MY COLLEGE EXPERIENCE: A COMPLETE REVIEW OF DOGRA COLLEGE

My course includes subjects that are beneficial for me. For example: Gender and Society – teaches me about society’s orthodox traditions and norms. Indian Knowledge System – explains how India’s knowledge has evolved over time. Literature – provides an overview of English literature, excluding stories and poems, and focuses only on the parts that are useful for us. Environmental Studies – gives knowledge about our surroundings, including living and non-living things. Political Science – a systematic study of the structure and behavior of the state and political institutions. Logical Reasoning – the best part of the course, very useful for our knowledge as well as civil services and defense exams. Law and Society – will help me in my further studies in law. Personally, the two specific subjects that made me choose this course were Law and Society and Logical Reasoning, because these subjects are rarely available elsewhere and will be very beneficial for me. The teachers are good at teaching, but there is a need to make changes in the teaching methods. As of now, there are only blackboards or whiteboards, whereas instead there should be smart panels, which would make learning more interactive and keep students engaged. Exams are held about two months after the semester begins — first internals and then externals. There is generally a two-month gap between the two. I believe the difficulty level depends on how deeply we understand the concepts and how well we prepare, although overall the difficulty is usually easy to moderate.

My detailed fee structure for DLC after doing a BA is ?1,28,430 in total. Out of this, I have paid ?42,810 yearly, which includes tuition fees and a refundable library security deposit (refunded after the course ends). Along with this, they also take a ?5,000 registration fee at the time of admission, which is already included in the mentioned amount. So, I paid ?37,810 as fees + ?5,000 registration fee, making the total ?42,810. In our college, the fees are the same for everyone regardless of their category. However, those who take a management seat must pay 1–2 lakhs extra at the time of admission, and this amount keeps changing — the later the admission under management quota, the more expensive it becomes. Since this college has gained autonomous status this year, it can create its own rules and policies. Apart from this, the fee is equal for all — whether SC, ST, or any other category — and the college does not provide any financial aid, merit-based concession, or scholarship of any kind.

In my college, events and annual functions are conducted very rarely. There are some fests, for which we are taken to Jammu University, or sometimes FM groups like Michigan come and host programs — that happens around September, but very rarely. Most of the fests are held only after the new admissions take place. In the library, some subject books are not available because the quantity is very limited, although overall the quantity is decent. The quality of classrooms is good — they are cleaned regularly and maintained well. They are a bit small, but considering the number of students, they are suitable. Every classroom has a whiteboard. Talking about sports, almost all sports are available — volleyball, badminton, basketball, and cricket. There is NCC as well, which earlier was only for boys, but now it is available for girls too. There is also NSS, and a few clubs have been created in which we also have visits and activities.

In the hostel, 3 or 4 girls stay in one room, depending on whether you choose a 3-sharing or 4-sharing room. Each student gets one bed, one wardrobe, one study table, and a chair. Cleaning is done daily. Talking about the mess food — the quality is good, and the menu changes every day, like in most hostels. But one thing I found missing is that they do not provide fruits or milk. There is no long registration process; the mess fee is ?5,390 per month. I do not live in a PG or a rented room, but I have heard that the nearby area is not very good, especially for girls.

I first applied to Chan Univ and I passed the entry plus aid test. I took the seat too. But later I found that the campus is very far and the fee plan is very high. The aid did not help in a real way. It was only aid by name. Then I came to know of Dogra College. It is seen as good when we match it with other places in J and K. The study is also good. So I chose to take a seat there. Before, Jammu Univ was in charge of entry. But now the place has self rule. So seat is on a first come first serve plan. One who comes first gets the seat. If not, then there are mgmt seats. For entry, you only need to pass from your study line. Before, seat was based on CUET score. But now, as it has self rule, CUET is not a must. Now seat is given with no CUET need.

In my college, the faculty–student ratio is around 3:560. There are very few teachers compared to the number of students in my department, which is why teachers from the Durga department also have to come and teach us. My faculty members are: Monica Ma’am – Political Science teacher Teena Ma’am – Gender and Society teacher Lalita Ma’am – Law and Society teacher Simran ma'am- indian knowledge system Divya Ma’am – Environment and Sustainability teacher Aditi Ma’am – Literature teacher Prateek Sir – Logical Reasoning teacher Among them, I like Teena Ma’am because her personality makes her seem like an independent woman who listens to no one and carries authority. Everyone is afraid of her, which is why many students do not like her, because she can get hyper at times. But she never gives wrong guidance — after all, she is a teacher. Prateek Sir is also quite good — he is attractive, young, and one of the good-looking faculty members. In my college, exams are held twice in one semester — once for internals and once for externals. Since this is an autonomous college, the exams are conducted by the college itself and take place on campus. In my class, most students do not fail. Usually, those who fail are in Law and Society or Political Science, and that too only around 5–6 students, mostly the ones who do not study at al

At the time of admission, there wasn’t any exam as such. They checked my CUET scorecard and there was an interview in the Dean sir’s office where they asked me a few questions. The admission process is also the same — first registration happens, then the interview. There is no need for any presentation; you can get it done without that as well."

As I told you, my campus is quite small. There is no space to roam around or hang out, but there is a cafeteria where we usually sit and talk when we have nothing else to do. The campus is so small that if you roam around after bunking class, the teacher will easily spot you. The library has a lot of peace, so you cannot hang out there — you only go if you need quiet. The college closes around 4–5 PM. For those who live in the hostel, the main gate closes at around 6 PM in winter and 7 PM in summer. In the morning, everyone must leave the hostel by 9 AM for college — no one is allowed to stay inside the hostel during class hours. Overall, the strictness is quite high because the locality is not very safe, so roaming around at night is not allowed and it is not safe.