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Background :- I am an Undergraduate at one of the IITs.- Belong to a Scheduled Caste community.- Gained admission through reservation, against my wish.- I wanted to give JEE again the following year, but under pressure from parents and relatives I gave in and accepted the seat in the same year.(Well, someone even less deserving academically would have got that very seat anyway if i didn't take it up - That's how my parents convinced me into taking it up.)- My CPI currently stands at 8.82 on 10.Have I been discriminated against?Yes. During the initial days of my stay here, there are "interaction" sessions with seniors. You are asked to introduce yourself. I was made to repeat thrice in front of people my rank in the examination and laughed at and made fun of after the disclosure that my rank in JEE 20xx was xx under the SC category . And hence from that very day, I chose to hide the fact. Because, people looked down upon me. I have my own self esteem and to this day I regret having accepted that seat and it hurts so much when you are treated as if you had committed a crime. I lied, I lied about my rank shamelessly after that. I wept all my first year because I felt I was looked down upon just on the basis of the fact that I gained admission through reservation.However, I did not let it go down and hurt me badly. I worked, I enjoyed what I did. I was on par academically with the class and I learned because I enjoyed doing so.Post-first year, nobody cared about the ranks anymore and most still remain oblivious of the fact that I didn't make it through the General Category. Infact most of my friends don't know about it. I don't like keeping them in the dark. I feel I am cheating them by doing so, but I would surely tell them once I pass out.About other fellow mates :I largely observed that other class mates of mine from SC/ST categories who gain admission into IITs generally tend to give up to the academic pressure. More so, because they feel they can't compete with people around them. There is a general notion among everyone here that if he isn't doing academically well then mostly he has gained admission through reservation and so nobody cares to intervene, Several friends require a lot of moral support, which is lacking abundantly because nobody (neither the professors nor advisors) really gives a damn about them. True, they don't really have to. Also, these class mates of mine tend to form a group with only those who are from their region/community. This makes the problem even worse.Administrative issues :The academic section in my institute maintains a list of students for course enrollments, and other such details on the academic website. Is there a real need to publicize the category of the student on the documents and make it available publicly? Is there a need to remind the student every time that he/she is an SC/ST/OBC?I really don't see a need.There is supposed to be a committee to address grievances related to students belonging to "Weaker Sections" (Yes, that's what they call us) of the society which again remains only on paper.Library - The institute library issues books specially for SC/ST students. Which are color tagged on the binding of the book. Oh Wow! Now tell the whole world that this chap of ours is an SC/ST.Aftermath : I stopped borrowing books from the library.[edit]I understand that the color coding/tagging might be done out of good intentions or merely for the sake of the convenience to keep a track of books.. I'm sure it is something can be done away with. The color can be placed inside the book or even be done away with.This does not explain :a. You call for reserved category students earlier for borrowing books. So in this case, you don't have to color code the books since the books for each are anyway physically separated.b. If you have anyway color coded the books, why have separate days for the "Weaker sections" and general category to borrow the books?I feel it is an unwanted and unnecessary distinction.[/edit]Faculty - Oh well! For one thing is for sure, I got grades that I deserved till now, so among those that I have done courses under never had discriminated against me based on my caste. Never. And I'm really glad about that.Personal View :Reservations in the present form are doing more bad than good. Nobody even cared about the caste and creed of mine all along my High School. Really, nobody even asked me about it. Having reservations has indeed been increasing casteism to a greater extent than what is prevalent. It is inducing more hatred among people. There are so many upvotes on the other post [1]. While I do understand that one feels cheated on not being given admission because he had gained X marks and did not get admitted to the college he wanted to get into, but someone solely based on their caste, although less deserving has gained admission or consider it Reverse discrimination,a. There was no real need to state that he/she was a Brahmin. I mean who gives a fuck about whether you are a Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya or Shudra?b. The number of seats (atleast at IITs) were doubled so that seats that the "meritorious" students deserve to get aren't eaten up by the "weaker" students. While this is a total foolish move making things worse at IITs because of the sudden intake and resource scarcity/unavailability, there is no real need for you to look down upon people who have come in through reservations based on their caste.It is also sad that people who are well off use reservations and as pointed out by the Anon from NIT, it is a shame that people misuse and abuse the system.