My admission journey at TISS Hyderabad: Pratik Dahal

TISS Hyderabad

Getting back a couple of years, it was 2014, towards the final days of my first year of college, when I decided to pursue my post-graduation degree from Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Natural Resource and governance. The selection of the topic was easy for me, being more of an outdoor person, interested in working with people in the field, and also being an active member of the college. NSS, the discipline with the maximum fieldwork, that studies environment related issues, and being offered by one of the finest Social Science colleges in the country, was just perfect for me.

My Internet browser history was filled with searches relating to TISS and the requirements to become a part of it. In October 2016, during my final days of the third year in college, the admission forms for TISS were out. I filled the online form, and I already knew the process of getting into the college which involved three stages, i) TISSNET, ii) Group Discussion/PIT iii) Personal Interview.

January 5, 2017 was the date set for TISSNET, the national-level entrance test. I prepared for it by downloading the syllabus and previous year questions from the Internet. The nearest centre for me was Kolkata. TISSNET is an online multiple choice questions-based test, which has 100 questions to be answered in 100 minutes. One thing to note here is that there is no negative marking for the wrong answer, and the test is divided into four sections: i.) General Awareness, ii.) Logical Reasoning iii.) Mathematics iv.) English Proficiency. With Mathematics being my weakest section, I had concentrated more on the other three. Each subject has a different cut-off, which fluctuates every year, based on how easy or difficult the questions are and the number of applicants for the subject. Those students clearing the required cut-off are the only ones invited for the second and the third stage. The best way to prepare for TISSNET is reading newspapers, appointing gazettes to solve the questions on the last page, covering tenth standard topics of Mathematics, and monthly current affairs magazines. Starting the preparation a year earlier, makes the task much easier.

On February 10, 2017, the results were announced, and I had to prepare for the second and the third stages. Detailed admission form or DAF is to be filled by all the selected candidates, which is available online. This form needs all the details regarding oneself, the reasons for selecting the college and the reason for selecting the course. These need to be filled in, and to be carried while reporting for the second and the third stages of the admission process. PIT or the Pre-Interview Test, which is the second stage in the admission process, is a written essay type question based test, and is conducted in the respective college campuses. March 29, 2017 was my date to report to the Hyderabad campus. The PIT required two long questions and two short questions to be answered. Among the given four long questions and four short questions, on general topics, it basically tries to take your personal viewpoint on the matter stated. One should have an idea on all the general topics which, as said earlier, requires a habit of daily newspaper reading, and monthly current affairs magazine reading, especially the essays in the last page, after which the third stage of admission PI or the personal interview takes place on the same day. In my case, a three-member panel conducted the interview. The DAF which was filled was kept at the sides and a few questions were asked from the form as well. The interview lasted for ten minutes. A few things to keep in mind here are; you must have an overall idea of the subject you have opted. You must appear confident, be polite, and be able to defend your point of view, no matter how badly it is manipulated by the panel taking your interview. The selection of the candidate is based on the overall average of all three stages.

TISS has placements. One good thing about the college is that two students from the first year itself are elected as the members of the placement cell, and they have a task throughout of building links with different organisations for placements. However, the number of organizations for placements depends on the course opted.
Life as a ‘TISSian’ was totally different. Students from diverse backgrounds together teach us about how a same thing can be seen through different perspectives. A healthy competition always prevails and the atmosphere inside the campus is just amazing. The pressure is always on, with the amount of presentations, reports and assignments that need to be dealt with, but TISS again teaches us how to deal with all these never-ending tasks assigned, and to make the most of your life while still under pressure. In short, TISS prepares one for dealing with life. Never in the past year have I regretted my decision regarding the selection of the course or the college.

About the Author:

Pratik Dahal

My name is Pratik Dahal and I am from Darjeeling, a hill station in West Bengal. I completed my school education from St Joseph’s School, Darjeeling and my graduation with a major in Political Science from St Joseph’s College, Darjeeling. I am currently in my second year of pursuing MA in Natural Resource and Governance from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, off-campus Hyderabad. I am more of an outdoor person. Be it a game of football, trekking, or cycling, I am eager to go and be a part of it. I am much more interested in working with people in the field.