Is Taking a Drop the New Normal?

(Disclaimer: By Drop I mean a drop year taken after 12)

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life believing that it is stupid." said the great Albert Einstein. Now for a moment let us assume you don't know whether you're a fish or not. You don't know what you are and hence you don't know what you can't do and what is your element and should be doing. This is the state of a lot of Indian students who find themselves doomed when it comes to pursuing subjects for higher studies and stream for their career. This leads to a lot of uncertainty and probably dropping from the ongoing course and opting for something else or maybe taking a drop year after 12th. Now, there could be various reasons for taking a drop year some of the reasons being - health issues , personal reasons ,better rank, lack of preparation or an uncertainty about what to do next. The main two reasons for taking a drop after 12th is 

1) For Preparation

2) Uncertainty about what to do next. 

(For the batches of 2021&2022 additional factor which has exaggerated the problem No.1 is COVID.)

1) Preparation

When it comes to preparation there can be various reason why the student decided to take the drop.

Maybe they didn't attempt it first time as they thought they couldn't do boards and entrance together. 

Perhaps they didn't clear in the first attempt. Possibly they scored below expected and are confident about bettering their rank in second attempt.

"In general a student takes a drop just to make sure the preparations are on point. While it does take one year more, the extra time or preparation does give you an edge and helps to make sure you get the desired result. There isn’t any negative of taking a drop and if you can make sure you get into desired field or if you think that there is some lack of preparation or scope to do more for results higher than you are aiming for is why students take a drop." said a friend of mine. 

For entrance (precisely JEE and NEET for the context of the article) the syllabus of 11-12 has to be prepared which is as broad as a barn door and requires encyclopaedic learning. Speaking in numbers the seats in IITs across India are only 13,000 and there are only 90,000 government seats for medical. 1.5 million students appear for each entrance which is roughly 115 aspirants fighting for 1 seat in IIT and if you clear NEET then it's 41 students against each other for one seat in government institute. The reservations for NEET-UG seats were increased without increasing total number of seats which makes the odds even more slimmer than it already was.

As per the existing NEET-UG reservation criteria 2022, the union government provide 27% reservation to OBS , ST , SC and 10% reservation to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) under the All India Quota (AIQ) scheme. 

It is so clear how stressful and slim the odds are of getting into IIT or medical government seat. Now add the pressure of 12th boards , it's a huge uphill task. Yes, some "genius" get through but most of them don't because it's only 0.1% who get in. This is why a lot of student take a drop year to prepare thoroughly without the stress of boards and already learning from mistakes of the first attempt be it to clear the exam or for a better rank to get into a better college. 

I would also like to bring up how COVID hindered the preparation of 2021 and 2022 batches as they struggled with online mode and found it hectic and unhelpful compared to offline. How badly it affected whom depends from student to student and state to state. Overall a lot of students suffered because of this. The COVID situation made the already strenuous situation of aspirants even more taxing and ardent which led to not clearing in first attempt and opt for a drop to give it a second shot.

2) The Uncertainty 

"Lack of career counseling.I think till 10th all is been taken lightly and as you go in 11th the study load increases exponentially only you can say so what happens is college and coaching that you opt for makes your mind inclined to just the entrance exams to such extent that no other options you take into consideration delaying the time to make up your mind." said another friend of mine. 

It is true that barely anyone while in 10th know what they want to do. Everyone can't seem to figure out their core strengths and weakness by the end of their 10th. The portions until 10th is nothing compared to exponential jump of portion in 11th. Most of the students who score well in 10th take science as "Science ghe khup scope asa." (Trans from Konkani: Opt for science there's a lot of scope). 

Which is the honest truth, as many students don't know what they'll pursue for higher studies they take up science as the safe option. Little do they realise the rampant jump in the syllabus which may lead them to being exasperated with their choice. As you've opted for science toh NEET , JEE dena toh banta hi hai. And then like a cattle of sheep everyone starts preparing for the entrance and get so occupied that they are barely left with the time to ponder upon what they want to actually do. Some give NEET , JEE even though they don't wish to as they don't know what they want to do either. By the end of 12th they are in a farrago of what to do next. Time at the end of 12th is very slim and not at all enough for one to figure out what their own Pursuit of Happyness is. 

In today's world it's not that everyone has to become an engineer or doctor. The teachers , parents and students are all aligned on it and are aware of so many fields which have popped up and are booming in past years. 

You no longer have to be doctor , engineer or a failure. The sad truth is one barely knows about his/her strength and as a result the stream he/she wants to purue.

You have choices but choosing your future career stream is a very delicate and by far the most important decision of ones life expected to be made at the mere age of 17-18. 

Many students take a drop, but the fact that they are taking 1 full more year, doesn't really make them smarter or more prepared always, it can also have a bad effect on the individual. 

Sometimes the score after taking the drop is worse than the first attempt. There is also soceital pressure after taking drop.

If he or she takes a drop and still doesn't get into desired field, then student has high chance to suffer from depression and consider oneself to be a failure. 

To conclude these are the two main reason as to why taking a drop is on the rise. Although we cannot do anything about the number of seats but one should hunt down his/her true passion and talent. Taking a drop is a personal decision which should be respected by others rather than taunting or labelling him/her as a failure. It is better to take a drop and get into a better college or figure out your own purpose rather than settling for something you don't want. Life is long on a long run this one drop year won't even cost you much.

Just because you didn't get AIR 1 does not mean you are less worthy or undeserving maybe your pursuit lies elsewhere. Believe in yourself.

Every human are unique in their own different way , but they all are equal.