College life beckons
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Selecting the right course in the right college is a tough task.
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Is her name in the admission list?
THE STANDARD X results are round the corner. After all those years of schooling, time to relax and prepare for that big break into college life. For thousands of students just out of school, it is time to build dreams, plan careers, make smart moves. And how do they go about it? By selecting the right career, the right Pre-University college and the right combination of study. How easy or tough is that task?
For starters, a decision is not easy. Because, you have hundreds of colleges to choose from, over two dozen subject combinations and countless career choices.
Perhaps, the best way is to first choose your broad area of study — Science, Commerce, Arts — and think ahead. Making a career choice early in college life is a definite plus. Your Standard X marks will mostly dictate your choice of college. Because, most colleges still go by your examination performance alone.
Demand for seats
Every year, the demand is high for seats in reputed institutions. In Bangalore, they include St. Joseph's Pre-University College, Christ Junior College, Mount Carmel College, M.E.S. College, NMKRV PU College for Women, Vijaya PU College, National College and Mahaveer Jain College.
All these institutions and others in and around Bangalore will start issuing applications soon after the SSLC examination results. So, if you know your marks and a particular college's cut-off marks for last year's admissions, you can make a decision whether to apply or not.
Spare a thought for your career choice before you make that decision to opt for Science, Commerce or Arts.
By choosing Science, you would be opening the first window to a mind-boggling variety of subjects such as engineering (you have over two dozen branches in it), medicine, architecture, biotechnology, agriculture, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary science, astronomy, space science, genetic engineering or even technical writing.
A vast majority of the Pre-University colleges offer Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology (PCMB) as a combination. Bigger colleges package courses such as Electronics or Computer Science along with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. However, without Biology, you would be ruling out a career in medicine and related fields.
The Common Entrance Test (CET) does not allow students without Biology to write the Botany and Zoology examinations.
A Pre-University education in Commerce would be the right stepping stone to becoming a chartered accountant, a bank officer, an investment banker or a financial consultant. Many budding lawyers prefer to take Logic as a subject in PUC before venturing into a three-year or a five-year professional law degree course. But only a few colleges offer this subject.
Pre-University Arts courses no longer carry the tag of an also-ran. By opting for combinations in Journalism, Psychology, Economics, Sociology or even Literature, you would be building a sound foundation for attractive alternative careers. At a time when the world has moved out of the straight-jacket of engineering and medicine, becoming a psychological counsellor, a public relations executive, a linguist or a social scientist is a dream for many students.
Career guidance
You could defer a decision on a career choice provided the PU college you are getting into has a proper career guidance mechanism. St. Joseph's, for instance, organises a "Career Week" at the end of the first term. The college also has a career guidance cell and an aptitude test to gauge your interest in a particular field.
Most colleges are apparently ready with their application forms but would release them only after the SSLC results. The process might start even on the day of the results, which is likely in the second week of May.
Students will be given a deadline to collect their forms and apply. The NMKRV PU College for Women had given 10 days' time last year. Then comes the merit lists, three in most cases, interviews for shortlisted candidates, payment of fees and finally, your first day in college!
Minority colleges keep aside a certain percentage of seats for minority and economically weaker sections and fill the rest on the basis of merit. The entire admission timetable goes by the schedule sent by the Department of Pre-University Education.
The cut-off marks in most colleges are dependent on the general pass percentage in the SSLC/Standard X examinations and the number of students with high to very high scores. Reputed colleges in Bangalore often ask for 85 per cent marks and more.
Plethora of colleges
There are 343 Pre-University colleges in Bangalore, according to the Director of PU Education, D.N. Nayak. Across the State, the total number of PU colleges of various hues is 2,356. These include 686 government PU colleges, 693 grant-in-aid colleges, 966 unaided colleges and 11 corporation colleges.
The colleges offer six combinations in Science, including Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology (PCMB); PCM and Computer Science (PCMCs); PCM and Electronics (PCME); PCM and Statistics (PCMS); Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Home Science (PCBH); and PCM and Geology (PCMG).
In Commerce, the combinations offered are: History, Economics, Business Studies and Accountancy (HEBA); History, Geography, Business Studies and Accountancy (HGBA); Economics, Business Studies, Accountancy and Computer Science (EBACS); Economics, Statistics, Business Maths and Accountancy (ESBA); and Business Studies, Accountancy, Business Maths and Statistics (BABS).
In Arts, the combinations are several. Popular among them are: History, Economics, Political Science and Sociology (HEPS); HEP and Geography (HEPG); HEP and Logic (HEPL); HEP and Optional Kannada (HEPK); HEK and Geography (HEGK); HEP and Psychology (HEPPy); HEK and Education; History, Education, Political Science and Optional Kannada (HEPK); History, Education, Geography and Optional Kannada (HEGK); and History, Education, Sociology and Optional Kannada (HESK).
But despite the multitude of combinations, colleges restrict their subjects to three or four groups.
Students will have to weigh their options based on their career choice, the chosen college and, of course, their academic self-assessment. The next two months will be crucial.
RASHEED KAPPAN
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