As you walk into the daunting hall of admissions office in Christ University, the apprehension and tension is palpable. Armed with board exam results, the admission process is in full swing with sky high cut-offs and the city colleges are not cutting any slack.
And the high cut offs are not entirely without reason, Nagashree R, a lecturer of journalism in Mount Carmel College explains, “We find students who are scoring high to be more focused.” While the colleges are setting their parameters high, the students are also vying to match them.
Priyam Garg,who has scored 92% in ISC and hopes to get admission in Christ University says “The competition to get into good colleges is very tough. Nothing below 95% is a safe bet.” Students are putting additional pressure on themselves to reach the big nine-o and beyond.
Pushkar M Gowda, the topper of Shanthinikethana School, Girinagar, who secured 97.6% in the SSLC says, “I have mixed emotions., I was a topper in class, but lost a few marks in Science as the paper was really tough.” Even parents are chipping in on the expectations pileup. Mr. Gowda, Pushkar’s father adds, “We were expecting a state rank, but unfortunately he couldn’t get it.”
Marks have become the benchmark for measuring a child’s caliber. Psychologists say this serves as a reminder to society to strip away the excessive importance that is attached to high grades. “Today, unfortunately anything less than 90 per cent is considered not good. This creates pressure on children. One must understand that not every student needs a 90 per cent.” says clinical psychologist Arunita Biswas.
Shirobdi, a student from Delhi with a 93 per cent score in CBSE who is in Bengaluru for college admission is apprehensive about her “low” score, “I got a 10 point CGPA in my 10th boards, this is disappointing for me” she says. Ammar scored 94.7 per cent in ISC is unsure about getting admission in the college of his choice.
And the students’ trepidation is justified by the cut offs of the colleges. The cut off for Mount Carmel College is pegged at 88 per cent for non-Carmelites in the B.Com and IAM course. Christ University’s cutoff marks for B.Com and Finance and Accounting is 90 per cent.
Robert Sebastian from Christ University Admissions office says “If you need an admission in Christ you should expect to have a score of more than 90.” Vanaja Malathy, admissions incharge at the same college says the high board exam scores are to blame for escalating cut offs, “We kept the cutoff at 80 per cent, but there are many students with marks above 85 per centthat we had to increase it”
