For all incoming freshers

This bit is for the guys who are coming in to IIT Delhi after cracking the JEE. Congratulations for successfully clearing one of the toughest examinations in the world. It must have been a tough last two or three years for you and now that your efforts have borne fruit, you must be looking to celebrate this moment with family and friends. Making it through IIT deserves accolades but you must also realise that all of your batchmates in IIT Delhi have done the same. The journey only gets tougher from herein, and I would like to guide you with what all to do at IIT Delhi.

Most of you would have been the best students in your respective schools, but now the level of competition is much higher than what it used to be. So please prepare yourself to be among the "average" or "low CGPA" students. The faster you can make the transition from the relatively easy school phase to the competitive IIT world, the better it would be for your four or five years in IIT Delhi. This is an appeal to also the parents to stop pestering their children now for more marks, they have made it through IIT and I believe IITD itself shall groom them to become successful in life.

As a passing out student, I believe that the past four years have been the best ever in my life. And I am not a nine pointer, but a rather disappointing five point someone. And even though I dont regret anything I did during the past four years, I just wish I had a better CGPA. A good CGPA makes a difference between a job at ITC and Infosys, between a final call from IIM Ahmedabad, and IIM Lucknow. Hence the most important thing while at IIT Delhi is to have a good GPA. A good GPA is anything more than 7.0. Make that mark, and you wont lose out on the companies shortlisting and MS calls.

Having said that, CGPA is not the only aspect of life in IIT Delhi, and I am not advising you in any way to become complete maggus (a term for 24*7*365 sloggers in IIT Delhi). I am asking you to make a balance between the co-curricular activities and your academics. Contrary to popular belief, IITians are not nerds, and there are plenty of scope of all round personality development in IIT Delhi. Try out new sports, participate in the various clubs activities, try catching up on all that you missed while preparing to come in here. And build up enthusiasm for atleast something; for your hostel, for your departmental society, for some club or board, for SPIC MACAY, but please do something that will help youto make a mark in the campus.

Coming to IIT Delhi will in itself ensure you of a bright future. Even if you dont manage a good GPA, it doesnt really matter. If you have the potential(and all of you have it as you have made it through JEE) you are going to be successful, in every possible connotation of the word, soon, somewhere.What really matters is, spending the time in here in a manner that will make people take notice of you. This is where you make a transition from teenagers to adults, and coming in as brilliant brains, I hope you go out as responsible citizens. The best thing about IIT Delhi is that you are never judged by yourCGPA or your extra curricular activities, but by the kind of person you actually are. And believe me, this is the only thing that matters in life. Become worthy of IIT Delhi, by becoming world class human beings.