On September 16, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced names of 114 CUET toppers who scored 100th percentile scores in at least four or more papers. The Indian Express interviewed 103 of the 114 toppers to find 15 who had got less than 95% in their Class 12 Board exam and now, thanks to CUET, have a second shot at studying at a Delhi University (DU) college of their choice.

Majority of the 15 CUET toppers want to study Political Science at Hindu College which closed admissions to the programme (for general category applicants) at 100% cut-off last year. Other preferences include Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, History, and English.

Here are their details:

Name: Shayema

Age: 20

School:Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi

Board: Jamia Millia Islamia Board

Board Exam: 83.80% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons) History in any top DU college

2021 Cut-Off: Admissions for unreserved seats in BA (Hons) History closed at 98.25% in St. Stephen’s College and at 99.5% in Hindu College

Was CUET helpful according to you?

Yes, CUET was extremely helpful for me because without it I would have not been able to target colleges like DU that have had  extremely high cut-offs in the past. 

Name: Adarsh Kumar Dubey

Age: 18

School: National High School, Kolkata

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 92.40% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Political Science in Hindu College

2021 Cut-off: Admissions for unreserved seats in  B.A. (Hons) Political Science closed at 100% in Hindu College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

My marks in Hindi in the Board results were very low and this affected my overall percentage. My dream college is Hindu. In the absence of CUET, I would have never been able to make it to Hindu College. Now, I have a strong chance of making it to that college. I want to study Political Science. I think CUET should be carried on in the coming years.

Name: Nandini Mishra

Age: 18

School: Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Ghaziabad

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 93.20% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Psychology in Lady Shri Ram College

2021 Cut-off: Admissions for unreserved seats in B.A. (Hons.) Psychology closed at 99% in Lady Shri Ram College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

Yes, CUET was helpful for honing skills for competitive examinations like UPSC. I think this exam is a better judge of one’s capability and of where we stand in the crowd. CUET as an examination was completely based on NCERT and I scored well without any coaching or tuition.

Name: Shreya Semwal

Age: 19

School: Arwachin Bharti Bhawan Senior Secondary School

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 94.40% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) English in St. Stephen’s College

2021 Cut Off: Admissions for unreserved seats in B.A. (Hons.) English closed at 98.70% in St. Stephen’s College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

Yes, it gave me more than enough time to study and score good marks

Name: Faraz Sarwer

Age: 18

School: DPS Mathura Road, Delhi

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 93.80% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) History in St. Stephen’s College

2021 Cut Off: Admissions for unreserved seats in B.A. (Hons.) History closed at 98.25% in St. Stephen’s College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

I scored 94% in my Term 1 paper of the Class 12 Board exams, which was not great compared to other CUET toppers who scored 98% and more. Plus, when you belong to the general category, scoring 94% does not get you admission to a top college. When CUET was announced, my Term 1 exam was going on. When I learned about CUET, I realised I have an opportunity, another chance to improve and score well. Now that I have scored well, I have significantly improved my chances of admission to top colleges. I want to pursue History at St. Stephen’s College. As for continuing CUET in the coming years, there are positives and negatives. For CUET this year, we had to prepare a lot because our Class 12 syllabus was reduced by 30%. By the time we finished Term 2, people had forgotten about Term 1. In the long term, CUET will be better if students are given enough time and if schools do not turn into coaching centers because education is not just about exams and marks.

Name: Garima

Age: 17

School: Rajikiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya Rohini, Delhi

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 94.20% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Political Science in Hindu College

2021 Cut-off: Admissions for unreserved seats in  B.A. (Hons.) Political Science closed at 100% in Hindu College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

It can be said that the exam was helpful. In CUET I have a better score. If the Class 12 marks would have been considered it would be more difficult for me.

Name: Ekansh

Age: 18

School: KIIT World School, Delhi

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 94.40% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Political Science in Hindu College

2021 Cut Off: Admissions for unreserved seats in  B.A. (Hons.) Political Science closed at 100% in Hindu College

Was CUET helpful according to you?  

Yes, according to me CUET is a great initiative as it offers students a level-playing field to get into their dream college. CUET needs some improvement, but I think it will get better with time and could turn out to be a good selection process for higher education.

