Delhi University is every aspiring student’s dream unless of course the dream has been held hostage by the over-hyped dream of an IIT. The mere thought of studying in one of the best universities in the country is bound to give an upsurge of adrenaline to anyone. And with the new academic session just having begun, there are few things that you really ought to know, especially if you managed to secure a seat in any of the colleges of Delhi University. The next three undergraduate years of your life will inevitably teach you some things that no one else will tell you.
The slogging never comes to an end.
If anyone ever told you that life becomes easier in college and that the 12th boards is the last time you’ll have to work hard, they have been lying to you. It doesn’t get better. And it definitely doesn’t get easier. You have to perhaps put double the hard work that you put in school. Each assignment is a struggle and each semester exam seems like an apocalypse. And the bad news is, it doesn’t get better even after you pass out of college. In short, you have to slog your way through life if you want to make something of yourself and there are no shortcuts to it.
Delhi University teachers are… different.
Most students are bound to undergo a culture shock of sorts when they start studying at a Delhi University college. The teachers are stark opposite of what students are accustomed to in their schooling years. They won’t condescendingly treat you like kids and all your opinions will be heard. The teachers won’t spoon – feed you and neither will they expect you to hover around them. Not to mention, they will be some of the coolest people you will come across. And by the end of the three years, you will somehow realise that they have turned your life around.
Timetables will continue to haunt you.
Remember how you hated getting up early in the morning to go to school? The feeling’s not going to change. With lectures beginning from as early as 8:30 a.m., it will just feel like school days all over again. On some days, while you will have seven consecutive lectures, on other days you might just have two. Delhi University timetables are maddening and exhausting but no matter how much you hate it, the moment you are out of college, you’ll miss the sense of routine it gave you.
It’s okay to bunk a few classes.
Don’t get me wrong, but every once in a while, it is completely okay to not attend a lecture or two. Sometimes the college routine can turn hectic and rigorous and it is okay to give yourself a break. The best part is, in Delhi University, no one is after your life for missing classes. And one day, you will find yourself going to lectures of your own accord. It’s a life – lesson that Delhi University students learn on their own – that the more we are stopped from doing something, the more we want to do it. And when unnecessary restrictions are lifted, we respond rationally to it.
It’s not too late to start over.
Being a student of Delhi University means that you will be given countless chances to start over and make yourself better. Ironically, no one is interested in your 12th grade results after the first day of college so you can start over from the very 2nd day. You can put behind the person you were before and create a new identity for yourself. In fact, if you have had a bad semester, you can put that aside and work better in the next. The atmosphere and academic structure of Delhi University allows each student to work on themselves without having to worry about their past baggage.
Delhi University is undeniably one of the best universities in India and studying there fetches you more than just a valuable degree.