A few years back, while discussing college options for Ash, brother suggested a few new-age liberal colleges in India such as Krea, Ashoka, Flame and Azim Premji university, which had good profs and a near-Western model of education, different from the rot learning and exam pattern followed in most of India.
Looking at fees, I found that almost all of them cost around Rs12 lakh for a UG course, but their infrastructure looked first class. We didnt pursue them much for Ash considering that UAE weather suited his eczemic skin the most.
Since Mira expressed an interest to go to Bangalore for uni, the only choice among these was APU. By the time I went to the site to check the admission process, the deadline for the second round of admission was nearing (the first round began in October and concluded in December). We quickly filled the form before the March 9 deadline paying a Rs 500 admission fee; unknown to M, I kept BA social science as second choice after Economics. And just as her Boards got over on March 31, we received the National Entrance Test call letter. Since we chose Trivandrum as the test centre, we got Musaliar college in Chirayinkeezhu. After confirming with M her interest in the uni, we booked tickets to Kerala. The test was on Easter Sunday, April 9 but in the afternoon from 2-5 pm. It was online and assessed her grasp of the subject, Maths, English as well as whatever she had learnt in her school years. She took all of 3 hours, but did fairly okay.
Two weeks later, we were informed by SMS and on the applicant portal that she had qualified for an interview for her second choice subject. The online interview was scheduled for May 9 by which time we had returned to the UAE. Since we had a whole family of guests, preparations were not great but M locked herself in the drawing room to attend the half hour long interview on zoom. Two profs grilled her on poverty, gender equality in India vis a vis the UAE apart from her choice of the uni and what she hoped to attain from the course. She did not do very well as she felt the profs were debating all her answers. Moreover, CBSE had scrapped the chapter on poverty for exams and the school did not cover it.
In two weeks' time, we were intimated that M was waitlisted for social science. By then, she had attended interview for BBA Finance in Christ uni and BVoc Visual Media & Film making in St Joseph, both in Bangalore. In the former, we were advised to approach the Pune or Delhi campuses for a seat which we ignored. So M devoted all her energy to doing the SJU test well. She did pretty well - she was quizzed about a short film, a movie extract and an ad (which were given in advance), and the prof found her answers good. The second interview (for the candidate and parent) with the dean a few days later was a mere formality, and she sailed through.
She affirmed to us her passion for the course, and by June 9 we paid fees at SJU (apart from the modest tuition fee there is a one-time fee of 50k for NRIs and an eligibility fee of 10k for non-Karnataka students). Not a rip-off like Christ, which charged us 100 USD for the application itself.
We desperately hoped/called APU to know the status but were told it would take another 10 days. The students who handle the admission team procedures there are pretty dumb I must say, and some dont even understand what you ask in English (since APU admits students from all parts of the country, many from economically backward families or from non-English mediums) and you cut an international call in exasperation.
On June 20, we were informed that M had won a seat and were asked to pay Rs.148000 in 4 days time as first semester fee (apart from that, the student will incur Rs 250 per day for food and Rs 8500 for shuttle transport). For those of us who don't fall under the less than 7 lakh annual income bracket, the fees has to be paid in full; others get partial to full scholarships.
The initial indifference to the news soon turned to an ardent campaign to make M agree - with her grandparents, parents, relatives and well wishers giving their two pennies worth of advice on why APU was a better choice than SJU. The attraction of a good college hostel as opposed to crowded PG accommodation made us root for APU. Mira did not agree as she preferred a practical oriented course to a theoretical one.
So here we are, letting go of a hard-won seat at APU for what is an ordinary degree in a run of the mill uni. I hope we will not regret our decision.
This post is for those who might be scouting for info on how to apply in APU. The past few months I did that - videos on Youtube, on the uni website and any info from students and college admission platforms.
#APU #SJU
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