While most colleges saw only a marginal rise in cut-off marks, many students were still disappointed that they didn’t get their preferred colleges despite scoring 90 per cent and above
The junior college (Std XI) admissions are now on in full swing since the first merit list was released yesterday. While most colleges saw an upward swing in the cut-off percentage, marking tougher competition, it is the Arts stream that has witnessed a significant rise in numbers this year, with more students opting for it.
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When the first online merit list for junior college aspirants (Std XI) was announced on Monday evening, most colleges noticed their first cut-off going up by one or two percentage points, but this hardly surprised anyone, considering the fact that a greater number of students had scored 90 per cent and higher in the Board exams this year.
“While everybody is happy that more and more students are getting 90 per cent scores, it is really sad to see that many of those who score above 90 per cent still haven’t found seats in a college of their choice,” said Manju Nichani, principal of K C College in Churchgate.
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She added that even though the cut-offs at her college have only increased by one or two percentage points, many students and parents were dejected to not find their names in the list of a college of their choice. At K C College, the first merit list ended at 85.2 per cent for Arts, 90.8 per cent (aided) and 89.2 per cent (unaided) in the Commerce stream, while that for the Science stream ended at 90 per cent.
At N M College of Commerce and Economics in Vile Parle, the first merit list cut-off ended at 93.8 per cent, while at Sathaye College, the cut-off for Science stream ended at 93.94 per cent and Commerce at 88.4 per cent. “The hike in cut-offs was expected; I’m surprised it’s gone up only by a percentage point or so.
Considering the number of students scoring above 90-95 per cent this year, I was expecting a higher hike,” said Kavita Rege, principal of Sathaye College, adding that students should not be dejected as this is only the first list and two more lists are awaited before admissions are full at top colleges.
Students whose names appeared on the first merit list have time till Thursday to complete their provisional admissions by paying Rs 50 at their respective colleges. While few were surprised to note the higher cut-off marks in Science and Commerce, this year, even the Arts stream is experiencing more competition.
Principals are happy as this means that more and more students are now looking at Arts as a viable career option. At St Xavier’s College in Dhobi Talao, the first merit list for the Arts stream ended at 93.8 per cent, barely a percentage point higher than last year. At St Andrew’s College in Bandra, all three streams saw a minimal hike. “It’s good to see more and more students with good scores applying for Arts.
There was a time when students didn’t see any career options with Arts, but they’ve finally understood the various options available for them through this stream,” said Marie Fernandes, principal of St Andrew’s College, where the Arts stream saw the largest hike to 80 per cent, up by almost 4 percentage points compared to 2014, which means an increase by a good 25 marks or so. In comparison, the Science stream cut-off ended at 86.4 per cent and Commerce at 84 per cent (both up by a percentage point).
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