.  It is also designed to give a strong foundation, and most CBSE schools maintain very high standards, including in extra-curricular activities. IIT-JEE, AIEEE and various other All-India entrance exams base their questions closest to the CBSE syllabus, hence students aspiring for such institutions are at an advantage.

Kendriya Vidyalaya schools generally follow CBSE syllabus, giving opportunity for the salaried class to ensure good education for their wards at a reasonable fee.

- ISC is perhaps the toughest of the Indian +2 exams, but it gives a wider variety of subjects to choose from, greater sharpening of the analytical and reasoning mind, and a good foundation for various All-India entrance exams.  Many reputed schools that have existed for decades, offer ISC, and since it is based on the Senior Cambridge pattern, its recognition in the Commonwealth and other foreign countries is also higher.

-IB has a distinct advantage for students who wish to pursue their under-graduate studies in Western countries.  It is universally recognised, allows more flexibility of studies, but in India it has the disadvantage of late exams (in May, with results in July) due to which admission to local universities at times becomes a hurdle.

- NIOS is a very flexible examination system offered by the Government of India, where students can select any combination of traditional and non-conventional subjects, study two languages or one, and appear for the exams in stages.  It also has facilities for children with special needs.  Though the general public is not fully aware of this option, it is a boon to many.

Plus 2 is the time when you need to prepare for a wide variety of entrance exams, depending on your interest.  Those who select well in advance and prepare systematically are the ones most likely to make the grade. You should specifically study the subjects required for the specific entrance exam and familiarise yourself with the type of question papers, scoring pattern, timing, etc.

nEngineering aspirants need to appear for IIT-JEE, AIEEE, CET, COMED-K, and entrance exams conducted by autonomous universities such as KLE, VIT, Manipal,
Amrita, BLDE, etc.

- Medical students have the choice of All-India Pre-Medical Test, CET, and exams by autonomous universities or even institutions like Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), etc.
-  Law aspirants now have the benefit of Common Law Admission Test (CLAT, see website www.clat.ac.in for details), for admission to a dozen top National Law schools all over the country.

- Architecture students have to qualify in National Aptitude Test for Architecture (NATA, see website www.niasa.org,  www.coa.india.org for details), in which creativity and design skills are given importance. Similarly, various entrance exams are held for Design-related courses,

Hotel Management (BHM and BSc in Hospitality), Business Management (BBM), and of course military service through NDA or even theSpecial Apprentice exam for studying with and getting absorbed with the Railway Engineering Service.