[edit][1] And for those who got me wrong, the "other post" referred to. above is by Anon who originally wrote -Yes. I am a Brahmin and they didn't give me admission there. #AntiReservation[/edit]I personally am against reservations of any kind and think that educational reforms at the ground level is the best thing that could ensure meritocracy and not "quota" based solutions. Fight against reservation, that's okay. Looking down upon people belonging to the communities that are currently benefiting out of reservations is certainly not okay.P.S I promise that I will never use reservation again anywhere in my life. And will make sure that in the future, no one in my family (kids, yeah if I have them) will ever be making any use of the reservation. I made a mistake, and I won't let that happen again. And I hope the future India would be saner and not allow vote bank politics and caste-based politics to thrive on.Edit :No, I don't feel like a victim all the time. The answer is no way intended to put IITs into a bad light and should not be generalized to experiences of all individuals and one should understand that a majority of the individuals in IIT are totally understanding. The points listed above are from personal experiences only. At the same time, cases of unwanted distinction and discrimination do exist and are seen and not unheard of from fellow students. The answer is intended to portray that yes, in subtle forms, however unintended they might be, it does exist. The administration does not want to discriminate on the basis of caste on purpose. The unwanted distinctions are not done on purpose.Another perspective on the issue :Similar question : How does it feel to be an SC/ST category student in IIT?Disclaimer : The views expressed here are solely mine and should not be attributed to that of any other institute or individual(s)Thanks Balaji Viswanathan (பாலாஜி விஸ்வநாதன்) for elaborating on the TLAs for the non-Indian audience. I'm posting his comment here (for the sake of better visibility):JEE: Exam for admission to Undergraduate Engineering Programs at IITs (and from 2013 to IITs, NITs Other centrally funded Technical Institutions). Think of it like SAT, just tougher. (Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination)SC/ST: Scheduled Castes & Tribes. Scheduled here refers to our constitution schedules. These were castes that were explicitly protected by the constitution being historically discriminated against. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled TribesOther Backward Castes (OBC): Castes that rank between Brahmins and SC/ST in the Hindu caste pyramid. Given a milder form of reservation.CPI: Similar to GPA used in US Schools. Cumulative Performance Index. Some times referred to as Cumulative Grade Point Average.

This mistake came from my own ignorance about ethical rules concerning use of discarded chemistry department stationery I used in over 120 applications for chemistry professor positions I carefully researched all over the United States and several other countries around the world when was nearing the end of my postdoctoral position. In doing so, I laid the foundation for the total destruction of all possibilities of me becoming a tenured research Professor of Inorganic Chemisty at a major university or even any college teaching position at all.I wanted to get going on my boron-containing biochemical analogues research, and picked out the best positions with the best promise, plus I even sent unsolicited letters of inquiry to schools I especially liked. I used the ‘free’ envelopes for those inquiries as well.This mistake destroyed my career before it even got started.I was just trying to save a little money and finding about three hundred WSU marked unused envelopes in a trashbasket seemed to be a godsend.It was more like a ‘gift’ of the devil.I picked out the best schools where I felt like I was a perfect fit. They wanted a main-group (elements outside the transition metals) inorganic chemistry professor (check!), with laboratory space for me and a group of 3–5 graduate students, maybe a post-doc, and 2–4 undergraduate researchers (check!), opportunity to teach upper division inorganic chemistry lecture and lab (check!), opportunity to teach a general science course (check!), mentor system for helping new Assistant Professors meet tenure requirements (check!), and a strong committment to the Christian faith (big check!). The schools that wanted candidates who met all of these requirements were the top 30 schools I wanted to teach at the most.I had a lot going for me at the time.Indiana University had a number 13 ranking out of 280 PhD granting institutions in the United States in 1992 for Inorganic Chemistry, meaning schools number 14 on down would eagerly want to get me into their departments, raising their own ranking in the process.Washington State University was number 28, which is still excellent for a post-doctoral assignment.I was a faithful member of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and faithful member of several different churches as I moved from state to state as my college education progressed. This would be a gigantic plus for denominational Christian colleges who wanted science professors who’d support rather than teach against the faith—yes I am a sincere Christian to this day.I had glowing letters of reference from all of my research supervisors over my education, especially my thesis advisor from Indiana University who’d said, “This is one of the best graduate students I’d ever had” and “He was loved by his students in the lectures and labs he taught under my supervision, a fine instructor.” “He is a top-notch researcher, an asset to any department fortunate enough to hire him.”I think this is enough, as these comments now make me sad and full of regret rather than proud, since nothing came of it.My post-doctoral advisor helped me with matters such as teaching philosophy, and demo lectures. My old PhD thesis advisor also helped me polish off the applications.These universities and colleges were also the first schools I applied to with my nice new ‘professional-looking’ envelopes.I bought nice stamps to go with the nice envelopes and mailed them off.I thought I’d soon be flying all over the country and having to sort through ten or twenty or even more very appealing offers, as I’d be doing interview after interview, possibly even taking a trip or two overseas. I even got ready to apply for a passport—just in case. I steeled myself for a deluge of interviews and subsequent offers, and seriously wondered how I’d decide amongst what I assumed would be several very attractive offers.I was wrong.My first disappointment was from my absolute favorite school, when it sent me a form letter, saying that they had found someone else who was a better fit for the department. I knew that this place wanted a boron chemist and I was the only candidate (I later found out from someone who worked at the same university) who’d had a recent degree in boron chemistry, and one of only a handful who were Christians. The person