From a Secret Second Attempt to Campus Life: An IIT Student's Journey

A 20-year-old student from Prayagraj is now in his third year of Biosciences and Bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati after secretly preparing for the entrance exam a second time while enrolled at another institution.

The Secret Preparation

In 2023, the student scored a 99.2 percentile in the entrance test, but a medical situation derailed his advanced attempt and left him with a rank in the 17,000s. He joined Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad instead. While maintaining his classes and a normal social life there, he secretly prepared for the entrance exam again in the margins of the day. In 2024, he secured an All India Rank of 8,700-odd and gained admission to IIT Guwahati.

Campus Life and Activities

Arriving on campus in July 2024, he quickly got involved in student activities despite initially trying to stay out of clubs. He joined Anchorenza, the astronomy club Equinox, and TEDxIITGuwahati. He also played the guitar in campus bands, including performing a meme song for an audience that included bewildered professors. Later, after a four-hour interview, he became Events Head for the Students' Welfare Board, a role that involved organizing events like a Pan-IIT Wellbeing Summit and managing campus outlet launches.

Context

Students in the country often face intense academic pressure and immense competition for top engineering seats, sometimes leading them to take partial drops while studying at other colleges. Life inside large residential tech campuses often fosters a self-contained student culture driven by clubs, late-night food habits, and informal gatherings.