DU declared its first cut-off list this Friday (June 23rd), and the mental state of students since then has been helter skelter. Amongst all the frenzy of checking whether they made it to their target college/course, locking their choice on the DU website, and collecting all documents for the admissions, there is still one essential element that students are still not entirely clear on.
Yes, it is the much-perplexing best-of-four calculation.
Despite all the information out there from official and unofficial sources, we have so many students coming up to us asking which subjects they should and should not include in their best-of-four score. Considering that it is the most vital part of the admissions process, you need to have a fool-proof understanding of it before you proceed to a college. We are sure you would not want to travel to your chosen college with hopeful eyes, only to be told that you fall short of the cut-off, just because you got your best-of-four calculation wrong.
So read on to get all the clarity you need regarding how to calculate best of four percentage, and grab the course of your choice.
Recommended Read: DU Cut Offs 2017: Choosing the Right College, Course & Everything in Between
Calculating the Best-of-Four: Science Courses
While calculating your best-of-four score for science courses, the minimum eligibility criteria is for you to have studied Physics and Chemistry in class 12th. For Biology-based courses, such as Zoology, you need to have Biology too in your class 12th.
Apart from that, the following subjects need to be part of your score calculation:
- Language (Core/Elective/Functional)
- 3 Science Subjects
The 3 science subjects that need to be a part of your best-of-four calculation vary from course-to-course. Here is a list to act as a guide for some of the popular courses:
- BSc (Hons.) in Physics, Chemistry, Electronics, Instrumentation, Polymer Science – Physics, Chemistry, Maths
- BSc (Hons.) in Zoology, Botany, Microbiology, Anthropology – Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology
- BSc Biological Science – Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology
- BSc Life Sciences/Applied Life Science(s) – Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology
- BSc in Physical Science/Applied Physical Science(s) – Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry/Computer Science
- BSc (Hons.) Geology – Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics/ Geology/ Biology/ Biotechnology/ Geography
- BSc (Hons.) Bio-Chemistry – Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, Physics/Mathematics
- BSc (Hons.) Home Science – Physics/Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, any subject from list A (except languages).
- BSc (Hons.) Food Technology – Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics/Biology/Biotechnology
Calculating the Best-of-Four: Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science
As opposed to the science courses, mathematics and computer science courses can be pursued by students from any stream; the only requirement for eligibility is for you to have pursued Mathematics in your class 12th. The domain includes courses such as B.Sc (Hons.) in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science and B.Sc Mathematical Sciences.
Here are the subjects that need to be a part of your best-of-four calculation for courses in this domain:
- Language (Core/Elective/Functional)
- Mathematics
- 2 Subjects from List A (find list below)
Keep in mind that adding a subject to calculate your best-of-four score that is not there in List A (for example, Physical Education) will again lead to a deduction of upto 2.5 percent marks, for each subject not included in the list.
Calculating the Best-of-Four: Humanities Courses (Hons.)
DU offers honours course in many different and interesting humanities subjects. Popular ones include History, Economics, Psychology, Political Science, Journalism, Philosophy, etc. For these and other honours course in humanities, the best-of-four score should include the marks for the following:
- Language (Core/Elective/Functional)
- The subject one seeks admission in
- 2 Subjects from List A
Some important rules to keep in mind to calculate your best-of-four score:
- For B.A (Hons.) courses, the subject you are pursuing the honours course in, needs to be included in the calculation. For example, your Psychology percentage/marks will have to be included in your best-of-four, if you are applying for a B.Sc. (Hons.) Psychology course, even if it is not one of your highest scores. Not doing the above inclusion will lead to a deduction of upto 2.5 percent marks from your total score.
- For B.A. (Hons.) Social Work and B.A. (Hons.) Philosophy, you just need to include one language and any 3 subjects from List A, since these subjects are not offered in class 12th.
- For the B.A (Hons.) Economics course, Mathematics is a mandatory subject in class 12th, without which you will not be eligible.
- Adding a subject not in List A (for example an elective subject, such as Physical Education) will lead to a deduction of upto 2.5 percent marks.