they took was neither a boron chemist, nor even a committed Christian. Huh?The form letters came in one after the other. I couldn’t fathom what went wrong. I carefully read over my copies of the letters of reference, my own introductory letters (carefully custom-worded to reflect my genuine interest in the position and desire to live in the area of the school), and various other supporting transcripts and other information. The rejection letters didn’t say exactly why I had been rejected, only that they had felt I was not a good fit for their department, and thus not interviewed. They also wished me the token, ‘we wish you success in your further job search.’Every Christian college in that first group rejected me. I was stumped. I even had pastoral letters of reference for the more conservative colleges, all to no avail. My pastors and other church elders stated clearly how I was involved with Bible studies and other ministries, and nothing but praise for my faithfulness. Yet no interviews…I tried another 40 positions, these a bit less of a perfect fit for me, with a few odd exceptions (a community college in New Jersey and another in Utah—flown in for interviews, but I wasn’t the best fit so I wasn’t hired), they also came back form letter rejections (again no Christian colleges wanted to interview me).I was starting to feel depressed (I had a strong tendency toward clinical depression even in high school, and fight it to this day) because I couldn’t figure out why I was being sytematically rejected by the places I felt to be the best fit for me both academically and spiritually.As of that point, I had still not figured out that I was committing a serious faux pas by seemingly unethically using WSU Chemisty Department stationery. I bet those Christian college search committees thought I was a low-down hypocrite judging from the letterhead on my envelopes, and were thus not interested in meeting me at all. They didn’t know I was doing it in blissful ignorance, not out of moral bankruptcy.Another batch of applications (still had plenty of ‘free’ envelopes left), again with dismal results. Got a trip to the only Christian school, a Catholic university in Bismarck, North Dakota, and ended up eliminated as the third most qualified candidate.Another 40 or so rejection letters, again the most depressing ones coming from the schools I wanted to teach at the most, including all of my international applications. I especially regretted losing the New Zealand position I thought I was an ideal match for.I finally got a good interview at University of Arkansas, Monticello partly because I was good friends with a girl whose father was both the Chemistry Department Chairman, and head of the search committee.She and her father were the ones who finally helped me figure out the problem. Her father asked her to ask me why I was using WSU stationery. Only then did I make the connection. I had burned my bridges to the top 100 schools I wanted to teach at. I told her father that I didn’t know that it was an ethical violation.I just about tore those envelopes to confetti and lint when I found out what they had cost me right after my conversation with the UAM Chairman’s daughter.At that point, he authorized me to fly to Arkansas for an interview for the open chemistry position. The interview went really well, and I was nearly hired as the top candidate, but a last-minute return of the professor who’d previously held the position (and already knew how to teach the classes) preempted my hire.My confidence was already at an all-time low because of this revelation that I had destroyed my best chances at all of the postings I would have thrived in by applying using discarded Chemistry Department stationery—now resting in very small pieces at a landfill.I managed to obtain another college interview in Arkansas, where I was only the fourth-ranked candidate, and then nothing.I was defeated. Even knowing to use proper envelopes from then on, it was just too depressing since I had already applied to virtually every college I had ever wanted to work at. I only managed to muster up enough energy to apply to ten more colleges, then my postdoctoral assignment ended and I moved back to California to live with my mother.In October of 1993 College of Southern Idaho called me and flew me in for an interview.I got the position.It was teaching general chemistry for first-year science students. As it was a two-year school, that’s all I could teach. It was a poor fit, but it was the only position I could get, so I accepted it and moved to Idaho. I did my best to do a good job, but my personality clashed with other faculty (I was not yet diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, so I was merely ‘weird’ in an area where ‘weird’ wasn’t a good thing) and they didn’t renew my contract after my first full academic year, basically firing me in the process.I had been previously warned by several faculty at several universities to avoid teaching at a two-year college because if I was fired no university would interview me.I had been ‘fired’ from a two-year school.Aside from a temporary hire at University of Alaska, Anchorage (students liked me, colleagues didn’t), I was never able to find another teaching position. All of my attempted applications from then on yielded rejection form letters. My final attempt was in 2000. I then concentrated on being a stay-at-home father for my baby son, born in 2001 and in 2003 my daughter when she was born, while my wife worked as a physician.I stopped working on my journal papers (I still have two papers only partly completed that cover significant breakthroughs in my area of boron chemistry—and may never publish them). I stopped reading the ACS journal Inorganic Chemistry, the place where I’d published four previous times.My heart has been broken, and my love of chemistry has died.I’m crying as I write this because there is still a small part of me that wants to resume my chemistry career, but I just don’t know if it will ever be possible, since the path that led me to the way I am today is a path I don’t feel strong enough to travel on again.I have not worked outside the home since then.I’m too wounded and discouraged to try again.I destroyed my career by first using University letterhead and secondly by being fired from a two-year college.Please don’t make the same mistakes I did.

