On September 16, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced the names of 114 CUET toppers who scored in the 100th percentile in at least four or more subjects. The Indian Express they interviewed 103 of the 114 toppers to find 15 who had scored less than 95% in the Class 12 Board exam and now, thanks to CUET, have a second chance to study in Delhi University college (DU) that they chose.
Most CUET toppers want to study Political Science at Hindu College, which closed admissions to the program (for general category applicants) with a 100% cutoff last year. Other preferences include BA in Psychology, History and English.
Here are their details:
First name: Shayema
Age: 20
School:Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi
Blackboard: Board of Jamia Millia Islamia
Board Exam: 83.80% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons) History in any DU college
Term 2021: Admissions for unreserved seats in BA (Hons) history closed at 98.25% at St. Stephen’s College and 99.5% in Hindu College
Did you find CUET useful?
Yes, CUET was very helpful for me because without it I would not have been able to approach colleges like DU which had extremely high cut offs in the past.
First name: Adarsh Kumar Dubey
Age: 18
School: National High School, Calcutta
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 92.40% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) Political Science from Hindu College
2021 cut: Admissions for unreserved seats in BA (Hons) Political Science closed 100% at Hindu College
Did you find CUET useful?
My Hindi marks in Board results were very low and this affected my overall percentage. My dream college is Hindu. In the absence of CUET, I could never have made it to Hindu College. Now I have a good chance to get into this university. I want to study Political Science. I think CUET should be taken forward in the coming years.
First name: Nandini Mishra
Age: 18
School: Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Ghaziabad
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 93.20% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) Psychology at Lady Shri Ram College
2021 cut: Admissions for unreserved places in BA (Hons.) Psychology 99% closed at Lady Shri Ram College
Did you find CUET useful?
Yes, CUET was helpful in honing skills for competitive exams like UPSC. I think this exam is a better judge of one’s ability and where we stand in the crowd. CUET as an exam was completely based on NCERT and I scored well without any coaching or tuition.
First name: Shreya Semwal
Age: 19
School: Arwachin Bharti Bhawan High School
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 94.40% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) English at St. Stephen’s College
Cut 2021: Admissions for unreserved seats in BA (Hons.) English were closed at 98.70% in St. Stephen’s College
Did you find CUET useful?
Yes, it gave me more than enough time to study and get good grades
First name: Faraz Sarwer
Age: 18
School: DPS Mathura Road, Delhi
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 93.80% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) History at St. Stephen’s College
Cut 2021: Admissions for unreserved seats in BA (Hons.) History closed at 98.25% in St. Stephen’s College
Did you find CUET useful?
I scored 94% in my term 1 paper of Class 12 Board exams which was not great compared to other CUET supervisors who scored 98% and above. Also, when you belong to the general category, a score of 94% does not get you admission in a top college. When CUET was announced, my term 1 exam was going on. When I met CUET, I realized that I had a chance, another chance to improve and score well. Now that I have scored well, I have significantly improved my chances of getting into top universities. I want to study History at St. Stephen’s College. Regarding the continuity of CUET in the coming years, there are positive and negative aspects. For this year’s CUET we had to prepare a lot because our class 12 syllabus has been reduced by 30%. By the time we finished the 2nd quarter, people had forgotten about the 1st. In the long run, CUET will be better if students have enough time and if schools don’t become coaching centers because education is not just about exams and marks.
First name: garima
Age: 17
School: Rajikiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya Rohini, Delhi
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 94.20% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) Political Science from Hindu College
2021 cut: Admissions for unreserved seats in BA (Hons.) Political Science closed 100% at Hindu College
Did you find CUET useful?
You can say that the exam was useful. In CUET I have a better score. If they had considered class 12 marks, it would have been more difficult for me.
First name: Ekansh
Age: 18
School: KIIT World School, Delhi
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 94.40% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) Political Science from Hindu College
Cut 2021: Admissions for unreserved seats in BA (Hons.) Political Science closed 100% at Hindu College
Did you find CUET useful?
Yes, in my opinion CUET is a great initiative as it gives students a level playing field to get into the university of their dreams. CUET needs some improvement but I think it will improve with time and could prove to be a good selection process for higher education.