- For B.A (Hons.) Journalism (Hindi/English), the language included as part of the calculation should be Hindi and English, respectively.
- Mass Media Studies will be treated as an academic subject for the purpose of admission to B.A. (Hons.) Journalism (Hindi/ English).
Calculating the Best-of-Four: B.A Programme
The B.A Programme course offered by the Delhi University provides students the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects in the humanities stream, and choose their major and minor. The university has made it mandatory to include the following subjects in the best-of-four score for a B.A programme course:
- Language (Core/Elective/Functional)
- Any 3 Subjects from List A (find list below)
Some important rules to keep in mind to calculate your best-of-four score:
- Students from Science and Commerce streams may face a deduction of upto 5% marks due to a change in stream. The actual percentage deducted here would vary from college to college, thus it is advised to check with the college you are applying to.
- One non-listed subject (from List A) can be included in the best-of-four calculation without any deduction. Beyond that, one would face a 2.5% deduction.
- Students opting for Modern Indian Language (MIL) (except Hindi) as a subject can get an advantage of up to 10% in their score. This is only applicable for colleges which offer MIL as a subject.
Calculating the Best-of-Four: Language Courses
Delhi University also offers a range of courses in various languages, both Indian and Foreign. Apart from the much-opted for B.A (Hons.) in English and Hindi, the university also teaches other language courses, such as B.A (Hons.) in Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, French, German, etc.
The best-of-four score can be calculated by including the following subjects:
- Language
- Any 3 subjects from List A (find list below)
Some important rules to keep in mind to calculate your best-of-four score:
- Students seeking admission to a language course, who have studied the particular elective language in 12th, will get an advantage of 2% in their best-of-four score.
- If a student has not studied the language they are seeking admission in (except for Honours in English and Hindi), he/she would face a deduction of 5% from their best-of-four score.
- For B.A (Hons.) English or Hindi courses, you are required to include their score in your best-of-four score.
Calculating the Best-of-Four: Commerce Courses
The two merit-based commerce courses offered by Delhi University, B.Com (Hons.) and B.Com Programme, are some of the most sought-after courses in the University.
The university has radically modified its calculation for these courses this year.
In a way, they have tried to benefit students from commerce stream, by applying deductions and thus preventing Science and Humanities students from readily grabbing seats in these courses.
The following are the subjects to be included for calculation for Commerce students:
- English/Hindi
- Any three best subjects out of Mathematics, Accountancy, Business Studies/Commerce, Economics
The University has also provided an alternative method of calculation, in which the following subjects need to be included:
- English/Hindi
- Any 3 subjects from List C2 (Find list below)
Some important rules to keep in mind to calculate your best-of-four score:
- For each subject a student includes from list C2, he/she would face a deduction of 1% from the best-of-four.
- If a student includes subjects that are not listed in C2, or the core ones mentioned above, he/she would face a deduction of 2.5%, for each subject included.
- Mathematics/Business Mathematics in class 12th is a compulsory criteria to be eligible for the B.Com (Hons.) course.
One important rule for students from boards other than CBSE
For science subjects, in the boards where theory and practical marks are not in the 70% theory and 30% practical format of the CBSE, they need to be converted proportionately.
DU has provided the term “pro rata”, which makes it seem very complicated, but is actually quite easy if you understand the concept. Here’s how to do the calculation:
For example: In a board where Physics marks are divided in the following manner:
- Maximum marks for Theory= 60
- Maximum marks for Practical=40
So if a person scored 50 out of 60 on theory, and 40 out of 40 on practical, you need to calculate the “pro rata” score through the following calculation:
- Pro rata score for Theory exam= (50/60) x 70 = 58.33
- Pro rata score for Practical exam= (40/40) x 30 = 30
Hence the total pro rata score for Physics would be 58.33+30, i.e 83.33%
There, not so difficult now, is it?
A Few Additional Pointers:
- In case one has studied both elective and core languages, the core language subject will be treated as the language, while elective language can be considered as an additional academic/ elective subject for the calculation.
- Many colleges have 1% relaxation for different courses for girl candidates. The university has listed them out extensively as part of its UG admissions bulletin.