Will the cut-off list relax or stress?

After the drop in St.Stephen's first cut off list, speculations around other colleges' cut-off list have begun

The process of sale and submission of common admission forms at Delhi University (DU) will come to an end this Friday. And then begins the countdown for the release of the eagerly awaited first cut-off list for colleges. Read on as we talk about the expectations of applicants from the 'notice boards' that'll decide their future.u00a0

The bright side
The first list is already out for the university's most sought-after college St. Stephen's, which has seen an unexpected dip in the percentage eligibility. It's this plunge that has sparked hopes among thousands of students who're now optimistic about an entry into their favourite college owing to the reduced percentage requirement.

Will the downturn follow?
Will the cut-off lists of other colleges follow the fresh trend set by St. Stephens? - is the most widely popped question these days in the campus. Ankur Jain who scored 95 per cent in standard 12 and now hopes to get a seat at Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) feels that students like him who're neither completely in nor completely out are stuck in a spiral of dilemma. He says, "You will not manage to get a college of your choice if you are on the boundary line. Either such students will have to settle for some other courses or opt for a different college. This dip in the cut-off percentage at St. Stephen's has really brought a smile on my face. I hope other colleges follow the suit and all of us will get a college of our choice." Anand Kumar, who did his intermediate in science stream and now wants to shift base to commerce says, "I have not scored so well in my class 12 exams. So a 'hope of a dip' is the only hope left for me if I want to get an admission in any of the colleges in north campus. Else, I'll have to settle for some college located outside the campus."u00a0 He scored 89 per cent marks and hails from Ranchi district in Jharkhand.

Look forward to
The first cut-off list is scheduled to be released on June 22. The second and thirdu00a0 list will be released on June 26 and July 1 respectively. The sale of forms for admission into DU for 54,000 seats in 65 regular colleges had begun on May 28. Also, over one lakh
students would be admitted to courses offered by the School of Open Learning (SOL) this year, the sale of forms for which had begun on June 4. Admissions to colleges at DU take place on the basis of the
cut-off lists, which are released individually by every college after the commencement of the submission of forms.

The other side
However, teachers feel that with increasing number of students scoring 90 and above percentage, the cut-off lists this year at DU are expected to be higher or the same compared to last year. Ratan Lal, a history teacher at Hindu college said, "If we see closely and observe the decline in percentage at St. Stephen's College, it is only for science students seeking admission other streams. For students of commerce and humanities, the cut-off percentage has been the same. The class 12 results has been fantastic and I don't see a reason to reduce the marks." Seema Parihar, deputy dean, students' welfare says, "It's very difficult to predict if the cut off percentage will go up or down. St. Stephen's witnessed a decline due to their internal reasons. Moreover, they follow a different admission rule. So I would advise the students to stay calm and hope for the best."