If you found the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) main 2017 exam too tough, then you are not the only one. Coming out of the examination hall on April 2^nd, some students complained about the lengthy exam pattern while others pointed out its difficulty level as beyond their reach. Since JEE is not the end of the world for your life and career goals, you do not need to panic and look for other alternative choices. Some of them are listed below:

1. Await the results:

If your performance in the exam doesn`t get you into any of the Indian Institute of Technology (s) (IITs), then there are other reputed colleges that also admit you on the basis of your JEE score. For example: The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and all the National Institutes of Technology (s) (NITs) accept JEE main and advanced scores. If not the best, then the next best thing will sure lift your spirits!

2. Go for other entrance exams:

There are many top-listed reputed private institutions that are equally competent in getting you an engineering degree. Many of these colleges have their own entrance exams that are much easier than JEE. Some of the examples are BITs, SRM and VIT. These colleges promise a bright career ahead. Also, attempt all the state entrance exams that you are eligible in, to book yourself a seat in some of the top universities of the target state.

3. Change your course:

It is wise to judge your IQ at this very stage. Engineering is not the only career option if you are a science student. Identify your aptitude and inclination towards different fields and choose some other course that you are fit for! There is a sea of options for a science student to choose a career from. Microbiology to statistics, choose the entrance exams for your course and prepare yourself with a new goal in mind.

4. Go abroad:

Expand your horizon by looking to study abroad. A good score in SAT is all you need to get scholarships and admits to all the reputed colleges of the world. Do research about the institutions and courses that your target country has to offer and prepare yourself accordingly.  If finance is not a problem, then this option can be open.

5. Take a year drop and re-appear for the exam next year:

If you are extremely confident about your knowledge and preparation and your soul aim is to crack the JEE exam with a good enough score for an IIT, then drop that year for the JEE exam to be taken the following year. This should be your last resort and only if you are sure about your efforts and preparation. For various reasons, this option is discouraged:

• The “drop-out” mark stays with you life-long and can hinder in your career in the future.
• If you succeed in getting into an IIT, everything is set but if you don`t then you would have wasted a whole year without any result.
• The exam pattern may drastically change the following year and your dropping a year might be in vain altogether.

As per the Supreme Court verdict announced on 31^st March 2017, students older than 25 years of age are also allowed now to appear for NEET 2017, the all India examination for medical and dental courses. The court is also expected to give its decision on inclusion of Urdu in the list of languages in which the examination can be taken.

Our Take:

The decision of the apex court is expected to be a boon for students who have missed out on the opportunity to get into medical/dental education earlier. Also, the likely inclusion of Urdu as a language is expected to benefit a sizeable number of students.

Medical and dental entrance examination NEET 2016 was held in 80 cities across India and in 2017, there will be a more than 25% increase to 103 cities. This is because of a significant increase in the number of aspirants. Candidates are also allowed to change their city of examination between 24^th March and 27^th March. Even the test venues have been increased to more than 2200.

When it comes to registrations for the examination, NEET 2017 has seen a whopping 41.42% jump as compared to 2016. In 2016, the number was 8.02 lakhs as against 11.35 lakhs in 2017. A mobile app has also been launched to help the students to locate the nearest test venue.

NEET 2017 is scheduled to be held on 7^th May 2017 and it will be conducted in 10 languages – Hindi, English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Oriya and Kannada.

Our Take:

The increase in the number of aspirants and also the possibility of taking the examination in a regional language have been positive signs for NEET. NEET 2017 will be the first comprehensive all India medical and dental entrance examination, subsuming any other medical and dental entrance examination. The successful conduct of this examination will pave way for comprehensive entrance examinations in other fields as well.

From 2009, the CBSE has been following the system of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE), but now, it has formally scrapped this system and it will be replaced by a new format from the academic year 2017-18. This new format is called Uniform System of Assessment, Examination and Report Card. The aim is to standardize teaching and evaluation across schools.

All students from class VI will now be part of this system and the CBSE template will be followed by the schools. Even the report card will have the CBSE logo. Along with reintroduction of mandatory standard X examination, this is another attempt by the CBSE to bring about uniformity in the affiliated schools.

One of the reasons behind imposition of standardization is the problems due to schools following different standards and migrating students facing difficulties.

Our Take:

From 300 plus schools in 1960s, the CBSE now has 16,000 plus schools under its umbrella and standardization for the crucial years of class VI to class IX is necessary as these are the formative years for the students. If the student changes the school then he/she should not face a completely different approach in a new school. Plus, the students should be gradually prepared for the examinations in advanced years. Considering all these objectives, the CBSE’s step towards standardization appears logical. However, its implementation is going to begin from 2017-18 so it will be interesting to watch how the new system unfolds.

National Testing Service (NTS) will take over the responsibility to administer most of the entrance examination tests conducted by CBSE and ease the burden of CBSE. This is going to start from 2018. It is expected to start from January 2018 with National Entrance Examination for Technical Institutions (NEETI), which is an entrance for admission to engineering students. In future, almost all professional courses’ entrance examinations conducted by the CBSE will be shifted to NTS, making it the largest examination conducting body in the country.

As of now, the CBSE conducts its regular class X and XII board examinations and also some other tests, viz. Joint Engineering Entrance (JEE), UGC’s National Eligibility Test (NET) twice a year, Central Teacher Eligibility Test twice a year and also the entrance test for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. Board examinations alone are taken by 27 lakh students and the entrance examinations are taken by almost 40 lakh aspirants.

One of the purpose behind the establishment of NTS is to set up a dedicated body and ease the burden off the CBSE and the IITs and let them focus on their key areas.

As of now, the government is not getting private sector involved in setting up of NTS. It will borrow from the expertise of the CBSE in the form of personnel experienced with the conduct of examination. Rs.50 crores are expected to be the initial cost for setting up and infrastructure of NTS.

Our Take:
By taking steps towards establishment of NTS, the government has fulfilled a demand pending for many years. A dedicated body for conduct of nation-wide examinations is definitely needed to de-clutter institutions like the CBSE, the IITs and the IIMs, which are also given the responsibility to hold various examinations whose administration can be quite a daunting task. But setting up of NTS can help these institutions to focus on improving the quality of their respective areas, research as well as setting up new benchmarks in their respective areas.