Six Steps to Select Your Ideal College: Vidura Arya

Dyal Singh College, Delhi University

Firstly, I’d thank God for the fact that I am writing on a topic on which I can now speak (rather, educate) with full confidence, and use all that I have learnt in the past few months. My April to July, that is, four months to be precise, have been all about applying to different institutions, preparing for entrance tests, searching for the right college or university, and ruminating on their aspects.

I have learnt that selecting the right college isn’t as troublesome as long as you are clear of what you want. This means two things: knowing what you want to study i.e. your course, and what you expect from your college.

Once you have the decided the course (hopefully) based on your interests, the second task can be daunting, but I’ll help you out. Save your time and effort by going through these tips to decide your perfect college for graduation.

1) Teaching, Learning and Resources

Faculty- yes! It matters quite a lot even if many have the perception that teachers have negligible role to play in graduation since all depends on the students, but this is not entirely true. A supportive, qualified, and experienced faculty team can help you develop interest in the college and the course eventually. The teachers should be proficient in their subjects, be encouraging and guiding enough to steer you in the right direction after graduation. Most importantly, they should encourage research in the respective field and be open to ideas and innovation, and be abreast with the times.

Talk to the seniors and compare accordingly.

2) Exposure

If you really want to do something in these 3 years, make sure that you consider this point the most! What in real terms separates colleges is this itself. Your college should expose you to the real world through a lot of internships, workshops, seminars and field trips. There can be plenty of learning if you network with the communities that visit your college, meet new people and learn different trades that ultimately make you an outgoing and aware person.

How to know this? Just meet the students of that college and you will see. Notice how they interact, how much they know, and if they ever represent their college in different places.

Students of a good college will always stand out from the rest not because of academics, but exposure!

3) Internships and Placements

This is just an extension of the point above. Many start-ups come in colleges and offer internships, mostly unpaid, to the first-year students. You can become a volunteer or ‘campus ambassador’ of some brand in your college. Some of them also give you a ‘pre-placement offer’ (PPO). You will always have to find internships on your own via sites like Internshala or Intern Theory, and the college, in most of the cases, will have a small role to play.

Check not only that reputed companies come to your college but also that they come with significant job roles for you.

Again, I will say that you should talk to the seniors and teachers regarding this too.

4) Research and professional practice

This is one of the parameters for MHRD to rank institutions in India. See if your college publishes periodicals and journals. You should know if it owns intellectual properties and patents. This might be difficult to know in some cases so rather learn about the ‘projects’, ‘professional practice’ and ‘executive development programs’.

5) Outreach and Inclusivity

A top college is known to accommodate diverse individuals. Ask people if students from other states/countries come to study there and how many of them are girls, especially from economically and socially challenged strata.

6) Public Perception

What is your college’s rank? How competitive is it? How is it ‘perceived’ by the public? In other words, what is the image of your college in the minds of people? Choose a college which has unparalleled legacy- yes, that’s the word- legacy. It takes many, many years for an institute to build rapport with the masses. Choose a college which is an established brand name.

This, among many other factors like location and your budget, decides where you will land. Remember, not a single institute will be perfect enough to have all the things mentioned above, so you have to decide after a lot of deliberation and after knowing what you really want.

It will be easy, I am sure.

About the Author:

I am Vidura Arya, a student of Dyal Singh College of Delhi University pursuing BA English (H). I took ‘Commerce with Psychology’ in High School.

 I am passionate about oratory and public-speaking right from the beginning. I have participated in a lot of debates and video conferences at various levels. I have bagged several awards at debates and writing competitions.

As the Literary Captain of my school and a member of Executive Guild, I have been the editor of my school newspaper for two years. Lately, I have started to develop my love for writing as I’m doing an internship as a content writer.