I would like to share with you all that I am joining IIT Delhi for MS(R) AI (2022).
Well, to get into this position & to be eligible to write this particular post, or to live this reality of being an IITian, the process was not at all easy.
It all started back in 2019 when my roommate insisted me to visit IIT Kgp for their annual techfest Kshitij 2019.
I wasn’t very much interested to go because I wasn’t sure what value it would put in my life for a worth of ₹1500 for the entry pass.
But somehow I ended up there, and who knew that those 3 days of Kshitij would change my life forever!
For those 3 days I experienced what it is to live the life of an IITian. As I had to stay in the IIT hostels & had to eat at IIT canteens, in my free time I used to attend workshops in the IIT classrooms. I got an opportunity to interact with IITians of my age & of the same semester.
It all made me realize that there is a huge difference between my college life than that of an IITian. I realized that there is a huge lack of resources like infrastructure,surrounding culture etc. in my college life.
After realizing all these I was totally lost, I was kind of sad & confused about the fact that why can’t I have the same life. When I think about it now, probably this realization struck me because I had a huge love of knowledge for CS inside me.
But that was not enough to get me started with.That only happened after I had a very bad breakup and I was rejected by an investor to fund my startup only because I was not an IITian.
After all this I was in a position when I felt I needed to prove myself & somehow I chose GATE CS as the only option and started preparing for it. As I said before the process was not easy but I had that advantage of starting out really early (from 4th sem. 2019).
During my preparation days (2019-2021) I completely isolated myself from all the social media, from all friends except a few & moved into a single room apartment.
Then after 2 years of study I wrote GATE 2021, I thought I had the best preparation that I could do. I got a decent rank of AIR 1002 but that was not enough to get me into the top 7 old IITs which I actually desired for.
Well as anyone can feel, sacrificing everything for 2 years in your early 20s and still not making it upto the mark, can be really frustrating and yes, that was the same for me too.
Although I had options of getting into NITS,IIITS,new IITS & I also had a job offer(Cognizant inc.),
I chose to prepare again from scratch and make it to the top 7 old IITS.
Taking this decision was comparatively easy but the execution was not. As I was choosing to prepare fulltime without any source of income as a repeater.
During that span (2021-22) I was also facing some financial issues but my parents always supported me and helped me to keep moving forward whatever be the circumstances.
Hence, after a year I reappeared in GATE 22 and this time I got calls from 2 programs:
IIT Bombay MS CMINDS & IIT Delhi MS MINDS.
Again I prepared hard for the written test & interviews as this was my only chance to get into the top IITS. My hard work paid off & I cleared those interviews with success that led me to my admission at IIT Delhi (MS(R)-AI).
I know the story may seem a bit emotional at times, but it’s what that was inside me for the last 3 years.
The journey was lonely at times, every night I was looking forward to the next day keeping my dream in my mind and constantly improving myself. I was consistent and never gave up. These helped me towards what I’m today.
Last but not the least I’m thankful to have such supportive parents and friends who were there with me no matter what. I'm also thankful to myself for not giving up and that I kept on going day after day.
The journey was a roller-coaster, but I loved it.
Now I can say with confidence that with enough effort and dedication anything can be achieved.
