{"id":10614,"date":"2022-05-12T01:43:30","date_gmt":"2022-05-11T20:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/?p=10614"},"modified":"2022-05-13T15:18:09","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T09:48:09","slug":"college-admission-common-entrance-test-undergraduate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/college-admission-common-entrance-test-undergraduate\/","title":{"rendered":"A Common Entrance Exam for Undergraduate College Admission \u2013 Two Steps Forward, One Step Back?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Every year, between June to August, there is unmistakable anxiety on the faces of graduating school students and their parents around the country. It is the season of College Admission \u2013 The culmination of everything they have aspired for and worked towards for years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting admission into a top college is a dream that students and parents nurture for years. From scoring <\/span><b>top-notch board scores<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, taking up <\/span><b>coaching classes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and acing <\/span><b>entrance exams<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 a lot of hard work, dedication, time, and money goes into securing college admission. Yet despite the efforts students and their parents put into turning this dream into a reality, college admission hinges on a lot of external factors they don\u2019t have control over.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Mark inflation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Disparate board marking pattern<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Different eligibility criteria for different colleges<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Multiple entrance tests\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">All these factors are in the college admission process and for years students and parents have despaired over it. However, this year came with unexpected, yet a piece of welcome news.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 78px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 78px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 100%; height: 78px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\">In March 2022 the University Grants Commission (UGC) announced that from this year onwards all undergraduate admission into Central Universities across the country will be done through a common entrance test \u2013 Common University Entrance Test or CUET.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">This move was made to counter the challenges faced by students across the country as they seek college admission for an undergraduate degree. But how far this new move will find success is yet to be determined.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">In this blog, we\u2019ll be discussing the hits and misses of CUET.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Why Was a Common Entrance for Undergraduate College Admission Needed?\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Reducing Dependency on Board Scores<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">In India, there is no common <a title=\"How to Choose the Right School Curriculum\" href=\"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/guide-to-choosing-a-board-curriculum-7-proven-judgement-pillars\/\">school curriculum<\/a> or board. There are CBSE schools, ICSE schools, HSC schools, and international schools that follow <a title=\"The Appeal of International Curriculum\" href=\"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/international-curriculum-indian-education-system\/\">international curricula<\/a> like Cambridge or IB. Each is governed by a different board, follows a different curriculum, and has its own marking scheme.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">While one board can be very easy-going with marks, the other very stringent. We have often seen comparisons like 95% in CBSE is equivalent to 70% in some state boards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">This means that a student from a state board school will face an obvious disadvantage when it comes to college admission.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>A Solution to 100% Cut-offs<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Over the past several years, <a title=\"Why 100% Cut-off in Delhi university\" href=\"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/college-admission-du-cut-offs\/\">Delhi University<\/a> has shown incredibly high cut-off scores. Only last year 5 honours subjects, across 7 different colleges has 100% cut-offs. This is trend is not exclusive to DU itself. Many colleges and universities across the country are following this pattern.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/DU-Indian-Express2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10615 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/DU-Indian-Express2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"694\" height=\"312\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">This means a student with 95% marks is ineligible to study in one of the premier institutes in India. Is a student with that high a score not smart enough?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">And what about a student from a state board who is the topper and yet the top score is still rendering him ineligible for college admission?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Different Eligibility Criteria for Different Universities<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">In India, there are 54 central universities. Until the announcement of the common entrance test, every university had its entry criteria and\/or <a title=\"Is Coaching Necessary for Entrance Exams?\" href=\"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/is-coaching-necessary-for-college-entrance-exams\/\">entrance exams<\/a>. Many universities admitted students solely based on entrance scores, others conducted entrance exams of their own and many used a combination of both as eligibility criteria.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This meant that a student graduating from 12<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> grade, after spending all their time and energy to do well in 12 boards now had to apply to multiple universities separately, and appear for different entrance exams, across different states.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Quite naturally, students had to compromise on which colleges or universities they applied to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">This also meant at the end of college admission season \u2013 some universities had an overflowing number of applicants and others had vacancies that won\u2019t be filled that academic year. This was a lose-lose situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Non-domain Specific Admission into Honours Subject<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">In India, there is a strange occurrence during college admissions that often boggles students and experts in education alike.