Name: Ishaan Shahabadi

Age: 17

School: Sachdeva Public School Sector 13, Delhi

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 94.60% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Pol. Sc. in Hindu College

2021 Cut-off: Admissions for unreserved seats in  B.A. (Hons.) Political Science closed at 100% in Hindu College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

CUET is a progressive step towards revolutionising education in India. If you have a bad score in board exams, you are stuck with it. This gives you a second chance.

Name: Dishank Gandhi

Age: 18

School: Darbari Lal DAV Model SSS Pitampura, Delhi

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 94.80% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Political Science in top North Campus college.

2021 Cut Off: Admissions for unreserved seats B.A. (Hons.) Political Science closed at 100% in Hindu College and Ramjas College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

Nothing much could’ve happened with just my Board exam score. CUET is a boon for me.

Name: Bhavikaa Keshwani

Age: 17

School: G.D. Goenka Public School, Delhi

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 94.40% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Political Science in Lady Shri Ram College

2021 Cut-off: Admissions for unreserved seats B.A. (Hons.) Political Science closed at 99% in Lady Shri Ram College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

When the CBSE result was about to be announced, I was sure to get above 97%. However, due to an error, I got 70%. Re-checking takes a lot of time. I was blessed that this time that CUET was going to be considered. I worked extra hard for this exam because I had to prove that 70% is not my score.

Name: Jatin Verma

Age: 18

School: Salwan Public School, Gurgaon

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 94.60% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Political Science and B.A. (Hons.) History in any top North Campus college.

2021 Cut Offs: Admissions closed at 100% for Political Science and 99.5% for History in Hindu College and at 98.25% for History in St. Stephen’s College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

It provides a single platform for all which is great, but the exams should have been conducted earlier. I also feel the 100th percentile has been scored by many candidates. I don’t know how much of an advantage I have.

Name: Semmozhi Ramesh

Age: 18

School: Mater Dei School, Delhi

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 94% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: Any humanities programme (Psychology, Sociology, and History) at Lady Shri Ram College

2021 cut-off: Admissions closed at 99% for Psychology; 98% for Sociology, and 98% for History at Lady Shri Ram College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

Although it’s the maiden edition of the test and I had my CUET paper on the very first day, I didn’t face any teething troubles. I found CUET to be mostly based on what I had learned in school for my boards exam and I was quite comfortable with the test.

Name: Sunaina Lal

Age: 18

School: Springdales School, Delhi

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 94.40% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Political Science in Hindu College

2021 cut-off: Admissions for unreserved seats B.A. (Hons.) Political Science closed at 100% in Hindu College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

Although there were some technical challenges at first because it was a new exam, it did end up being beneficial for students like me. I was offered the opportunity to improve my score because I wasn’t happy with my Class 12 marks. The exam was introduced in an effort to create a level playing field so that students can compete fairly to maintain consistency. I personally went through the hassle of the CUET test being postponed because of technical glitches.

Name: Nikita

Age: 17

School: Kendriya Vidyalaya Robert Square, Gol Market, Delhi

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 93.40% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Political Science in Hindu College

2021 cut-off: Admissions for unreserved seats B.A. (Hons.) Political Science closed at 100% in Hindu College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

I think CUET was helpful for me. Since I scored 100 percentile in all my subjects, I will be able to get admission to the college of my choice. For me, appearing for CUET was good because although I scored well in Class 12, it was not good enough to get admission to top colleges. CUET has allowed me to do that. I think CUET should be continued in the coming years since it gives certain advantages to students. This year particularly, the term 1  and term 2 system was not advantageous for me and a lot of students. That is why CUET was better for me and I also prepared better.

Name: Priyanshu Dixit

Age: 18

School: Kalkaji Public School, Delhi

Board: CBSE

Board Exam: 92.60% (Humanities)

Programme and college preference: B.A. (Hons.) Political Science in Hindu college.

2021 cut-off: Admissions for unreserved seats B.A. (Hons.) Political Science closed at 100% in Hindu College

Was CUET helpful according to you? 

My chances definitely improved with my CUET score. My sociology marks in the Board exam had an error, but I didn’t put it up for rechecking because it would delay my result.