CUET deadline extended: Delhi’s college aspirants heave a sigh of relief

The deadline for submission of application for Common University Entrance Test (CUET) form has been extended to March 30, leaving college aspirants elated. From facing technical glitches to making the right choice in terms of college/course, the grace period has enabled class XII students to counter it all.

It’s the second batch of college aspirants who will be attempting Common University Entrance Test (CUET) this year. And those students of class XII, who had to submit their application for admission in UG courses of Delhi University (DU) are finally breathing a sigh of relief since it was recently announced that the last date for submission of CUET forms has been extended uptill March 30.

Aspiring DU students are happy to get a grace period till March 30, to submit their CUET application. (Photo: Sanchit Khanna/HT (For representational purpose only))

The application process commenced on February 9, days before the beginning of class XII board examination on February 15, which gave the youngsters hardly any time to apply. Anshita Gusain, a student aspiring to get a coveted DU seat, was in tears when the initial deadline made her face challenges in depositing her fee as the site crashed each time. “My fees was still pending, and I was petrified that I’ll be unable to submit my form in time. Now that March 30 is the new final date, I can finally finish my application process without worrying out dropping a year due to technical glitches. At present, my board exams are on till April 1, and this extension in submission deadline has atleast given me a window to be able to wrap up my application process without compromising my prep time for boards,” says Gusain.

Siddharth Anand, another class XII student, was elated when he found out about this news, right after leaving the exam hall, and felt a weight lift off his shoulders. “I was so stressed while writing my mathematics board exam that my brain was going ‘Deadline! Deadline!’ the whole time. My Economics exam was yesterday, which is quite tricky for me, but I could manage it and focus on studying only because of this extension in deadline,” asserts Anand, adding that he is now confident to apply for the CUET UG examination as it’s in a much more relaxed and stress-free manner.

Last year, admission process of 90 universities depended on CUET examination whereas this year, students looking for admission to 168 universities for undergraduate courses will pin their hopes on their CUET score. With more colleges and courses included in the process, some students feel that more options will help them chart out their future plans in a better way. One among these youngsters is Shalini Nanda, a class XII student, who says, “Earlier I had just selected one course, that is Political Science because the board exams are so stressful. Now I can make an informed decision about whether to choose an honours or programme course and which college or department to opt for. Itni tension mein I could barely even think. But this extension is a gift, and I will not take it lightly.”

Some students who had applied well in time to meet the initial deadline are now extending help to others during this grace period. Take for instance Krisha Gill, a class XII student, whose board exams began on February 24 and are on till April 5. “I had already applied for the CUET since I am very keen to go to Delhi University for English (Hons),” says Gill, adding, “But after the news of extension came, a guard at my mother’s school approached me to help his daughter apply for CUET now that there’s more time... It’s a very good thing for students from lower economic households to get the breathing gap between the board exams and CUET applications, to be able plan better for their future. Even if applying online, one can feel overwhelmed considering it’s a very complicated process and especially so for people who don’t spend that much time online.”

Author tweets @KritiKambiri

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