70k seats, 250k candidates: After steep cut-offs, DU entries kick off

Undergraduate admissions across Delhi University colleges under the first cutoff list will begin on Monday at 10am and continue till October 6, the university informed. And just like last year, the entire process will be online and students won’t have to physically be on campus.

On Friday, the university had declared the first cutoff list with multiple colleges declaring a 100% cutoff in some courses. Based on that, students can log on to the DU admissions portal (https://ugadmission.uod.ac.in/) where they had registered earlier. They can only choose one course and college combination at a time.

After receiving the application, the college will initiate the verification process. Once the verification is successfully completed, students will be able to pay the fees and secure admission. If an application is rejected and a student is not satisfied by the reason given, s/he can register a grievance. Candidates whose applications are rejected can apply as fresh candidates when subsequent cutoffs are announced.

While students can cancel admission taken in the first list, they will have to pay a penalty of ₹1,000 if they want to take admission in subsequent lists. Admission once cancelled/withdrawn will not be restored. Another important point that candidates need to be mindful of is that if they are eligible for a course and college in the first list, they cannot take admission to it in the subsequent lists.

Bijayalaxmi Nanda, principal of Miranda House, said that as per DU rules, students who are eligible in the first list cannot take admission under subsequent lists unless seats are available till the very end. “This is the DU rule. It has been created to stop too much jumping from one college to another,” said Nanda.

She said that students should take admission if they are eligible under the first cutoff list. “If students are getting admission in a course of their liking in any of the DU colleges under the first list, then they should choose the course and college instead of waiting for subsequent lists. Colleges do not know how many subsequent lists will be issued. Last year, our general seats for political science got filled up in the first cutoff list and we only reopened it in the fourth list after a few withdrawals. Students should take admission in whichever college they are eligible,” said Nanda.

DU Principals’ Association (DUPA) president Jaswinder Singh, who is also the principal of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, said the college will undertake a three-tier verification process for checking the documents and details furnished by the students. Teachers at the college have been given access to the portal and can work remotely or visit the campus. Singh said that since the admission process was the same as last year, teachers and officers are well-prepared.

“Documents and certificates of students are already uploaded on the admission portal. We will verify the certificates and check that the students are meeting the cutoff requirement. There are three steps of verification at the college level itself. The subject-in charge will look into the marks of the candidate, then the admission committee will take a look at the marks, and once the committee convener approves, the application automatically goes to the principal. Once the principal ascertains that everything is fine, the candidate is allowed to deposit the fee. With the payment of fee, the seat is filled,” said Singh.

The college has also set up a grievance committee to look into concerns that may arise during the admission process. “Sometimes there are certain riders with a particular cutoff range. If a student has not studied a course at the 10+2 level, then some deduction might take place. If students have concerns regarding the calculation, they can write to the college and we will resolve the concerns,” said Singh.

He said that students will be able to complete all the formalities online and would only need to come to college for physical verification of documents once the entire admission process is complete. For this, they will be given a two-week window.

Manoj Sinha, principal of Aryabhatta College and general secretary of DUPA, said the college was working on mechanisms for completion of the process in the shortest possible time. “We are almost relieved that the process is getting underway since CBSE results were delayed due to the pandemic. Our staff is coming to college, teachers are also geared up, and we are eagerly waiting for students to join the college. We are also hoping that we will be able to hold in-person classes soon since Covid cases seem low,” said Sinha.

He said that while the first cutoff at many colleges was high, the possibility of subsequent lists would only emerge based on the number of seats that remain empty. “Registrations are a little less than 2.5 lakh while the number of seats is more or less the same as last year. However, there is always a possibility that students who might have registered might have taken admission elsewhere so we will have to wait and watch. Based on the seats that are filled in the first cut off, we will tweak the second cutoff list,” said Sinha.

The university has started an online helpdesk to address any queries that students may have regarding the process.