Delhi University will be releasing its second and final cut-off list on Monday and now thousands of students are waiting in line, anxious. Understandably so, as this is their last chance to get a seat in the college of their dreams. But while hopes are still alive, their trust in the admission system has taken a serious hit. From confusing exam patterns to errors in answer keys, students say the entire admission and exam process has felt unfair and unreliable.
“I got the course I wanted in Round 1, but not the college I was hoping for,” said Gauri G Nair, a 17-year-old B.Com (Hons) aspirant. “I opted for an upgrade, and since the cut-offs have dropped this year due to difficult papers, I’m feeling hopeful. But this process has been so unpredictable. It’s hard to know what to expect.”
‘Admission in DU feels like a gamble’
Gauri is not alone. Many students, even those who’ve already secured seats, say the admission journey has felt like a gamble, especially because of how the CUET exams and results were handled this year.
“The CUET paper was full of out-of-syllabus questions,” Gauri said. “And when we tried calling the helpline, the people there didn’t seem to know anything. My Accountancy exam was even held twice due to NTA’s mistake. Then came the answer key, full of errors, and when we challenged it, hardly anything changed. It was just a mess.”
This mix of technical issues and lack of clarity has left students anxious about how their marks were calculated, especially after the controversial normalisation process, which adjusts scores based on paper difficulty.
Aditi Upadhyay, 18, also a B.Com (Hons) aspirant, said her CUET scores were slashed after normalisation, even though her exams had gone well. “The pattern was changed suddenly, and we had to attempt all 50 questions, even the difficult ones. The paper included outdated topics and had negative marking too. I didn’t get any seat in Round 1 because my marks dropped a lot after normalisation. I’m really hoping Round 2 gives me a fair chance.”
Students slam ‘uncertain’ process
For others, the experience was mentally draining. “It’s been an emotional rollercoaster,” said Vidhyanshu Singh, 17, who was allotted a seat for BA English (Hons) but has applied for an upgrade. “The process is exhausting. There’s so much waiting and uncertainty. It’s like running a marathon without knowing when it’ll end.”
The normalisation process, in particular, has become a major point of concern. “It felt like a silent injustice,” said Ananya Kannan, 18, a B.Eco (Hons) aspirant. “The final answer key had changes we weren’t told about. There was no clear way to raise objections. My marks dropped, and I know many others who faced the same. It felt like a clean crime, something big, but invisible.”
Even though the cutoffs have gone down in several courses due to tougher exams this year, students say the competition remains fierce, especially for popular programs like B.Com and Economics (Hons). For many, Round 2 is their last hope.
“This round is our final shot,” said Vidhyanshu. “We’ve already been through so much. All we want is for the system to be fair.”