Spring Semester 10: The 8.0 Cut-off
English

Seven point nine? Arre, so close!
Close doesn't get shortlisted.
Apply anyway.
The portal won't let me.
I tried. Twice.
Company C is seven point five.
Company C makes the switchgear.
Company A designs it.
Make, design. Internship
is internship, yaar.
Not to me.
Tanvi has run the mentor circle
every Thursday since January.
This is the third one she has missed.
Internship prep?
Mm.
You look like I did in December.
You look like you haven't
slept since December.
Sleep is for after the shortlist.
If you want something for focus, ask me.
No big deal.
No. Thanks.
Suit yourself.
Tanvi said no. She hasn't
slept properly since.
Ten minutes left.
Sorry, sir.
For what?
Sixty-first. Out of sixty-four.
Meera, it's one quiz.
Sorry. I'll do better. Sorry.
Tomorrow I have to talk to a student.
Every way I start, it
sounds like an accusation.
Try it on me.
Are you taking something?
Nothing, ma'am! I'd deny everything.
Exactly. So I'll start with what I saw.
And then I'll ask about sleep.
My TA pinned a rank list on my door today.
Quiz three.
Your TA? Where would he
learn a thing like that?
From me. Last semester.
A first-year apologised to me.
For coming sixty-first.
What did you tell her?
'It's one quiz.' Why would she believe me?
Sixty percent of my course is one exam.
Then change that. And tell her again.
You've walked six students
to this door this year.
First time you've walked yourself.
I'm fine. I just can't sleep.
Sleep counts. Tell me.
Seven point nine. The internship I wanted
cuts off at eight, and their interns
usually get job offers.
Repayments on the loan
start after I graduate.
And a senior offered
me something for focus.
What did you say?
No.
Good. Did it scare you?
It scared me how much I wanted to say yes.
And the loan?
Papa says don't take tension.
Which means he's taking all of it.
Does he know about the cut-off?
Not yet.
How many companies are coming this season?
Twenty-two.
And how many cut off at eight?
Five.
So.
So seventeen I haven't even looked at.
Company D doesn't even have a cut-off.
I didn't apply. It
didn't feel like winning.
What would it feel like?
Like work I'd actually enjoy.
Look at them tomorrow.
Tonight, sleep. And come back on Monday.
Pooja. Sit. You looked exhausted
on Tuesday, and your hands were
shaking. How are you sleeping?
I'm not. Not really.
What's been happening?
Three tests in one week.
And Mummy asks about marks every night.
She means well.
Three tests in one week.
And a call every night.
So I took something.
To stay awake. Two nights before the quiz.
Then I sat down and I
couldn't read the questions.
The words were just there.
That sounds frightening.
I've never handed in a
blank paper in my life.
Are you going to report me?
No. On this campus, asking for help
is not a reason for discipline.
It's written down now.
There's someone I'd like you to meet.
Joseph, at the Wellness Centre.
Shall we walk over together?
Now?
Now. My next hour is free.
Pooja? I'm Joseph. Come in.
Water or chai?
Chai.
Good choice. The water
here is very boring.
Students told the National Task Force
about 'paranoid levels of competition due
to relative grading and stringent
placement criteria' in engineering
colleges.
In a study of 397 students at
one medical college in West
Bengal, six point three percent had
used sleeping pills since joining.
Ninety-six percent of that use was
self-medicated, and it was linked to
insomnia.
A 2018 magazine report also described
medical students taking pills to stay
awake around exams.
Its estimates are anecdotal.
Pills to stay awake and pills
to sleep can turn into a loop.
Sleep is the easiest way
into the conversation.
Some fixes cost almost nothing.
Mark against criteria.
Use several low-stakes tests
instead of one big one.
And never display ranked lists.
One change. No single exam
worth sixty percent any more.
Three smaller tests, and a rubric for
each, so you know exactly what I'm looking
for.
Sir, what's a rubric?
A list of what good work looks like.
You get it before the test.
Sir... and the rank list?
No rank list. Not on
my door, not anywhere.
Tanvi di! We saved your chair.
Sorry I've been away.
Tanvi di. You said sorry.
That's my job.
Company D. They asked about my
lab project for forty minutes.
Nobody asked my CGPA.
I told Papa about the cut-off.
He said, 'Good. Now sleep.'
So. How is everyone sleeping?
Better than you, Tanvi di.
Try this week: replace one high-stakes
test with two smaller ones,
and never display a ranked list.
And here is a phrase to keep.
There is more than one gate.
If this episode touched something in your
own life, support details and sources are
below this video. See you in week eleven.