I graduated from College of Aeronautical Engineering in 1989. Few months after my graduation, I visited the college again to get my letters of recommendations from my teachers. Finding I am visiting, the senior most student of final year, who was a Jordanian, took me to the college café. We were three persons sitting on a table where he ordered for soft drinks. The waiter came after a while with three soft drinks and they all were of different types. My host wanted me to pick my drink of choice first. Not knowing what the other two would like to drink, I hesitated in picking one and asked him to pick first. He insisted that I should make the selection first. I was still confused and sensing my mental state he made a remark that I even remember today. He told me that in his country there is a proverb that says,
“If you want to confuse a person give him a choice.”
This proverb is so true as I have experienced it many times in my life. It is valid in cases where one has to pick only one out of many options. The selection of an institution and a program out of so many is such a decision that is making parents and students confused. The article may help them to sort their confusion or may add more in it.
In this month of July students are making the choices of programs and institutions. For last few days, I have been meeting many parents and students who are stuck in this jigsaw puzzle. The parents are confused and so are the students. The cancellation of NUST entrance exam has augmented additional gravity in this state of confusion. There are deadlines of many institutions and those are forcing students to finalize their choices while they are still waiting for others to happen. The LUMS has already concluded its admission, GIKI deadline is 28th July, FAST is 29th, CASE is 28th, and so are the deadlines of other institutions, the UET entrance exam is on 24th July. The students usually have a strong choice of institution along with liking of a particular program. A sizeable percentage of students would give more importance to institutions where they care less for the programs they get in. Another percentage of students would give more importance to the degrees as compared to the institutions. Therefore if they don’t get their choice of programs in one institution, they would rather go for their second option of institution but would not compromise on what they want to do in future. This to me is a better approach.
There have always been discussions in academic circles that PEC and HEC must play their roles in reliving students and their parents from this torture of entrance tests and varying deadlines of universities. It really is ironical that every institution has its own admission test and a unique deadline for fee submission. The students are under stress and so are their parents that they have to appear in so many tests after they have already cleared their FSc/A level exams. This is very typical of our country where we don’t fix a problem at its root and then try mending the damage it has already caused. As we don’t stitch in time, so it does not save us from stitching nine. Not fixing cheating and use of unfair means in FSc exam are classical examples of this lapse. Just imagine what would happen if hundreds of universities in USA start conducting their admission tests: it will only results in a tornado of confusion. They play smart and rely on SAT/ GRE exams. If we are hopeless in fixing the corruption in FSc exams that at least HEC should organize or sublet to some other organization the conduct of one entrance test for all universities. The universities then may finalize merit lists according to their own criterions. Some universities may still like to give small weightage to FSC/A-level results like NUST whereas other may assign maximum percentage to these exams like UETs. They must announce their own lists at the same time. HEC should protect the parents from the exploitation of some universities that keep their deadlines in such a way to deny students in making decisions of their choices. The students, unfortunately, are forced either to let go their positions in a university or to submit full tuition fee that they have to forfeit in case they select another university.
I would only advice students to give first priority to the degrees they intend to pursue and second to the institutions they select to complete the program. The students also need to know the resemblance in the wide spectrum of degrees being offered in different programs. Here is my take on these groups.
- Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Telecommunication, Avionics, and Computer Engineering they all are alike. Mechtronics, though has an element of Mechanical engineering but still is very close to Electrical Engineering. If you get any of these programs you will still be studying 70%-80% common subjects.
- Software Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology all are almost same degrees and none of them is an engineering degree. This does not mean that they are not valuable. In current circumstances, these degrees have more job prospects then engineering degrees.
- Architecture is not truly an engineering degree, though UET Lahore offers two degrees, one in architectural engineering & design and the second is in architecture. NCA architecture degree is closer to art and UET degree has more element of engineering in it. Architecture degree is very different from a degree in Civil Engineering.
- Aerospace and Mechanical degrees are similar with many common courses.
- Few schools also offer degrees in Chemical, Material, Mining, Petroleum and Industrial Engineering. Most of these degrees are distinctly different from each other.
- Quid-e-Azam University also offers degrees in Electronics and Computer Science. Though these degrees are also very valuable but they are not recognized by PEC and National Computing Council. They also have different entry requirements.
HEC does place an advertisement in the newspaper that alerts parents to send their children only in accredited programs. The PEC also posts a list of accredited programs; the parents must see this list before making final choices for their children.
In current circumstances I can only advice students the following:
- Those who can spare money, they should secure their seats in a program of their choice while they may still wait for other universities to conduct entry test and publish lists.
- Those who cannot afford to pay the fee, they may have to let go their slots. They then have to work very hard to get into the institutions of their choice.
- Those who have yet not gotten into the program of their choices, and they are in the waiting lists, they have to patiently wait for the second list. If they don’t make it in the second list as well then they may need to go for second options of program or institutions. I have seen many students, who would take the year off or will go back and improve their marks in FSc or the grades in A-level. They then prepare again for the entrance tests with more vigor. Though this option may appear very disturbing but I know for sure that one year would not make any difference in student’s professional life, though a wrong selection of program or institution may derail their lives forever.
I wish all the students and their parents best of luck. May you get what you want and may it also turn out to be the best option for your future
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