One wrong choice need not end your dreams

Some students have clear goals, lofty ideals and high benchmarks – the most common being to get into IITs, National Law Schools, NDA or MBBS. The competition is so high, barely 1% of the aspirants get a seat. Even capable students miss out sometimes due to various reasons.

Those who have a Plan B ready manage to move on to an alternative course. But many students who select a course in a college they like, often based on what others have recommended, realise later that the choice was wrong. It could be because of the subjects, the teachers, the college ambience or a fear that the particular course may not get them a good job.

In such a situation, you have three choices:

(1) Continue with the course and complete it even if you do not get high marks, and plan what you would do after completion, including moving on to a different field through post-graduation or entry-level work experience. A university degree never gets wasted even if you change your field, and a strong foundation would have been laid to move into something which you truly desire.

(2) Continue with your studies planning for entrance exams to get into a better institution next year. In this option, you won’t lose out even if you do not get your favoured choice even on the second attempt. You can go through the balance years to acquire the degree you are in.

(3) Drop out, spend the year gaining in-depth knowledge of alternative careers and colleges, doing internships and short online courses in the field of your choice, and make a strong effort to get into a very good institution. In the third alternative, you should be very focused and spend the year fruitfully. I have known students who have dropped out, and wasted the year directionless, leading to bigger disappointment in the next academic year. 

The essential factor in making choices is to understand and narrow down your long-term career goals, based on not just interest but on a combination of multiple intelligence, personality traits, specific skills, social and commercial acumen, concentration and attention span, general knowledge and academic capabilities – which together determine your aptitude. Then it is easy to select courses that are most suitable to you with no regrets.

There are examples of students who chose a course under peer or parental pressure and then felt they could not cope with it. They drop out in frustration and blindly take up a general course like BBA thinking it will be easier, without knowing where they are going.

Choices in courses and the number of colleges and universities have expanded significantly in the past few years. There are innumerable options in each field including technology, health care, life sciences, social sciences, communication, creativity etc. Detailed and careful selection can ensure that any mistake or wrong decision can still be set right. The important factor is to select based on your capabilities, and not get influenced by what everyone else is doing, or where there is good ‘scope’.

Post-SSLC problems

Those who have completed Class 10 need to decide their academics for the first time in their life i.e. to opt for science, commerce or arts, the combination of subjects, and the Board of study. Some do not get a seat in a college they are keen on, or get disappointed once the classes begin.

Such students also must explore whether it is still possible to change optional subjects (which should be done based on their aptitude), change college if admissions are still open, or go through at least one year and explore deeply to determine whether a change is required and for what reason. Taking a year off should be done only as a last resort, with a clear goal of how that year will be spent meaningfully to ensure you move in the right direction.

One wrong choice need not end your dreams. If you do not succumb to frustration or depression, immediately start exploring alternatives, and take a calculated decision, you can move into a better and more rewarding career path.