How to Do College Admissions Online During Coronavirus Pandemic: Here's Everything That You Need to Know

The novel Coronavirus pandemic has forced many states of India to go into lockdown and has had a major impact on any events that require social gatherings. The education sector of India, being in its admissions phase has been severely impacted due to the movement restrictions enforced by the lockdown. Many exams in India have been cancelled or postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

This rare and unpredictable event has caused major disruptions in the events and admission process of colleges across India. The JEE Main April 2020 exam has been postponed, the ICSE and ISC exams have been postponed and IIM B and IIM IDR have postponed their convocations.

In this situation, it is normal for any student to be concerned about how to take admission to colleges during the Coronavirus outbreak. CollegeDekho.com, as an online platform providing education-related services, is dedicated to using its expertise and experience to ensure that students have all the resources available to go about their exam preparation and college admissions.

In this article, we aim to provide a solution to this problem and assure the aspirants seeking admission to colleges in India that there are enough workarounds available to tackle any persisting issues.

How Coronavirus Has Impacted College Admissions in India

As if finding a good college and getting admissions wasn't difficult enough, students are currently faced with another hurdle. With the lack of alternative options besides traditional admission pathways, students are now frantic about their UG admissions in India and their future. Here is a quick overview of how Coronavirus has impacted college admissions in India.

• Colleges have been forced to shut their doors and means of transports have stopped functioning, students are unable to physically visit the colleges to see the college campus and have face-to-face interaction with counsellors and existing students. Since this is helpful for a student when deciding a college, this has proved to be a problem.

• Many colleges in India do not have their application process available online. Due to this, a student is required to either personally visit the college for the application form or request the application form via mail/post. Both of these options have become unavailable due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

• Colleges whose admission processes were midway have had to pause their operations. An example of this is MBA colleges in India. The results of the Common Admission Test (CAT) were released in January and the MBA admission process were underway but due to the pandemic, top business schools of India postponed their GD-PI rounds.

Coronavirus has also impacted the school-level examinations, which will cause delays in admission to undergraduate diploma and degree courses,

• Since CBSE has postponed the Class 10th and Class 12th board exams, and a revised schedule for ISCE and ISC exams has been released, not only will the admission process of diploma courses after 10th but also admissions to diploma courses after 12th will be impacted.

• Plus, with The JEE Main exam postponed, the B.Tech admission process will also be thrown off schedule and students seeking admission to engineering colleges in India will need to be prepared in case an alternate admission process is arranged.

It cannot be said that the situation is ideal for anybody right now but it is important at this time for students to not lose focus. In the age of the internet, it is not impossible to arrange an alternate admission pathway for students and the government, educational institutions, governing bodies, as well as education platform like CollegeDekho, are working to ensure a hassle-free admission process for students in the Coronavirus pandemic. Get free counselling and admission assistance to apply to your choicest college online! In times like this, safety should be your highest priority and instead of fretting, you can just relax and take help from the most reliable sources. With 25K+ admissions under its belt, Collegedekho's unique platform helps you apply to B.Tech, B.Sc, B.Com, B.A, Management, Design, Law, Hotel Management etc. colleges remotely. So it is important that students keep researching and stay updated with the latest education news from colleges across India.

Now, dear student, let's have a one-on-one, shall we? We need to figure out how you can take admission to colleges during the Coronavirus pandemic. But first, let's take have a quick overview of the general admission process of colleges in India.

Easy to remember, right? Now, let's add a little detail to each of these steps. We will see what problems being caused in the admission process and what alternative means are available to resolve these issues.

You can also take a look at these related articles for in-depth knowledge of the various admission processes in India.

College Admission In India During the Coronavirus Pandemic

It is clear that college admissions cannot simply go ahead as planned during the pandemic. Here is how you cannot let the Coronavirus pandemic affect your chances of college admissions in India. We explore the existing problems and attempt to provide effective solutions to ensure that you are able to go through the admission processes without any issues. You can just drop in your query and our expert education counsellors will get back in touch with you to help you with your 2020 admission process.

Step 0: Research and College Selection During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Admission to higher education course takes much thought. You do a little research, talk to your friends, teachers, parents and lastly, you may (this is true in India unfortunately, but that discussion is for another day) talk to a counsellor. You have a list of colleges where you want to take admission & Collegdekho might just be able to help you with that.

Coronavirus Impact: Since the research work can mostly be done online, you may not face any major issues during this step. However, due to the imposed restrictions, you will not be able to directly meet peers or visit the colleges for a review.

Solution: There is a ton of information available online that can help a student choose the college while staying at home. Talk to an Admissions Expert for help. You may also talk to your friends and teachers on the telephone and call the admission department of colleges for any queries. Many colleges also provide virtual video tours on their website and there are a host of college campus tours available on the CollegeDekho YouTube channel as well.

Here are some of the online video resources available that you can check out.

It is important at this point to ensure that you have all of the necessary information before you make a decision. Check the available options and carefully check whether the college is suited to your requirements. We have an extensive portfolio of colleges in our database (more than 500 colleges), which can help you make a choice. Just use the available filters to find the colleges best-suited for your requirements or if you are unable to do so, drop in your number and we will assist you in your search for a college.