As a 25 year-old, I am getting a good sense of how the actions and decisions that my friends and I made as 12-22 year olds are affecting us now, as we start out on our careers.Hard work is VERY important, but it doesn't just mean getting good grades. It has been observed that exceptionally intelligent or naturally talented people, do not have a higher rate of success throughout their lives than the rest of the population. Often, in fact, they find themselves struggling after college, because they are used to their intelligence/talent being enough to succeed and have never learned how to work hard for what they want. When it comes to the "real world" persistence and creativity are rewarded much higher than intelligence or even talent.So my advice to you is:In Middle School:• Challenge yourself academically. Getting good grades is important, but getting good grades in difficult classes (like Honors and AP levels) is more important. Start setting yourself on that track in middle school and you will be ahead of the game when you start high school.• Develop yourself socially. Be open to meeting new people all the time. In school, you can pick your friends, but when you have job, it is always an asset to get along with people and it will help you form connections that will help you advance your career. This includes getting along with your teachers. I have always found that getting along with the people who have authority over you leads to personal success.• Try to get a sense of your interests. You don't have to know what you want to do, or what you want to major in, but it's good to try to analyse your own strengths and interests. Are you the only kid in your class who doesn't hate your math homework? What kinds of books do you like to read and why? What do you do in your free time and what does it say about you? Do you have a hobby or a collection?• Get in the habit of being clean, eating healthily, and getting exercise. A 12-year old doesn't need to be eating kale salads and going to the gym three times a week, but do try to stay active (active play is great for your mind and your body) and don't go crazy on the sweets and fried foods.• Take time to still be a kid. You will be a boring person if you don't let yourself have any fun.In High School:• Continue to challenge yourself, especially in areas where you struggle. When I was in highschool, I took exclusively honors and AP classes. By senior year, all my AP classes were in the Humanities (History, English, French) and Social Studies (Psychology). This meant that when I got to college, I had over a year's worth of course credit under my belt and I had fulfilled two thirds of my general graduation requirements. The problem was, the requirements I had still needed to complete were all Math and Sciences, which I found interesting, but didn't have a particular aptitude for. If you take advanced level classes in high school in subjects you struggle in, you have the support of your teachers, classmates, and parents, and you will save yourself a class in college that would be better spent in classes related to your major. Most colleges have a language requirement as well, so getting that out of the way in highschool will free up a lot of time too (especially if you want to pursue a language in college, as you will be able to skip ahead to the interesting classes). Also, if you think an advanced class is going to be hard in highschool, I promise it will be even harder when you get to college.• Do something after school and over the summer. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as you can talk intelligently about it in a college interview. If what you want to do is help people, get involved in local community service organizations. If what you love is video games, get involved in competitions, or learn how games are programmed and designed. If you are on a sport team, get involved on the coaching and management of it. If you play an instrument, offer tutoring to younger students or mentor kids in the grades below you. If you love TV, check with your local TV networks about internship opportunities and learn what's going on behind the camera. Colleges don't want to see that you showed up to a bunch of after school activities, they want to see that you took initiative, had opportunities for leadership, and got something tangible out of the time you spent at your activity.• Get a job. Seriously, it doesn't have to be much. In high school, I worked one day a week and made $40. Work now, and try not to spend too much of what you earn (that was my mistake). When you get to college, even if you have a campus job, you are going to have unexpected expenses and when you get out of college, you are going to need a couple thousand dollars to move out of your parents' house. Even if your parents give you a generous allowance, earning money is a great feeling and a great way to show colleges that you aren't just a kid and that you can understand responsibility.• Get used to talking to people, especially in groups. Public speaking is terrifying for some people (like me) but it is an absolutely necessary skill. If you can't overcome your discomfort and share your thoughts and opinions with people, no one will go out of their way to hear them. In school, the teacher tries to call on everyone, but in a college class with 100 people, you need to assert yourself in order for the professor to notice you. Don't be rude about it, but feel confident in your own opinion and in your questions. There really are very few stupid questions, and if it's something you are wondering, there's probably someone else in the class with the same question who is too afraid to raise their hand. If your high school offers a public speaking class or has a speech and debate club, take advantage of those resources.