Persevere to achieve your goals

Dear Sir,
I am studying BA 1st year. I want to be a lawyer in future and want to crack the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) this year. If I succeed, should I go for it or continue with BA, because CLAT colleges will not offer three-year LLB. Also, kindly suggest if this exam can be cracked without any coaching.
A student

Dear Student,
Common Law Aptitude Test (CLAT) is conducted for admission in any of the 17 National Law Schools (for details, visit www.clat.ac.in) for the five-year BA-LLB course, and the age limit is 20 years. Students who have completed 10+2 in any stream are eligible to take up the exam.
While a few students do manage to crack it without coaching, it is better to seek help for Legal Reasoning which constitutes 50 out of 200 marks and which is not taught in school or college in routine.

If you are keen on getting into the legal profession and if you do manage to get admission in one of the National Law Schools, it may be worth giving up your one year of BA studies.
The other option would be to complete BA and seek admission for a 3-year LLB which is offered by local colleges all over the country, but which do not have as high a reputation as NLS.

Dear Sir,
I am in Class 12 ISC (Commerce stream). I want to become an actuary and would like to know more about it. Could you let me know about the entrance tests I should take and the course I would have to undertake? Could you also let me know the best colleges to study the subject?
A student

Dear Student,
Most of the good courses to train you as an actuary is at the postgraduate level. You need to be good in Maths, have a sharp mind to explore and analyse and be up-to-date in commercial valuations and government regulations. You may take up BCom in a good college, and start preparing for entrance exams when you finish your second year.

To get a deeper understanding of the courses, you can start exploring some websites of reputed institutions, such as www.iirmworld.com, www.iiifindia.com, www.niapune.com, www.inclip.org.

Dear Sir,
I am a PUC Electronics student. I would like to become an interior designer. I am also a basketball player and would also like to become a basketball player or coach. However, I am confused as to which field I should take. Could you kindly guide me as to which stream I should take after my II PUC for these two career paths?
Abhinaya

Dear Abhinaya,
It is good that you have a wide range of interests and have been sharpening your skills too, but you should now narrow down to a specific career goal,  keeping the other activities as hobbies or as long-term goals.

Check if you have a creative streak in you, whether your drawing and your design sense is above average. Show the work you have done so far to an interior designer. Then, you can aspire to take up a BSc in Interior Design or a Bachelor of Design (BDes) course with a specialisation in interiors. Playing any game, including basketball, has a limited time span of a few years, hence it cannot be a career.

If you wish to get into sports management or coaching as a long-term career, then you may join a degree course offered by reputed universities, and some of the websites that provided required information are: www.bit.ly/2p47IK0, www.nasm.edu.in, www.nsnis.org, www.ssss.edu.in.

Dear Sir,
I have finished my 10th exams recently. I want to do architecture. Can you tell me which course should I take up in +2? And I have heard about a course on graphics which is very useful for architecture. Please give some information about that too. Also provide information regarding NATA preparation.
Khushi

Dear Khushi,
While it may be better to take up Science (preferably PCMC), you are eligible to take up architecture as long as you have studied English and Maths at +2 level, with any other combination. Ensure that you have creativity and are also good in calculations.
There are many good coaching centres and you can locate the one that is nearest to you. They will teach you graphics and all other skills required to crack the NATA exam (www.nata.in).

Dear Sir,
I am studying in I PUC (PCMC). I am interested in Chemistry and want to pursue my career in it. Should I do Chemical engineering or integrated MSc in Chemistry? Which has more scope? Please provide information about career opportunities after MSc in Chemistry and Chemical engineering. 
A student

Dear Student,
Decide whether you would like to be in Pure Sciences, doing research, teaching, quality control, or whether you would like to be in the application of Chemistry in production processes, product development, optimising output etc. In the former case, you may take up an Integrated M Sc, and in the latter case, you may opt for a four-year Chemical engineering. You may appear for the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) exam that entitles you to get into the top pure science institutions of the country, and if you clear it, you will not have to think twice about your future progress. KVPY is conducted by IISc for Class 11 and 12 students, and generally, the last date is in August. Details are available on www.kvpy.iisc.ernet.in.

Dear Sir,
I am expecting very bad scores (50-60%) in my Class 12 examinations. I would like to know about the undergraduate courses which I can take up with such low marks.
Shreyank Prabhu

Dear Shreyank,
No one can tell you in general what degree course you should take up, and it should definitely not be based on what you refer as ‘bad scores’. You have to find out what you are good at (everyone is good in something or the other) and what type of work you will enjoy.
Then work your way backwards to see which degree course will take you towards your goal. Please do not allow your self-esteem to go down. If you are unable to decide by yourself then you may go for an aptitude test that is conducted by many organisations in Bengaluru and elsewhere.

Dr Ali Khwaja is the founder and chairman of Banjara Academy, Bengaluru.
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