One goal, 10 exams: Engineering dreams get pricier

Ahmedabad: For Class 12 science students aiming for engineering seats, the exam season no longer ends with board exams. It stretches across months of entrance tests, counselling rounds, applications and travel, turning the admission process into an exhausting and expensive marathon for both students and parents.Adithya Soni from Ahmedabad finally wrapped up his entrance exam cycle recently, nearly five months after it began with JEE Main in Jan. Between JEE Main, JEE Advanced, GujCET, CUET, and private university entrance tests, he appeared for nearly 10 exams while simultaneously preparing for board exams.His father, Vivek Soni, said that students seeking admission to BTech programmes are forced to navigate a maze of entrance exams and counselling processes. “There are simply too many exams now,” said Vivek. “Engineering admissions should rely mainly on JEE Main, with perhaps one separate exam for state colleges. Right now, students are mentally exhausted and parents are under severe financial pressure.”Parents say the costs add up rapidly. Harish Garewal, another parent from Ahmedabad, said he has already spent nearly Rs 1 lakh on exam forms, travel and counselling fees. “Many institutes charge between Rs 1,500 and Rs 5,600 just for entrance forms. Even after qualifying, students have to pay separately for counselling rounds. They have to pay counselling fees ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 just to become eligible for seat allocation,” he said.Officials associated with the admission process said some institutes refund counselling fees if no seat is allotted, while others adjust the amount against the first-year tuition fee. However, parents complain that the cumulative burden remains substantial.Unlike medical aspirants who largely prepare for just NEET, which serves as the national gateway for medical and allied courses, engineering students often juggle different exam patterns and syllabi simultaneously while taking multiple national, state, and private university entrance tests.They also appear for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), which is conducted over multiple sessions and papers across two days.“Engineering students have to constantly switch between GujCET preparation and JEE-style conceptual preparation. By the end of the admission season, my family would have easily spent around Rs 1 lakh,” said Rishi Patel, a Class 12 student from Ahmedabad, who is preparing for engineering admissions.A coaching institute teacher said the trend has intensified in recent years. “Earlier, students who wanted to study in Gujarat would appear only for GujCET. But now almost every student takes multiple national-level exams and applications,” the teacher said anonymously.The teacher added that students with around 90 percentile in JEE Main often apply to 15 to 20 institutes that accept JEE scores, leading to additional application costs ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500 per institute. “Some premier institutes conduct multiple rounds of testing, while exam centres are spread across areas such as Bopal, Odhav and Vastral, adding to travel expenses and stress for students,” the teacher said.