• Start developing relationships with your teachers freshman year. Your teachers are excellent resources when it comes to college. They have sent hundreds of students to great schools with their advice, and of course, their recommendation letters. They know you pretty well, and can help you narrow down your list of potential colleges to help you find a good fit.• Start researching universities early as well. The more schools you know about, the greater chance you will find one that is a good fit. If you have a school in mind, see if they offer any summer programs for high school students. My brother got into a top rated engineering college (in spite of his mediocre grades) because he did a summer program there and made strong connections with several members of the faculty, one of whom wrote him a recommendation letter. This also can be a great way to get some college coursework done early, even if you don't end up attending that school. Remember to take the non-academic aspects of each school into account. I went to a school that was a great match academically, but that was so big I felt like I was drowning socially, and my advisor had no idea who I was. Ultimately, it wasn't a good fit, even if I did get a good education.Now, I know you only asked about getting into college, but I'm going to keep on anyway. Getting into college is great, but it isn't the end of anything. It's the beginning of your adult life, which is a pretty daunting thing to tackle. For the most part, just keep doing the things you were doing in middle school and high school. Work hard, meet new people, forge connections with your professors, explore your interests, learn how to do your own laundry and grocery shopping, and get a job. Your grades are much less important in college than they were in high school. I have never once been asked for my college GPA in a job interview, or even when I applied to a professional program after college. If you get good grades and can qualify for latin honors, that's great, and it will make your parents very proud, but it's only a tiny boost when you are job hunting. As long as you are passing all of your classes and have a good relationship with your professors, you will be making the most of your education. If you get 6 weeks or so into a class and you are pretty sure you're going to fail (or pass but with a D - a "low pass") and you don't find the subject matter interesting, drop it. You are wasting your time and using up energy that would be better spent on your other classes. Don't make a habit of dropping classes, but if you need to, do. You can use the time freed up in your schedule to pursue something else, or work on extra projects for you other classes (or just use it to take a nap and clean up your room - you need to relax sometimes).If you are pursuing a degree in the liberal arts, I would strongly recommend that you double major with something "practical." If you are passionate about Art History, get an undergrad degree in Business as well. That combination will make you a candidate to work in a museum or auction house without having to get a PhD in Art History (I learned the hard way that an Art History BA alone only qualified me to work in the gift shop). If you want to study Writing or Literature, get a degree in Marketing or Communications as well. This positions you to work at a publishing house after college, and so on. If you are not sure what would be a good combination, ask your professors and advisors. Your professors will have friends who studied what they did, but got jobs in industry. They will know what combination makes you a desirable job candidate.The best thing you can do in college is internships. Do as many as you have time for and try to get paid for them. An internship is a great way to decided if a career is right for you, because beyond the skills you learn, you will be exposed to the environment and the culture of that industry. When you are an intern, request informational interviews with anyone at your company whose job sounds even remotely interesting. They can be 15 minutes long, they can happen in the elevator, and they can introduce you to the person who is going to be your boss someday. Make sure you ask people who you work with to recommend people outside of their company who may be interested in talking to you. This is called networking. It is the backbone of every industry. When applying to jobs and internships, you have a much better chance of being selected if you know someone at the company, especially if they can give you the name of the hiring manager so you can apply directly to them. People like helping other people, especially people who look up to their success and want to learn from it. Also, people you worked with in internships make much better references than your professors if you are applying to jobs outside of academia when you graduate.To boil this all down into a nutshell, my life advice is this:» Identify your skills and interests» Always do your best work, no matter how small the project» Never stop meeting new people» Ask for help and ask questionsGood luck with you life!