Fewer applications for in-house UG admissions

MUMBAI: Admissions to the undergraduate (UG) degree courses in colleges affiliated with the University of Mumbai (MU) have been underway for over a week now. However, several colleges in the city are witnessing a dip in applications as well as cut-offs, compared to previous years.

While this is being attributed to the low success rate in Higher Secondary Certificate (Hsc-class 12) results, the dip in the application is being blamed on the admission schedule released by MU, recently. In an in-house quota, class 12 students get the first preference for admission to traditional courses like BA, Bcom, and BSC in the same college. As per the university rule, every student of the same college has the right to claim a seat in the traditional courses, and only the remaining seats after the in-house quota are allotted to students in the open category.

Every year, almost all the class 12 students block seats in firstyear degree courses under the in-house quota and then apply for other self-financed courses in the open category. Seats in selffinanced courses like bachelor of management studies (BMS), Bcom in banking and insurance (BBI), BA in mass media and communication (BAMMC), as well as, Bcom in accounting and finance (BAF) receive maximum applications and witness the toughest competition as high scorers from all school education boards opt for these seats, especially in the coveted colleges. “Every year, HSC students are aware of the competition they could face in admissions to self-financed courses, especially against CBSE and ISC scores. This year, however, with admissions, first being conducted only for the HSC students, several aspirants are confidently waiting for open category admissions and not blocking seats in traditional courses, which is a risky move,” shared Marie Fernandes, principal of St Andrew’s College, Bandra. She also added that students are refusing to confirm admissions under the in-house quota, despite constant reminders from the college.

“The dip in applications could also be attributed to students not scoring well in the HSC exam this year, especially, since the classes were conducted online while the exam was conducted in the offline mode. Everyone seems to be keen on applying for self-financed courses directly, but we are encouraging everyone to block a seat in FYBCOM to avoid any confusion or chaos later,” said Neha Jagtiani, principal of the college.