Admission season: Beginning of a new life

Gangmumei Kamei *

Freshers welcome at MSAD Annual Fresher's Meet at University of Delhi in September 2012

Academic career of all students start with admissions to schools, colleges and universities of one's preference before plunging into the exciting world of classrooms and field experiences in the concern institutions. Depending upon one's choice of institutions, campus life becomes one of the most memorable time period in student's life which will be imprinted in the record books of the institutions and the student's own certificates, which they would be proud of as 'alma mater' later in their life.

Campus becomes the second home for almost all students where teachers assume the role of a friend, philosopher and guide by nurturing the new minds who would be the pillars of our society. This entire exciting journey starts with what we so called as "Admission".

Choice of courses:

Many parents and students believe in hunting for the right institution and mostly the popular school, college or university as their first priority. It is important to admit in a good institution but more important than that is the course in which the student will be enrolling, engaging and would be learning till he/she completes the course. The student's interest, familiarity and the burning desire to learn in the course should be the major criteria for taking admission.

Many students end up taking up a course not known to them in a good institution but end up wasting time, money, energy and various other resources due to lack of familiarity, interest and unclear future prospects of the course. Such mistakes should be avoided and a clear mental map should be developed before admission so as to reap the maximum benefit.

Hunt for the right institution:

Every student wants to be in the best institution and that is also the dream of every parents. Most students and parents believe that popular institutions are the best in everything, but a close examination of the available data would reveal that the so called popular institutions are popular only in a few or some courses/areas but not in everything.

Hunting for the right institution should include - availability of good faculties to teach the desired course, students-teacher ratio, quality of students enrolled, infrastructures, policies and other facilities that would help the learning process more exciting, interesting and easy to follow. Blindly following the popular theoretical narratives of common man regarding the best institution might prove wrong in reality. So a reality check and personal visit to the institution would help in choosing the best.

Taking admission:

What could be more exciting than putting one's own favourite signature in the final admission form for the course and the institution one have been dreaming for long! Some of the best reactions after admission are the unstoppable joyous smile on both students and parents faces, facebook status update, long telephonic conversations with friends and relatives, family and friends gathering etc.

But on the way to admission, do not forget to check all the necessary documents, fulfilling the minimum eligibility criteria, admission fee/drafts/cheque, filling up the right information etc. in the admission form so as to avoid unnecessary and silly mistakes which might lead to cancellation of admission. Most of the students should always remember that admission is only the first step or like the ice tip but the real challenge and exciting task or the iceberg is lying ahead of them.

Orientation programmes:

Orienting the newly admitted students is one of the main tasks of every institution. It helps the students to familiarize the institution's vision, mission, goals, rules, policies etc. so as to smoothly transact the teaching-learning-administrative process in the institution. Such programmes also empower students to open up leadership roles, understanding their duties and responsibilities, respect the values and ethics of the learning environment, take proactive roles in the overall personal, institutional and societal development etc. Some institutions do have orientation programmes for both students and parents before the admission but the kind of orientation given after admission are more specific rather than general. In order to avoid chaos in future, students should listen and follow some of the ground rules carefully.

New classrooms, friends and faculties:

Formal learning through books is one way of understanding the reality. But the most exciting journey of learning starts with new friends, faculties and classrooms in the institution. Different interesting narratives and stories of new friends are shared in the institution's canteen, lawn, corridors etc. which make the campus life more vibrant and the real informal learning begins there.

New knowledge are imparted, shared, learnt and applied in various forms within and outside the four walls of the campus. Though many students would feel that newness is fading away as time progress, it is important to learn that every passing day, book chapter, pages, classes etc. is new, fresh and opens up various opportunities to learn new things. In short, learning is both psychological as well as behavioral modification and it mostly happens when there are new things to learn.

Beginning of a new journey:

Whether a person is the President of a country, Professor of a university, District Collector of a district, Scientist in a research institute or Doctor in a hospital etc., their academic career starts right from school to university. Many of our leaders are nurtured, shaped and moulded in various institutions spread across the length and breadth of our country. The academic journey begins from the day when each one of us admits ourselves into various institutions where our present and future destinations are decided.

In this juncture, it is very important for the youth of today to reflect upon themselves and choose their field of interest and institutions carefully before finally enter into the exciting world of learning. A wrong decision while choosing amongst the given alternatives of academic life could ruin one's own ambition and dreams. Most of the students whether a fresh pass out of class X/XII examination or school/college examination will begin their new journey soon in the coming few weeks to decide their fate and it would be delightful to see with their new avatars and a promise to serve the people at large.