Life in an IIT | How this IIT BHU student found his true calling

Although I appeared for NDA examination thrice, I was unable to clear the final rounds. The last attempt I made was when I was in the first semester of my integrated MTech programme at IIT BHU (Varanasi).

I appeared for JEE Main and JEE Advanced in 2022. It was my first attempt at JEE Main. I cleared JEE Advanced and got admission to the integrated MTech programme in Materials Science and Technology at IIT BHU (Banaras Hindu University) Varanasi in 2022 and now I am in my second year. I am enrolled in a dual degree programme (BTech and MTech).

JEE Preparation

I started my JEE preparation after my Class 10. I appeared for my Class 10 examination in 2020 and Class 12 in 2022. I scored 94.6 per cent in Class 10 and in Class 12, I scored 95.6 per cent. I was enrolled in the online classes of Vedantu for JEE.

Initially, my parents and I did think of joining offline coaching. We also searched for coaching in Kota but after talking to some people we decided not to go to Kota, as it would have been difficult and my parents wanted me to prepare from my hometown of Rewari, Haryana only. Then we searched for offline centres in my city, but in Rewari, the quality of the coaching institutes was not on par with other good institutions.

I had studied from Vedantu in Class 10 as well, and hence was accustomed to the environment there, study methods and teachers. So I decided to give it a shot and it was a great experience there.

With online coaching, my travel time was saved. I had the luxury to study in the comfort of my home and view recordings of the classes again.

Life in the IIT BHU Varanasi

After securing a seat at the IIT BHU Varanasi in 2022, I felt it might be difficult to adjust as I have never lived for a long term without my family. However, after making friends and getting the right kind of peers, things got easier. Independently living alone with responsibilities and authority provided me a chance to look at life differently and be a more responsible person.

Initially, I felt homesick, but with time, IIT BHU feels a lot like home.

Teaching the deprived as part of Social Service Club

In the beginning, I thought to enrol in many clubs to explore options and to know what is more interesting. I had enrolled in the dance club, entrepreneurship cell, club of programmers, social service club and aero modelling club.
However, in the second year, it was not possible for me to continue all the clubs and therefore I cut them down to only two with the social service club and aero modelling club.

As part of the social service club, we go to nearby colonies (basti) and teach the underprivileged. We have also helped the parents get their children enrolled in schools after aiding the parents with getting the documents cleared.

In my free time, I explore the ghats of Banaras, hangout with my friends in the streets of Banaras or take a stroll in my campus.

Life lesson from IIT

The most important lesson I have learnt at the IIT is to manage time and prioritise what is more important at the given moment. For example, if someday, I have to submit an assignment of a club, I would focus on that over my studies. Prioritising the club work over my studies, however, does not mean I would sideline my studies entirely.

After coming to the IIT, I feel, my confidence has been boosted. The exposure one gets at the IIT can never be belittled. I am now interning as a Product Inventor at the Invention Factory 2024 at IIT Bombay. Invention Factory is organised by the Maker Bhavan Foundation (MBF) and is a six-week innovation programme to empower and encourage students like us to innovate and ideate a prototype and get it patented under the guidance of professors, industry experts and patent attorneys.

True calling found at IIT BHU Varanasi

I did not fill many choices at the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) counselling. I had chosen IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, IIT Guwahati and IIT Kharagpur in branches including material science, meteorology, geological technology, aerospace engineering. However, now after exploring options at the IIT, I have now decided to take MBA after my integrated course gets over.

I filled the branches on the basis of the JEE Advanced rank I got. My interest was in aerospace engineering, but with the rank, I was sure I could not take that branch. Moreover, after Class 12, I did not much explore the options available with me. Before coming to the IIT, it was more of a surface-level idea that intrigued me to delve into engineering. After I got enrolled, when I explored the options including coding, development, analytics, data science, product management and consulting, I found my true calling lay with areas like public speaking and interacting with people. Therefore, I feel product management, or management field in general will be more apt.