It’s really interesting
how some universities acquire the stature and respect among the many millions
of others spread across the world. We all know what makes a particular
university “respectable” and of “repute” in comparison to others. Students while “hunting” for a university forget the toll the process of
learning shall take on them if and if they
choose that particular university.
This also makes me
wonder how important it is as a senior of ‘that’ particular university to state
the crude blunt facts of the ‘learning, living and surviving process’ to the
curious juniors. As a junior, I was informed in an abstract and vague manner
than in a concrete and crude manner. I still recall my Senior telling me “You don’t realize the value of this place as
long as you are here. However once finished you shall realize the value of the
name”. While I’m yet to reach at that decision, the current termination
phase has bestowed on me a myriad of thoughts to think about.
As I began this blogpost I was
expecting to lash out with anger and frustration. Well, these are the two
primary emotions one ends up feeling due to the strenuous course work and
expectations ‘these’ universities welcome you with. However, here I’m,
reflecting on the strength that this course gifted me with. I still remember
telling myself umpteen number of times “What doesn't kills you makes you stronger”. I believe it really does. Universities or academic institutions of
great repute don’t just admit any students. Furthermore, they set the standard
so high that a student pushes himself or herself to great lengths to meet the
bar (read: pass examinations). Some might be of the view that what matters is who
could persevere and who couldn't. I opine that even those who couldn't should not
be judged and those who could should not ‘always’ be expected to meet everyone’s
expectations. If you ask a why, here is
the answer: I do not know about Ivy League colleges for I haven’t been there
nor am I aware of the IITs or the IIMs, however my experience of being in ‘one
of the country’s best institution’ tells me that these universities shake you until
you have dusted your older self only to have been born with a tough hard
skin. They literally in every sense of the word take you for- granted! They forget that you are w(hu) man! They expect the work to be done regardless of you being lacerated inside your heart or being tortured by your thoughts in your head. If you are lucky you might find a soul or two to confide in. If you are
very lucky then you might even find a group of good friends with whom you can sail through the sea till the end. However, like they say “As you go up the
ladder, you make colleagues and not friends”. It’s less of a saying and more of
a fact.
Coming back to the
question I raised in the title, I believe that great universities don’t just
leave their students till they finish the course, in fact, they never leave their students! They make
an impact in their minds so great that students remember and learn from it. The
students ( I would like to include myself as well) think of their struggles and
how they succumbed through them, they think of the critical moments where their
insides were broken yet they continued. It is these lessons, among the little
highs and the abundant lows that saw through sunlight, that make great
students. If this is what makes a great institution great, so be it!
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