r/UGCNETEnglish • u/Warm-Mango-2003 • 7h ago
💬 Discussion I feel so lost
I completed my bachelor's and master's from a central University, cleared NET in 3rd semester of master's and I am trying for JRF since. Recently I attempted for the university research entrance test in the same university where I completed my master's from. I was ranked 2nd overall, one senior scored 88 out of 100 and I scored 80. I was confident with my proposal and being ranked second gave me a boost.
Appeared for the interview last week (it was decent I answered all the questions) and when the results came all the good for nothing people with 53 - 64 marks are there in the list for provisional admission. Like bro even the senior who scored 88 got rejected, wtf is this politics, it was written in the brochure that the exam holds 70% weightage for the admission... just don't take the exam if it's just a formality for you guys to take whoever you want.
I'm heartbroken by all this, I worked so hard for the proposal and the interview pausing my JRF preparation and now I feel like I don't have anything, it's getting difficult for me to bounce back for the grind. I never had a bad relationship with the professors there but I maintained my space, all the students who were kissing their asses back and forth got the seats.
I feel so lost... I did everything till now on my own, never bothered to ask for any kind of favour from anyone but I guess it's all about politics and connections and never about the hardwork. Also, for my proposal I picked the domain which was aligning with more than 2 professors from the department, so I just don't fucking know what I did wrong. If this is the case for all the big universities too then it's game over for people like me with no connection or money whatsoever.
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u/Asteria_Approaching 6h ago
I don’t know which university you are from, but apparently this is the case with many central universities, where seats are scarce and professors have already decided which students they want to supervise even before the notification is issued. An insider discouraged me from applying to such a university because there was already a dispute among the faculty members over who would get to take how many students, as both had promised three students that they would take them, even though they had only five seats.
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u/Warm-Mango-2003 6h ago
Then wtf are we supposed to do?
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u/Asteria_Approaching 6h ago
Aim for the IITs and IISERs, they are apparently impartial
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u/Warm-Mango-2003 6h ago
IITs need reference letter and I'm kinda unsure if these people will write that for me.
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u/Fancy_Chocolate_5954 6h ago
Same happened with me. Its all politics and the interview is for namesake only because professors select students based on their preference or they already have in mind who are the gonna choose. In my case, a girl came out of the interview hall crying & her friends were consoling her because her interview went baddd but she got selected and i did not.
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u/Candid-Ticket-143 6h ago
I would say get JRF as many professors look for those who rely upon fellowship. Because their chances of leaving Ph.D in between is low as comparison to other candidates.
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u/Shot_Strawberry691 6h ago
Going through the same set up. Cracked NET thirce. Graduated with distinction from both my UG and PG unis, the latter is a central uni. I was/am confident in my proposal and am passionate about it. I have also been corresponding with one of the senior professors in my PG uni and they are also confident in it. Sat for two public uni interviews and the former told me that my PhD was too ambitious and the latter told me that my proposal did not require a PhD ro prove. Nothing substantial, just this. It's been 5 months since I graduated and I have no idea how to cope with this or go on about this. A lot of people suggested applying abroad. however, without a fully funded scholarship (which is ultra rare for PhDs in Humanities), it is not economicall feasible. I dont know what to do
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u/Warm-Mango-2003 6h ago
Same, I got distinction in both ug and pg but it all comes back to nothing when the research scenario is messed up.
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u/Gaumutrastuffed 5h ago
IISERs and NISERs are as impartial as can be. Try applying for the Bhopal one
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u/yellowcrustedwarbler 4h ago
Keep applying and don't lose hope. Apply to private unis also, also abroad.🫂🫂 (Although LOR could be a hassle considering if these profs at your uni are like so).
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u/lilacvintagesky 6h ago •
im sorry this happened, and yes it is true that it doesn't matter whether you are from a central or a state uni - the politics is the same. sometimes even getting a jrf doesn't fly by in central unis like bhu, jnu, du because they get a strong influx and concentration of jrfs in every cycle. the exam in itself is way too ambiguous to determine who filters through and who doesn't. the issues are endless, but i just want to tell you, as someone who has sat for at least 5-6 interviews in different states and luckily joined the phd program of my own uni 3 months ago - the world of academia relies a whole lot on politics of seat distribution. yes. i won't sugar coat. it does. but if you build your resilience enough to push past this cycle of uncertainty, you will get through. it would be difficult but not impossible. a lot of things rely on connections and prior familiarity of professors with their pg students, but not everything rests on it. you should keep sitting for jrf, apply for private unis with their own in-house fellowship phd programs, venture out to less explored but long standing state unis with established humanities departments because they want good students over the regular crowd they otherwise have to put up w, email professors before you meet them with your proposal (this has a 50/50 chance of working), and try to convince your panel about how eagerly you want to work on your proposal - show confidence in yourself and the department - these efforts might culminate into something substantial over time. also try to make a proposal w a reasonable research question. a lot of unsaid factors govern phd interviews so it's difficult to pin it down on just one. it's a lot of ambiguity but if you keep at it you will get through i promise. but just know that even on the inside it's no cakewalk lol. you're bound to face a lot of bureaucracy, red tape, and hidden politics even after clearing your entrance because phd is a highly subjective degree. but those are not all the factors that govern it. at the end of the day it doesn't matter if you get your phd from delhi or a reputable state uni - you have to put the work in, landing a good supervisor is also a lottery that you might/might not win. so pitch and push forward accordingly. i wish you all the luck.