My College Years

Preface

I’m writing this article mainly because when I was filling out my university preferences, I read a lot of articles about GTU’s Undeclared Program, but I could never find very precise information. This caused me a lot of frustration at the time (because I already had a very clear goal before entering university, which I’ll mention later), so I wanted to write this article to give back and provide a reference for future students. I hope it will be helpful to you.

There is a quote that I have always loved, said by a very outstanding senior in the debate community. I hope it inspires all of us.

“What is knowledge? Knowledge is when we throw a handful of sand into the wind, and that sand disperses into the collars of every traveler moving forward.”

My High School Years

I am an ex-Navodayan and completed my schooling at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Anand.

After Class 10, like many students, I had to decide which stream to pursue. Mathematics was always my strongest subject, while Biology was easily my weakest. Because of my interest in mathematics, choosing the science stream with Mathematics felt like the natural choice.

During my school years, I participated in various activities, including debates and academic competitions. At the time, however, I had another dream that had followed me since childhood: becoming a hacker.

When I was younger, that dream felt unrealistic and distant. It was something I admired but never seriously considered pursuing.

Everything changed around forty or fifty days before my board examinations. By pure coincidence, I was introduced to C++. Around the same time, I discovered Kali Linux. What started as simple curiosity quickly became an obsession.

The more I learned about programming, the more I realized something important: I enjoyed it far more than any other subject.

While studying often felt exhausting, programming had the opposite effect. Hours would pass without me noticing. I entered a state of complete focus, where solving problems and building things felt natural and deeply satisfying.

That was the moment I decided to change direction.

Until then, I had considered several other career paths. I explored various options within India’s education system, trying to find ways to enter technology-related fields. Since registration deadlines for some entrance examinations had already passed, my options were limited.

After extensive research, I eventually discovered Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE). It seemed like the closest path to my growing interests in computing, networking, and technology.

Then COVID-19 arrived, and everything changed.

The lockdown disrupted everyone’s plans, including mine. With uncertainty everywhere, I focused primarily on Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry while continuing to explore programming whenever possible.

One Year in Lockdown

By the time I reached Class 12, the entire education system had been affected by the pandemic.

To be honest, I was not particularly disciplined during the lockdown period. Like many students, I struggled to maintain consistency in my studies. Although my final results were decent, the competition became significantly more intense because many students performed exceptionally well under the modified evaluation systems.

As a result, my score was not sufficient to secure admission into Computer Science.

At that point, I faced a choice.

I could spend another year preparing for competitive examinations, or I could move forward with a related field and continue pursuing my long-term goals independently.

I chose the second option.

Eventually, I secured admission to Government Engineering College (GEC), Rajkot, in the Electronics and Communication Engineering department.

Some people viewed ECE as a compromise. I did not. I viewed it as an opportunity.

Although I was enrolled in ECE, my real goal remained the same: building expertise in computing, cybersecurity, networking, and embedded systems.

Because of that, I actively sought opportunities beyond the classroom. I spent my time learning programming, studying networking concepts, exploring cybersecurity, and experimenting with embedded systems and IoT projects.

University Life Beyond Grades

Many students assume that pursuing ambitious goals means spending every waking hour studying.

My university experience taught me otherwise.

Alongside academics, I participated in various activities Project development, Cybersecurity training, Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions, Technical communities, Self-directed programming projects, Networking and embedded systems exploration

I’ve always believed that university should be more than a race for grades.

To me, the purpose of university is to meet interesting people, discover new opportunities, develop practical skills, and gain experiences that cannot be obtained from textbooks alone. I never wanted my college life to resemble high school, where success is measured solely by examination scores.

Instead, I wanted to learn by building, experimenting, competing, failing, and improving. Of course, this raises an important question:

How do you balance all of these activities while maintaining good academic performance?

The answer is simple, though not easy:

Time management.

When you consistently study throughout the semester, you avoid the need for desperate last-minute cramming before examinations. This habit allowed me to participate in extracurricular activities while still performing reasonably well in academics. Our teachers often told us that university education requires self-learning. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what they meant.

Now I do. The most valuable skill I gained during college was not mastering a particular technology—it was learning how to teach myself.

Finding My Direction

One thing I learned during college is that career paths are rarely linear.

I entered ECE because Computer Science was out of reach.

Yet many of the skills I wanted to learn programming, cybersecurity, networking, Linux, system administration, and embedded development were still available to me.

The internet made that possible. Courses, documentation, open-source projects, communities, and competitions provided opportunities that extended far beyond any university curriculum.

Over time, I realized that your department can influence your journey, but it does not completely define it. What matters more is what you do with the opportunities available to you.

Conclusion

If there is one message I want future students to take away from this article, it is this:

Do not allow a single examination result to determine your entire future.

Sometimes you get your first choice. Sometimes you do not. What matters is how you respond afterward.

Your degree is important, but your curiosity, discipline, and willingness to learn independently are often even more important.

Whether you study Computer Science, ECE, Information Technology, or any other engineering discipline, there are countless opportunities available to those who actively seek them.

My journey did not follow the path I originally planned. In many ways, that turned out to be a good thing.

Every detour taught me something valuable and ultimately helped me become the person I am today.

If this article helped you in any way, I am glad.

And if you are currently standing at a crossroads, wondering whether your goals are still achievable, remember this:

The path may change. The destination does not have to.

I wish all of you a successful, meaningful, and unforgettable university life.