Seeing the positive changes that happened last year during the admission process for our juniors that was being initiated by Vision UVCE, even I wanted to be a part of it this year. Therefore my friends and I volunteered to help the office staff in the admission process.

This year BU introduced the online mode of payment to pay the college fees which had both merits and demerits. The merits being, parents didn’t have to run around the banks in and around KR circle to get a DD and then go to the Finance Office and face the other repercussions but the demerits were mainly seen by those who didn’t have any online mode of transactions (especially people who came from rural regions).

However, overall helping people with the whole process was so much fun, insightful and a very good experience.

– Sneha N, 5th Sem, ECE

The admission for year 2019-20 started about a month ago. Being well aware of the lack of staff members in college students decided to go help with the admission process. It was mostly second and third years. We handled everything from explaining to the students and their parents the entire process, telling them where to go to pay the fees, get the print outs, to paying the fees online and getting their details written down in registers. We also gave them insights to how the classes and hostel function. The parents were surprised at the fact that students were handling most of the work. There were minor problems like failure to print receipt, failure of transaction etc, but these were managed well. We had the support of the office staff. What more, we even had out friends sitting nearby so when we weren’t occupied with work, we could also have a little chitchat. It was also a great way to meet freshers across branches even before classes start! Here’s hoping a great year for the entire batch!

– Varsha S Bhat (3rd sem ECE)

Helping out at the admission process this year opened our eyes to a lot of things. First off, the students explaining the admission process, step by step, in a one on one manner to each parent or student that approached the office was a good move as it helped everyone understand the process better. This way they didn’t miss out any step that they would’ve otherwise missed out.

Making all payments online had advantages and disadvantages to it. The biggest advantage is that it eliminated the step of procuring a DD from a bank and then going to the Finance Office at Central College, waiting in a queue and then making the payment. Although the process of online payment may have been very easy for some, some were unable to make online payments due to various reasons. Taking that into consideration, maybe it would’ve been better to keep the option of cash payment available for those few. A few computers at Minchu were used for the purpose of online payment along with a student at each computer to help out if needed. For the most part, everything was carried out smoothly except for the occasional loss of receipt or power cut, other than that the only cumbersome thing was that the parent or student had to find a way to get a printout of the receipt by some means.

The final step of the admission process, apart from the verification of documents, was the entering of details into the register. Students volunteered to help out here too. A student would sit with the register and guide each student of the fresh batch of UVCE in filling this register. This also went on smoothly for the most part other than the occasional mistake in entry. We did find that these mistakes in entries could be avoided if there was some online database established, that way these errors can be completely eliminated. The online database would also eliminate the long queues in entering the register. Overall the entire admissions process did go on smoothly and in a more organised manner compared to how we remember it.

– Sanjana Ramesh (5th sem ECE)

Admission day at UVCE normally brings a gallery of frightful scenes to the mind of all pre-CBCS students. Confused parents standing around the quadrangle, tired students shuttling between banks and xerox shops, and mixtures of agitated students and parents, desperately trying to make their way to one of the officers in the admission office. But the batch of 2018-22 wouldn’t agree that this was what their admission day looked like, thanks to the team that made the experience less hectic for the students who got admitted to UVCE during the second extended round of CET 2018.

And this year, with a much bigger team, and a lot of help from a few staff members and from VisionUVCE, the process was taken to a much higher level of simple. The initial step was taken by the University itself, by making the fee payment online, thus sparing the struggle of running to banks and offices. Although we struggled with slow internet and intern failed payments in the initial stage, the permission to use computers in Minchu for payment made the procedure seem effortless. And the arrangements of chairs and drinking water by VisionUVCE added to the comfort. All these facilities assisted the student team, in working successfully during all three rounds of CET admission.

What started off as a team of two, quickly increased to six, and before we realised it, became almost two dozens of students working together, in the four different departments of fee payment, procedure explanation, ledger writing and document verification. The blend of experience of the 3rd years, and manpower of the 2nd years, seemed to be exactly what this team needed. The icing on the cake was a couple of 4th years, who took time out from their busy placement schedules, to lend a helping hand whenever possible. In short, the team was perfect, and I can confidently say, did a perfect job too.

Thanks to the efforts of all these souls, what should’ve been one whole day’s work for many, became a matter of just a couple of hours. At this point, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that having a horrible admission day at UVCE seems like just another old tale now.

– Kennith O Koshy (5th sem ECE)

If I could sum up my admission procedure to UVCE in just two words, they’d certainly be madness and chaos. Just imagine some 200-odd tense teenagers and anxious parents running around from pillar to post to ensure smooth admission for their kids. If I ever had to picture a group of headless chickens run around this would pretty much fit the bill. Traumatized by my own experiences I decided to help out the freshers, and make the process effortless for them. With a dedicated volunteer group who’d sacrificed time off their holidays to be here, we set forth. We had various jobs ranging from helping the students pay the college fee, to fill the application forms

– Sunkeerth M (5th sem ECE)