Mystory@Chandini S: How I chose my course and college

Mystory@Chandini S

Ever since I was young, I wanted to become a doctor, so I chose Science in my 11^th grade taking up subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Math and Biology. Once I started with the course after my 11^th grade, I realised that becoming a doctor wasn't very easy and I slowly started losing interest in medicine. So I kept that as an option and concentrated on Architecture or Engineering as my first choice.

I secured 92% in my board exams, which was good enough for me and my family. My family never forced me or put any pressure on me to study, they let me do it all by myself and never expressed any disappointment with me. Their confidence and support is what has got me here. Today, I am pursuing engineering and not architecture because I was too late to link my NATA score with my CET and didn’t want to make my parents pay for a management seat when I was capable of securing a merit seat. Hence, I took up engineering through a merit seat (CET).

How I cracked college admission

I did not want to leave my parents and go to a different city and thus, chose to take only one entrance exam, i.e. CET. To crack CET, I joined a coaching center after 11^th grade. It wasn't very helpful for me as I did most of the preparation on my own. The only advantage of joining coaching classes was that they taught a few shortcuts and the material they provided was pretty good.

With a 92% aggregate in 12^th boards and a fair performance in CET, I managed to get a rank of 5673 under engineering category. Through online selection of seats, I secured a seat in Telecommunication Engineering at Sir M Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology (Sir MVIT), Bangalore. Other than Sir MVIT, I was trying for MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore. Because my rank, I did not get a seat there.

College life

I take a bus to college and so the day starts with a lot of enthusiasm with my bus mates. The classes start at around 9 am. We attend two hours of classes and then take a tea break. That is when we come out of our classrooms and have some snacks, talk to friends from other classes. After another two hours of classes, we have a lunch break where we come out again have lunch, talk to everyone around, sometimes go out to places close to college to eat.

I don't attend all the classes. There are times when the brain is mentally completely exhausted or one is completely out of mood. That's when I stay out with my friends and have some fun. The classes after lunch go on till 4pm after which the buses leave at 4:30pm. I get back home all happy. I like attending classes where I never get bored. Moreover, if the teachers are good and confident, it adds to the flavour.

If given a chance, I would reconsider studying medicine. Whenever I see doctors and some of my friends who are studying medicine, I wonder why I stepped back. Because it was all that I wanted to do when I was a kid.

Talking about extra-curricular activities, I am not part of any activity because I haven't yet realised what I am good at. College has changed me a lot as a person. I was in the same school for 14 years, I started there in LKG and stayed there till my 12th grade. So I had never experienced change and making new friends. I was a very quiet girl with a much closed set of girlfriends only. Once I entered college, everybody was new to me. I had to learn to come out of my comfort zone and make new friends and more importantly learn to talk freely with boys. It took me a month to actually start talking to people properly. I made a lot of friends. By a lot, I mean a lot. And every person I have met in this college and every person I have been close to has taught me so many things about life. I have also learnt how selfish people can be, I have learnt how selfless people can be. It is like I have seen every kind of character here in this college. I have grown from a little girl who was always too shy and scared to get out of her cozy nest to a big, strong, independent girl who would not step back from exploring herself and life even more.

About the Author:

I am a 21-year-old student, studying in the third year of Telecommunication Engineering at Sir M Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology (Sir MVIT), Bangalore. My hobbies are watching TV shows, movies, listening to music and reading novels.