In college, you have the opportunity and the setting to do well in many things besides academics. People flourish as speakers, writers, athletes, programmers, musicians, gamers, and in many other amazing ways. But where should you draw the line between enrichment and indulgence? However, how do you recognize the signs that you should be doing things differently?
For this post, let me tell you about my own experience in college. When I qualified at JEE and entered IIT Roorkee, I had come from years of sacrificing my love of sport on the altar of study. I had played tennis and volleyball in school without ever having the courage to make a concerted and determined effort to master these sports. Getting into IIT, even with a rank that was below expectations, was easily the most important achievement of my life up to that point. Having earned that leeway, I proceeded to exorcise the ghosts of underachievement in what I loved most: tennis.
It’s not unusual to find students at IITs who are acutely aware of their noticeable lack of ability in anything but academics, and the good thing is that most of these people try to rectify that while at university. Of course, being at the best university in the country has traditionally brought a cushion in terms of opportunities after graduation (that may not be the case forever), so there is a degree of lavishness that characterizes IITians’ extracurricular activities. In my case, it was no different. I set myself the goal of appearing in Roorkee colors at all four Inter IIT sporting matches in my time at university. I set to work with great seriousness and with an indefatigable spirit. I spent hours on the court every day, sweating like there was no tomorrow. I quickly came to the conclusion that the training available to me was not going to help me at all, because I had already gotten used to what I thought was my own playstyle (with all its inventory of flaws).
It was worth the effort. My game improved over time and I got close enough to my goal, playing three Inter IIT matches, winning two gold medals at the Institute Championships, and leading the team for my last two years in the IITR. I’ve built up a stamina that still serves me well, made some great friends, and added a very useful and impressive list of accomplishments to my CV. However, in hindsight, I made several crucial mistakes.
1. I allowed myself too much time to achieve my goals. The rate of progress I achieved in my senior year was the best, even though I put in the least amount of time that year. It’s similar to how a person’s results start coming in faster as the deadline approaches. Since I had a lot of time, I wasted a lot of energy in dissipated effort. He didn’t learn as much as he enjoyed playing with the new toys he accumulated.
2. I accomplished less than I could have done academically. Although I was always careful to maintain a ‘good’ GPA, my definition of good slipped over time, mainly because previous estimates were becoming increasingly unrealistic. Some people may argue that if you choose to spend your time on something besides studying, you should be prepared to take a hit to your performance. But that’s not my point. My point is that in many cases it is possible to convince yourself that you are doing something that will make up for that drop in GPA or DR. Once you get stuck in that frame of mind, extracurricular activities start competing for priority in your mind. And if you think that’s not necessarily wrong, ask anyone who’s finished college and they’ll tell you that no matter what, GPA counts, and sometimes it counts a hell of a lot.
3. Not only did I not achieve it, but I also did not plan it. There’s a surge of excitement and complacency that comes with everything you accomplish when you walk the road less traveled. That can have the unfortunate consequence of clouding your judgment about what deserves more importance in your life. Many of you would be talented enough to become very good at more than one thing, maybe even four or five. In fact, you’ll see quite a few of those people around you, who seem to have an endless list of things to do, matched only by an equally unlimited supply of time to do them. These people are invariably, never the best at anything (exceptions abound, of course, but generally true), but they quickly reach a level that is higher than most of the board, and then find other peaks to climb. before the slope becomes too difficult to climb. If you’re one of those talented people who can be good at a lot of things, give some serious thought to this point. If you’re not, even then it will work for you, because you have a better chance of finding what you’re really good at.
4. I spent too much time swimming against the current. I had always wanted to get an engineering degree, and that didn’t change one bit during college. You’d imagine it self-evident that to get into good universities for an MA or PhD, you need outstanding grades and, unless you’re an IITian (and/or very lucky), a fair amount of research experience. I recognized these facts for what they were, but I did not claim to reach them. At the end of the day, no matter how smart you are or how well you know what you’re doing, you need to have the right numbers on your CV to outperform the competition. Maybe you’d rather win debates, contests, or tennis matches than spend, say, half that effort on a course you hate. But for most of us who have no talent, it is still important to know our thermodynamics well, even if we want to do a PhD in robotics. You may choose to deny the fact, at your own risk. I’m not saying it’s the ONLY way to do it (I’ve done it myself quite successfully!), but it’s definitely the simplest and most efficient way to do it.
I will conclude by saying that there is nothing more fulfilling and exciting than pursuing your interests while you are in college, and it will serve you for the rest of your life. It increases your self-esteem and makes you more capable of learning various skills. However, there are definite trade-offs that you should not only be aware of, but also try to overcome with planning and foresight.
Note: This article was originally published on Invenon’s Get-ahead ezine, the best compilation of career advice for recent college grads in India by Ritwik Raj, our guest writer.
