How I chose my college: Donika Juthani

I studied Class XI-XII from JH Ambani School and like every PCM student I focused on cracking the JEE examinations to get into IITs, but the teachers of my school always pressurized to practice just NCERT and nothing else as they wanted us to focus on the board exams. It was very tough to focus on the school internals as well as prepare for the competitive exams. But fortunately my coaching institute teachers were very supportive and they guided me correctly. I completed NCERT quite early and then practiced questions from various books that were recommended by my coaching teachers.

Since, board marks were not in consideration for the admission into IITs and NITs , I left the board exam preparation for a few months and concentrated on JEE. When the time came for filling up the registration forms for various colleges, I chose DA-IICT. But I had aimed to get into NITs or  IITs. However after the results were out, I did not get Computer Science in NITs and hence DA-IICT was the best option left. Even after getting 193 marks (10015 rank in general category) in JEE mains I could not get the desired branch in any of the prestige NITs. Hence, I chose ICT branch in DA-IICT which I think was the wisest decision I made.

How did I cracked my DAI-IICT's admission process

Since school, I focused only on my board exams. Admission to IITs and NITs just required 75% in 12th Board and I was really very confused regarding the studying strategy. But then my coaching teachers guided me and I completed my NCERT text books of all subjects by July. After that I focused only on competitive exams. Apart from JEE, I had also registered for other entrances such as BITSAT, VITEEE, MU-OET, SRMJEEE and GUJCET. Although my score was quite good in all of the examinations, some of the colleges were too far from my home town Surat and hence I cancelled the idea of those. GUJCET had opened the doors for colleges of Gujarat but they did not match my level. After much research and thought process, DA-IICT was the best suitable choice. I took advice from many of my seniors but the final choice was mine. At the end there were two options left : ECE in SVNIT, Surat or ICT in DA-IICT. The title of SVNIT mattered but I wanted CS. Even though DA-IICT did not give CS, many seniors gave very positive responses regarding DA-IICT and hence here I am. 

College life

I had gone to visit the campus to make the final decision between SVNIT and DA-IICT much before I got admission and if I compare that time with now, there is a huge difference. The campus is very green and clean. The scenic beauty with large species of birds and animals is a treat to the eyes. Outside girls residence, you can always see at least one peacock and many peahens. The campus may appear smaller than other colleges but you need to walk too much to go to the lecture halls and the cafeteria. For girls, the distance is much larger as the girls’ residence is quite far from the lecture theaters. At the beginning, the roads appeared very confusing but now there are a lot of shortcuts from one place to other.

The curriculum is designed such that either you need to study regularly or you can even study one week before the exams and you’ll score almost the same. There are a lot of extra-curricular activities like dance, drama, sports, music etc. After you get admission in the college, the rooms are provided and for one week regular orientations are organized for freshers to introduce them to college rules and activities. Some of the orientations are compulsory to attend for parents as well as they describe the course structure and academic related things. I attended almost all the orientations.

Then came the clubs and committees orientations where in the seniors belonging to the respective clubs describe the activities. I gave audition for dance club and drama club. I also played volleyball in the beginning for about 3 months but since my dance practices clashed with sports, I had to quit volleyball. Dance club is the most active club according to me and outstation trip to Goa is organised where we participated in the annual fest of BITS Goa. Apart from this, I attended the regular sessions are organised for game development. As I entered the college there was a plethora of activities and I had to choose some, wisely balancing the academics.

First year of college goes in exploring the activities and interests. The annual fests provides the best experience in terms of enjoying food trucks and activities. Friend circle and peer group matters the most. There is good interaction with seniors and they motivate a lot to take part in the activities and competitions. In the beginning, I was a part of 13 girls group and as the days passed, I got more attached to the dance club and that became my group for some period of time and as the exams came, I was a part of the nerds. So, the idea of peer group is very dynamic and it keeps on changing and the best way to keep yourself stable is to never get emotionally attached to someone. I wish to involved in more of coding competitions as I did not get time in first year. Also, being a PE student in XI-XII, it was difficult for me to understand coding in the beginning, but as my interest developed, I practiced more and more. I am looking forward to the amazing rural internship this Diwali and an amazing second year mentoring and motivating the juniors.

About the Author: 

My name is Donika Juthani and I am a student of DA-IICT (Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology). Besides being a front-end web developer and coding enthusiast, I am also interested in Machine Learning. I have actively participated in annual tech fests and I am an energetic member of DADC (dance club). My hobbies include reading and sketching. I am hardworking and very good at managing events.