Son's counselling window is open. He has made a list of 22 colleges and branches. His friends have lists of 80 and 100. He says there's no point listing places he doesn't want. Is 22 too short? Anything you wish you'd known before your child locked the list?
I teach at an agricultural university, so I see the other end of this every year. A good number of our first-year students got an option they filled far down their list, and many of them are perfectly content by the second semester. The ones who are unhappy are mostly the students who filled colleges they had never intended to join, just to make the list longer. His logic is sound. The only question is whether 22 is enough to be sure of a seat at his rank.
Not my stage, my son is only 6. My husband did engineering counselling back home many years ago. He put a college at number one only because it was near our house and his mother wanted it. He still talks about it. Let your son make his own list, then sit with him once.
Near home isn't the worst reason, though. My son is 13 and if it comes to it, I'd take a decent college near home over a big name in a city he doesn't know. Depends on the boy.
Ours filled close to 90, three years back. Got number 31. He has no complaints now. Short list is fine if his rank is comfortably above last year's cutoffs for all 22. If not, add a few safe ones he would really go to.
no real advice. i remember doing mine for medicine with a printed booklet and a pencil, ticking boxes at the dining table while my father read out the cutoffs. it took a whole sunday. at least the app is faster
For my B.Sc Nursing counselling in Tamil Nadu I filled only 15 colleges. I got the 14th one. Very close. If I did it again, I would fill more, but only colleges I would really go to. Sit with him and check last year's closing ranks for each.
We did this two years ago. Son made his list, I made my own list, we argued for an evening and then used his, with five of mine added at the bottom. He got one of his. The five were never needed but I slept better.
every year at least one of our old students calls me after round one confused about what they agreed to. read what each option means before he clicks, the 'accept and continue' kind of choices especially. list length matters less than that
Keep going
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