They say that ‘The Journey is more beautiful than the destination’. My case was somewhat the same; the only difference was that I only “felt” my journey when I had reached the destination.
Chapter 1: The Backstory
So, it all started in the latter half of my grade 11, it was 2021, my classes used to be in an online mode, life was going quite smooth and I had no plans for my future. And then I encountered a news update; that was about the introduction of CUET (formerly known as CU-CET). Now, the way this concept was being publicised on social media, was really confusing; and the fact that this exam was a must for getting admissions into top central universities, made it something that had to be understood. Then came these coaching institutes in the picture, with their “CU-CET Counselling” workshops on a regular basis. This was the time when I started thinking about my future, what should I do after 12th and what career line should I choose. Amidst all of these, I used to continue practice my interest, which was studying the stock markets. (Until then, I didn’t know that there could be a career in the field of stock markets, that’s why it was my ‘interest’)
Chapter 2: The Core Phase
Fast forward to mid-2022, my class 12th was underway, and I was understanding the concepts really well. I was a commerce student, and in class 12, students are introduced to Macroeconomics, which is basically studying economy at an aggregate level. As the session progressed, I started finding macroeconomic concepts to be something I would love to delve deeper into. The reason for the same was quite simple, whatever we were learning, was something that could be observed in the ongoing economic environment. But at this moment, I had made up my mind to pursue a BBA (FIA) from India’s best undergraduate B- School, SSCBS, because of my interest in finance. So, throughout the session, my interest revolved around these two domains; Macroeconomics and Finance, and I had decided that I wanted to do something in either of these!
By the time I was thinking about my future, the board exam date sheet was out! And if you are a class 12th kid, you know how big this event is! The ‘’so hyped-up by the society’’ exam’s date sheet was out! And then, I had to shift my focus to boards.
Boards went great, I scored 97.8% and topped my school, but somehow the feeling of achievement wasn’t there. The reason was again simple, I had my CUET exam just a couple of weeks after my board result came, and after listening to the experiences of the first batch of CUET, I was honestly scared!
Chapter 3: Face-off
I had my CUET exams on the 28th and 30th of May, 2023. With two different test centres each day. Before the exam, I was continuously giving mocks (of TestBook, Sunil Panda sir and Prepify) which really helped me to frame a time management strategy. As soon as the day of the exam came closer, the anxiety level was also going up. I used to watch those “Memory Based Question” videos, thoughts like “kaash aaj mera paper hota, itne easy questions aaye the”, “bach gya aaj nahi tha mera paper”, used to flow through my mind every single day!
Then finally my exam was done, and after a long wait of 1.5 months, our result was out. The fact that I had lost 14 marks in the normalization process made me disheartened, and like any other unreserved male candidate, I started having a negative perception about the system and had thoughts like “there is no respect for hard work in this country” and all, which I feel, was justified at that moment.
What was the next big thing?
DU’s CSAS portal, student’s gateway to their dream colleges in DU.
On August 1st, 2023, I was allocated Economics honours at Hindu College, one of the best social sciences colleges in this country. I wasn’t sad about not getting SRCC or SSCBS. Why? Because of the smile that I saw on my parents’ face. That literally made my day and I prepared my mind, to be ready for all the challenges and opportunities that would come along the way!
Chapter 4: The Learnings
As a matter of fact, I missed SRCC because of a very simple addition mistake in my Accounts paper. That made me realize one thing, that these competitive exams are over hyped, Every candidate is aware that there’s gonna be fierce competition, and even if you have prepared extremely well, the aspect that will either make or break you is; how well you control your mind in front of a computer screen or in an exam hall, that is what will differentiate you at the end of the day. So yeah, prepare well during your preparation, but before a few days of your exam, practice controlling your mind!
At present, do I regret not getting SRCC?
BIG NOO! The diversity at Hindu doesn’t even allow me to think about any other college!
That was all about my journey, thanks for reading!
Aditya, you are outstanding and I have seen you growing through out this journey… You made me Proud… May you touch many milestones… God bless you
Loved it , can feel each and every thing not because i am student but a parent of a student who also crossed this path recently ,best of luck for future .