First name: Ishaan Shahabadi
Age: 17
School: Sachdeva Public School Sector 13, Delhi
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 94.60% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) Pol. sc. at the Hindu College
2021 cut: Admissions for unreserved seats in BA (Hons.) Political Science closed 100% at Hindu College
Did you find CUET useful?
CUET is a progressive step towards revolutionizing education in India. If you score poorly in the board exams, you’re stuck. This gives you a second chance.
First name: Dishank Gandhi
Age: 18
School: Darbari Lal DAV Model SSS Pitampura, Delhi
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 94.80% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) Political Science at North Campus Senior College.
Cut 2021: Admissions for unreserved seats BA (Hons.) Political Science 100% closed in Hindu College and Ramjas College
Did you find CUET useful?
Nothing could have happened with just my score in the Board exam. CUET is a godsend for me.
First name: Bhavikaa Keshwani
Age: 17
School: GD Goenka Public School, Delhi
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 94.40% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: Graduated in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College
2021 cut: Admissions for unreserved seats BA (Hons.) Political Science 99% closed at Lady Shri Ram College
Did you find CUET useful?
When the CBSE result was about to be announced, I was sure that it would come above 97%. However, due to a mistake, I got 70%. Rechecking takes a long time. I was lucky that CUET was considered this time. I worked really hard for this exam because I had to prove that 70% is not my score.
First name: Jatin Verma
Age: 18
School: Salwan Public School, Gurgaon
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 94.60% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) Political Science and BA (Hons.) History at any North Campus university.
Cuts 2021: Admissions closed 100% for Political Science and 99.5% for History at Hindu College and 98.25% for History at St. Stephen’s College
Did you find CUET useful?
It provides a single platform for all that is great, but exams should have been done earlier. I also believe that the 100th percentile has been scored by many candidates. I don’t know how much of an advantage I have.
First name: Semmozhi Ramesh
Age: 18
School: Mater Dei School, Delhi
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 94% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: Any humanities program (Psychology, Sociology and History) in Lady Shri Ram College
Term 2021: Admissions closed at 99% for Psychology; 98% for Sociology and 98% for History in Lady Shri Ram College
Did you find CUET useful?
Even though it’s the inaugural edition of the test and I had my CUET paper on the first day, I didn’t have any teething problems. I found that CUET was mostly based on what I had learned in school for my board exam and I felt quite comfortable with the test.
First name: Sunaina Lal
Age: 18
School: Springdales School, Delhi
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 94.40% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) Political Science from Hindu College
Term 2021: Admissions for unreserved BA (Hons.) Political Science seats are 100% closed at Hindu College
Did you find CUET useful?
Although there were some technical challenges in the beginning because it was a new exam, it ended up being beneficial for students like me. I was offered an opportunity to improve my score because I was not happy with my class 12 marks. The exam was introduced in an effort to create a level playing field so that students can compete fairly to maintain consistency. I personally went through the hassle of the CUET test being postponed due to technical glitches.
First name: Nikita
Age: 17
School: Kendriya Vidyalaya Robert Square, Gol Market, Delhi
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 93.40% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) Political Science from Hindu College
Term 2021: Admissions for unreserved BA (Hons.) Political Science seats are 100% closed at Hindu College
Did you find CUET useful?
I think CUET was helpful for me. Since I scored 100 percentile in all my subjects, I will be able to get into the college of your choice. For me, appearing for CUET was good because even though I scored well in class 12, it wasn’t good enough to get into top colleges. CUET has allowed me to do that. I believe that the CUET should be continued in the coming years as it gives certain advantages to the students. In particular, this year, the term 1 and 2 system has not been advantageous for me and many students. That’s why CUET went better for me and I also prepared better.
First name: Priyanshu Dixit
Age: 18
School: Kalkaji Public School, Delhi
Blackboard: CBSE
Board Exam: 92.60% (Humanities)
Program and university preference: BA (Hons.) Political Science at Hindu University.
Term 2021: Admissions for unreserved BA (Hons.) Political Science seats are 100% closed at Hindu College
Did you find CUET useful?
My chances definitely improved with my CUET score. My sociology marks in the Board exam had a mistake in it, but I didn’t put it in to recheck because it would delay my result.