CollegeDekho Student Counselling

Here are some related information that you can go through to make your college search in the time of Coronavirus relevant.

Step 1: Filling the College Application Form During the Coronavirus Pandemic

You fill the application form for various colleges on our Common Application Form (CAF) platform and entrance exams in India. This is how you let the college know that you are contesting for a seat in a course they offer.

Coronavirus Impact: While many colleges in India have taken their admission processes online, from the form filling to document submission to fee payment, there still are a number of colleges that require candidates to fill the application form offline. Students applying to such colleges are expected to face an issue.

Solution: Stay updated on the latest admission news of colleges as they may provide alternative ways to apply. The application form may be made available online. Since college staff may already be facing some issues in making the necessary arrangements, we recommend that you get an idea of the application processes and eligibility criteria of the college (our in-house expert counsellors will help you) and course of your choice first before contacting the college via phone or email for any such information.

You can check the eligibility criteria, application process and selection criteria of top colleges in India on CollegeDekho. Here is information regarding admission to some popular colleges in India to help you out.

CollegeDekho Common Application Form

Step 2: Appearing for Entrance Exams During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Whether it may be appearing for an entrance exam conducted by any particular college (such as LPUNEST ), or a national or state level entrance exam, you have to appear for a test or qualify in the merit-based shortlisting process of colleges or universities.

Coronavirus Impact: Since the exam conducting process cannot be considered online, the impact would mostly be felt by the students who are currently preparing and scheduled to appear for exams in the months of March and April. Most of the exams are likely to be postponed and you may have to wait for the updated examination schedule to be released by the various exam conducting bodies.

Solution: It is crucial that you do not let the delay affect your exam preparation. Use the extra time available to your benefit and work on improving areas you otherwise may not have found the time for. Use the various e-learning exam preparation platform for students to ensure that you have all of the resources available to help your exam preparation during this time.

Here are preparation strategies of some of the exams that have been postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Here are some other articles related to entrance examinations in India.

Step 3: Taking Part in Counselling During the Coronavirus Pandemic

You have qualified the entrance exam and received your score and rank. Based upon these, you appear for national or state level counselling or counselling conducted by individual colleges. The motive in both cases is to provide a rank-based preference for the selection of college and/or course in colleges.

Coronavirus Impact: Many of the state and national-level entrance exams in India have an online counselling process which does not require students to physically visit a location. Students should not face any issue during this step of the admission process. However, the impact would be felt where colleges do not have an online counselling pathway for students.

Solution: It is yet to be seen how colleges will conduct their counselling during the current pandemic. We will keep bringing you the latest news and updates regarding the counselling processes of colleges across India.

Step 4: Final Selection of Candidates During the Coronavirus Pandemic

You are allocated a seat in a college and course on the basis of your choice and your rank in the qualifying examination. The counselling process continues until either the last rank candidate has been allocated the seat or all of the seats in all the colleges have been filled.

Many colleges such as the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), have their own selection procedure of candidates. In this, candidates are usually asked to visit the college campus or any other designated location to take part in their selection processes.

Coronavirus Impact: Since any candidate would prefer to avoid visiting a college campus during this time, this would cause delays or postponement of the selection processes of various institutes. Colleges may ask you to appear for the final selection rounds through online video conferencing. Students who do not have the necessary equipment such as laptops or webcams available will have to look for alternate means.

Solution: The only thing you can do right now is keep on the lookout for any news from the colleges you have applied. Take the help of friends, relatives, or neighbours if you do not have the equipment required to appear in online interviews. Or better still, opt for thorough and customised services offered by academic experts and educational counsellors here at Collegedekho.com. Here are some tips to appear for online interviews to help you get started.

Step 5: Final Admission of Candidates During the Coronavirus Pandemic

You avail the Free Counselling and Admission Assistance offered at Collegedekho or report to the allocated college. Complete all the admission formalities such as document deposition and payment of fees online on the website and you have finally got yourself into a college! You are asked to report on the day of commencement of the course. College-life awaits!

Coronavirus Impact: Due to the delay in the previous steps of the college admission process in India, it is expected that the final admission schedule will also be delayed. The date of commencement of classes in 2020 may be further down the year than is usual for students. It is currently difficult to say how much delay will be caused in college admissions due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Solution: At this point in time, it is expected that the impact of Coronavirus pandemic would be absorbed by the time admission to colleges in India take place. The only solution for colleges would be to either conduct the first semester of study in a shorter period of time or to delay the whole process.

The admission process to colleges in India in the offline mode is likely to come to a standstill at least for the coming few weeks. But if you opt for the online application & admission process as offered by Collegedekho.com, you may beat the rush and secure your seat in your choicest college! Besides this, colleges are also gearing up to use online tools for teaching and other purposes as an alternate means in the face of current lockdowns.

It is essential to keep in mind that Coronavirus has impacted the lives of almost every person across the globe. The world is coming together to face a threat the force of which is yet unseen. India is still in the beginner stages of the outbreak and the next few weeks are crucial for every Indian citizen. As educated students in the country, it is important that you stay calm and keep yourself updated with any subsequent developments and opt for smart methods to further your cause.

If you have any other queries regarding the admissions in India, feel free to as a question on the CollegeDekho QnA Zone. Stay at home, keep preparing and stay safe!