College Dilemmas

–The right choice

A COLLEGE ENCYCLOPEDIA
THAT HELPS YOU CHOOSE
YOUR COLLEGE RIGHT AFTER
CLASS 10... DIPTI RANGLANI
GIVES YOU THE LOWDOWN ON
PASSOUT.CO.IN

Now that the class ten examinations are done, the next stage is upon students. It's hardly been a while since students are done stressing over their examinations and their expectant grades. But the new-found pressure of having to decide what to pursue next is already beginning to mount. A phase often thought of as a time to enjoy without a care in the world, for many students, this remains as stressful a time as the exams itself. It is the time to make that all important decision as to what future you want to secure for yourself. An uninformed decision now could cause a lot of problems in the future. If you are done with class 10 and are confused about which college to go to and how to apply, the online ‘college encyclopedia’ at passout.co.in College Dilemmas can help you keep your cool. Here, you can choose between science, arts or commerce streams, find out if the college of your choice accepts IB, A-level, ISC and CBSE scores and if you scored enough to make the grade. You also get an insight into the student body and faculty on campus. Utsav Agarwal, co-founder of Passout.co.in, came up with this idea a couple of years ago. An MBA graduate and part-time guest lecturer at many renowned colleges in Mumbai, Utsav has a one-point agenda – making the lives of tenth-standard graduates a little easier. Utsav, driven by the idea of guiding the youth of India, shared the basic idea of Passout with his younger brother Manav Agarwal, a second-year computer engineering student from DJ Sanghvi College of Engineering. Having faced similar problems and uncertainty about the future despite his excellent score in class 10, Manav was naturally attracted to this project. After a year of thorough research, impeccable listing and several site editions, the final product is now a swanky website, easily accessible to students. It guides them not only in choosing a course that is apt for their futuristic goals, but also helps students with admission procedures, cut offs, college reviews and campus news. Utsav has targeted this website to class 10 students because he thinks that, contrary to popular belief, planning of your future starts when you graduate from class 10. He says, “Most people believe that the major junction for students’ career paths is class 12. However, students should know all the options they have right

after the tenth. They should make informed decisions rather than waiting for two more years. Take the example of a student who has a knack for accounting, but whose parents feel science is a better and safer option. So they push him towards it, even though he has no interest in it. He’s ends up getting average marks and his selfconfidence takes a serious blow. He eventually ends up taking accounting after his twelfth standard and as a result, he's behind his entire class who probably took up the commerce stream right after the tenth. Thus, two years are completely wasted.” The dream that the co-founders have is to provide students with most accurate information about what their future could be when choosing a particular stream. Students can avoid common pitfalls, which could end up saving them precious time and help them hone their skills in areas related to their field of study. At the moment, Passout.co.in offers an extensive and exhaustive list of all the colleges and schools in Mumbai. The website will soon venture into Pune as well. This list also includes honest and informative college reviews given by the students studying in those colleges itself. Pratik Tolani, an ICSE student from Maneckji Cooper School, Mumbai says, “I always had heard about St Xavier’s College but had no idea what is the college all about. The college review section helped me know the college in and out, from the canteen, crowd, infrastructure and faculty – all that one needs to know.” Not only does the website tell you what the teachers and facilities are like, but they also tell you about things that matter the most — like the crowd there and where you can get the best food around the college! Sasha Shrimankar from St Joseph School, Mumbai says, “Passout is truly a remarkable platform. One gets to know the cutoffs of various colleges in one go rather than running from post to pillar.” The website also offers you a tool that shows you what the cut-offs were last year and what you can expect this time around. This is important not only for those 60th percentile students but also for those confused 90th percentile students. Utsav advises students, “Don’t drop your stream because of bad scoring. There are over 400 colleges that take in students with lower grades in science. So if you definitely want to become a doctor, pursue your dream and switch later in your studies.” With many new emerging boards like IB, A-Levels and ISC, the options for students have opened up in the last five to six years. Many people have little or no information about these boards due to their nascent nature. Hence, passout.co.in offers a look at all the information you need to know. While a counsellor could offer you all this information, not everyone can afford it. Passout.co.in offers all this to you completely free. Passout offers access to all the information one needs to know to choose the right path, achieve success and ensure smooth transition from school to college. The website has received an overwhelming response. Not only has it generated a footfall of thousands, Utsav also finds that his phone is constantly ringing with anxious parents calling him up. While some call up to know more about the colleges and courses, some ask for help to the confusing admission procedure and some just call to tell him how great the website is. He even hosts counselling sessions for students on the days when he is free. All this leads to quite a hectic schedule. But he doesn’t mind; because after all it’s all about the students who are the future of the country.