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">A student from science stream with Maths, Physics, and Chemistry as elective subjects in 12th, with a 99% score, can find admission into humanities undergraduate honours degree like Economics or English in a top college over a student from humanities stream with a lesser score.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sure, many students don\u2019t choose their stream after 10<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> carefully and there should be flexibility in choosing areas of study in college. But it doesn\u2019t seem very fair to the student who actually knew their mind and chose their stream carefully \u2013 only to find that despite having the right background they were ineligible.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/importance-of-stream-selection-in-the-career-journey\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Why Is Right Stream Selection Important for Successful Career Journey<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\">A common entrance test is an easy solution to all these challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\">It will put students from across boards and curricula on equal footing to secure college admission into top universities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\">It will bring down the trend of high cut-off scores.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\">It will allow students a breather from multiple tests and reduce their stress.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\">It will allow for domain-specific knowledge assessment for entry into undergraduate degrees.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">If CUET is such an obvious solution, why do many still have so many reservations against it?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>The Case Against Common Entrance Test for College Admission<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Focus on Academics Only!<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">For the longest time academics have been the only factor that decides the fate of a student&#8217;s college admission and career path after that. Be it board scores or entrance exam scores, the worth of a student is still determined by a number on their mark sheet. However, there are many factors beyond academics that determine success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">More and more colleges are looking into students&#8217; personalities, their demonstrated interest, how they present their stories and how they can contribute to the college. Even with a common entrance test, the focus is still entirely on how many marks a student can score.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">CUET may be able to curb the immediate problem of high cut-offs, but mark inflation is still a reality. Sooner rather than later all colleges will recognise the need for assessing a student\u2019s complete Profile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/product\/promap\/check-your-profile-score\/get-started\/\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\"><b>How Strong is Your Current Profile?<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Too Much Ambiguity, Not Much Common-ness<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">CUET sure is a much-needed step in the right direction. Yet, the current guidelines issued by UGC are too ambiguous and leave room for too many loopholes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Firstly, all Central Universities offering undergraduate and integrated-post graduate degrees are bound to follow CUET marks for college admission. However, they can add other eligibility criteria beyond CUET scores at their discretion. So the disparity between college admission processes within different universities remains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Secondly, while CUET is mandatory for all Central Universities, state and private universities can use their own discretion on whether or not they choose to follow CUET scores for college admission. This means students still need to apply for those universities separately and appear for multiple exams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">As it turns out, the common entrance test isn\u2019t as common as it sounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>No Centralized Counselling<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">CUET isn&#8217;t the first attempt at centralizing college admission for undergraduate degrees. Before this, admission into engineering and medical colleges was made through central common entrance tests \u2013 JEE and NEET respectively. However, both JEE and NEET have a centralized counselling process to allot seats to students based on their scores. CUET has no such provisions. Students have to individually apply to universities of their choice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>CUET \u2013 A Step Forward But Miles To Go<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">The common entrance test for undergraduate college admission is a step forward in many ways. It has some obvious advantages. Yet, there are too many ambiguities remaining that will soon give rise to more complications. More importantly, it fails to address the need of the hour \u2013 focusing on the shift away from &#8216;only marks&#8217; to a &#8216;holistic profile&#8217; of a student.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Profile building isn&#8217;t a good-to-have, fancy-sounding buzzword to throw around. It has real value to add to a student&#8217;s life. There are skills as important as marks when it comes to becoming successful in the real world. Many colleges today are recognizing the value of assessing a student beyond their academic scores. It is high time to factor it into common entrance test guidelines too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/products.univariety.com\/product\/promap\/\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\">Be Prepared for Tomorrow, Build a Strong College-ready Profile Today!<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year, between June to August, there is unmistakable anxiety on the faces of graduating school students and their parents around the country. It is the season of College Admission \u2013 The culmination of everything they have aspired for and worked towards for years.\u00a0 Getting admission into a top college is a dream that students<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10076,"featured_media":10616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":""},"categories":[332,76,1],"tags":[307,299,415,374,3096,3097,193,588],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v15.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>College Admission for Undergraduates \u2013 A Common Entrance Test -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This year on there will be a common entrance test for undergraduate college admission. 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