All roads do not lead to DU

The first time I faced the challenge of deciding my future, I did not think twice. The significance of the situation did not really sink in. Growing up, I had heard of IIT, NIT, Delhi University (DU) and Xavier’s — institutions that would guarantee a good future. That is what everyone around me emphasised while I was growing up, silently implying how a single decision could pretty much determine the trajectory of my entire future. 

So there I was, 17 and clueless. My grades in the Class 12 boards guaranteed that I could choose where I wanted to study. I did what anyone else in my shoes would do. I went online. Half an hour was all it took for me to see that I was clearing the cut-off for almost all the prestigious colleges of DU like Hindu, Hansraj, and LSR. My family and I could not have been happier. And a month later, there I was — a scared, unsure teenager who was coming to terms with being an adult, trying to flourish and carve a space for myself among the glitz and glamour of DU.

A month into college, disappointment with the teaching-learning methodology crept in. Two months later, I realised that no one cared if I even turned up for class. A semester went by and I realised that if I just went through the past 20 years’ question papers, I would be fine. I did not need to be particularly interested in what I did, turn up for classes, or even actually learn anything substantial to get good grades.

The system, which had not changed in Lord knows how many years, had given me the luxury to look like I was a well-educated adult. Inside though, I knew that I wanted something more from the higher education system. While everyone around me thought that I was an intelligent girl who would do something huge with her life, I was slowly losing that faith in myself. I had just cracked the system.

To compensate the hunger that kept brewing, I spent hours in the library, reading any book I could get my hands on. I spent more time thinking about Marx and Malinowski than I ever did about Watson or Crick. It was at that moment that I realised I was not only in the wrong place, but also in the wrong field. This made me come face to face with a tougher choice. Do I dare drop out after finishing my second year? And if I do, where do I go? Do I come back to DU or do I go somewhere else?

That brings me to the second time I faced the challenge of deciding my future. I knew that I did not want to come back to DU. I did not want a system that pretty much invited me to enjoy the shortcut to good grades. I wanted to learn as much as I could. I wanted to be challenged. This time, I took longer deciding where to go. I wanted to be in a place where I could exercise greater control in deciding my course of study. And more importantly, I wanted to be in a place where I could get the opportunity to attempt multiple disciplines so as to not delimit myself and my potential. 

After hours of browsing, I came up with a list of institutions. Interestingly, none of the institutes on my list were government-run. My list included mostly private Liberal Arts institutes; institutes which allowed me to select my own subjects, where the subjects taught were hand-made to cater to the needs of the student and where academic excellence was the ultimate aim.

Of course, my experience with DU had made me a bit of a cynic. So, the next plan of action was to go and visit these institutes. I talked to the professors, I interacted with the students, I spent hours on Quora reading up everything about all the different institutes, and then made my final decision. It has been three years since I took that decision. I am a third-year student now with a major in Sociology and a minor in History. I have already completed one research project and I have two more in the pipeline. And I could not be happier about it.

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