DU cut-offs rising,trickle to foreign shores now an exodus

Having considered studying abroad after school,Breja got to work on the plan and applied to several universities in North America. As she scored 90 per cent in Class XII,she chose to do a BA in Economics at Toronto University. Breja,however,was not alone or not even in a minority. Of the 930 students who passed from DPS,RK Puram,this year,430 chose the same route to college,more than double the 203 in 2009.

It is a trend that is beginning to catch on,said teachers and students at other top schools in the Capital,with some schools even encouraging students to explore international options to get around the high cut-offs at Delhi University. The Sunday Express found that about 90-100 students out of a class of 350-400 go abroad every year from Modern School,Barakhamba Road. At DPS,Mathura Road,and St. Columbas School,the number is around 20 students from a class of 370 and 250 respectively.

Many of these schools even have international admission cells to help students identify universities for the courses they are interested in. They also function as SAT exam centres for admission to American universities,eliminating private agencies and coaching centres.

Children joining foreign universities is definitely on the rise. It has moved from 5-7 per cent six-seven years ago to 15-20 per cent this year from the ISC stream. Also,99 per cent of our IB students secure admissions abroad, said Komal Sood,principal of Shri Ram School,Moulsari Avenue,Gurgaon.

DU cut-offs rising,trickle to foreign shores now an exodus

Her school employs two part-time counselors,one specializing in US admissions and the other for Britain,Singapore and other countries,besides a full-time counselor. They have also started offering the PSAT exam from class IX to prepare students for the SAT exam.

While many students prefer to study abroad also because of the quality of education and the variety of courses available there,the near-impossible cut-offs at DU seem to play a major role in the decision. I have class 11 students coming to me with anxieties about cut-offs. Some of them feel they have no chance of getting admission in Delhi University and wonder what to do next, said Aastha Bajaj,education counselor at DPS,Mathura Road.

South Delhi resident Ashwani Chawla says cut-off percentages are weird in Delhi University when levels for previous years and other exam boards are considered. Although his daugher Arushi scored 96.8 percent from DPS,RK Puram,she preferred the Electrical and Computer Engineering course at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Similarly,Dhruv Chand Aggarwal,Modern Schools topper this year with 95 percent,will head to Yale to study economics,while Varun Jayaswal,who studied at the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce for a year,has got admission in Arizona State University to pursue supply chain management.

While studying abroad might sound like a good way to beat the DU cut-offs,affordability is a critical consideration and only families with deep pockets can pay their way,teachers and students said. The cost of studying at Ivy League colleges in the US is estimated at Rs 25-30 lakh per year and only exceptional students get scholarships. State universities are more affordable but offer few scholarships.

Some teachers,such as St. Columbas principal Brother Lennie Lobo,also wonder whether studying abroad after school is a good idea. I think the right time to go abroad is for post-graduate studies but when I see that they are limited by cut-offs,I understand the choices they make, he said. Shri Rams Sood agrees with him and says she doesnt see this trend changing soon. Looking at the way the cut-offs are going,I dont see this happening in the near future, she said.