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Graduated with 6.6 CGPA (was below 6 at the time of placements), did not have much interest in coding and transitioned to Data Science field.

5 CG throughout college, got a good job at a data consultancy, got accepted to tier 1 international MBAs, now at a great job at a very fast rising startup

Things can feel heavy sometimes, but you're not alone. Reach out — I’m here for you. We’ll figure it out together.

This is mostly for those who feel (or rather fear) that people around them have it all figured out and they don't know what to do next. How to navigate life after college? What to do if you have not found your ikigai yet by the end of college? What if you are not satisfied with the role and pay post placements? Well, I did not sit for placements at all because I did not find any role that I felt I would fit in. It was not easy to sit out of placements, not have any plan of action on "what next" when people around me were celebrating, talking CTC and Masters abroad. Fast forward 7 years, and I'm happy with where I am right now. Bad placements? Didn't get a role of your choice? Didn't get the compensation you dreamed about? Didn't get the Master's seat you applied for? Hear it from someone who did not sit for placements and did not have a plan B (role: null; CTC: 0). It does get better. I'm always up for a chat.

I was relieved when I graduated, because the small bubble of BITS could often be stifling with its hyper-scrutiny and hyper-comparison. People who didn't even know you would make assumptions about what you were like, kept up with your future plans, and were ready to discuss your personal life at the slightest opportunity. This was so normalized and I confess I was part of this problem. In the years of becoming an adult after graduation, I developed a healthier relationship with myself and my friends, and we've grown a lot since. I realized everyone has their unique struggle or mountain to climb, and you might never know when someone is suffering, especially if their life looks perfect from the outside. It's taught me to keep an open mind and be kinder. Ultimately we're all looking to be accepted for who we are. Comparison to others is actually irrational because people can't be reduced to a few dimensions (even if society wants to do just that). Life is a lot more meaningful when you focus on gratitude for all that you have, gratitude for your uniqueness, and gratitude that you're on your own path. No one who hasn't walked your path has the right to judge you, and if they do - show them compassion, because they're suffering too.

Didn't have any friends for almost all of my first year. Didn't like anyone. One time a random guy from my hostel walked up to me to give me his number out of concern over my well being so I guess I really looked as miserable as I felt. Hated EEE all through the years like most people in EEE. Eventually found a couple of people that I could tolerate and then eventually started liking being on campus. GPA revolved around 7.2 which sucked because I wanted to go to grad school for math. Opted out of placements even before I applied to grad school and luckily 1 place accepted me and here I am finishing my PhD soon. It's easy to put the highlights of your story in a few sentences trying to romanticize the past but I can never forget when there was hearse van on campus as I was walking to an Optimization lecture in the morning. A lot of my time in BITS is just a blur which I later realized was most likely a symptom of trauma response/depression. Life is hard and we deserve to use all the resources available to us to get through, I am open to being a small resource for you in this journey.

College time especially during exams can be overwhelming. The comparison with other people comes in naturally, although you do not want to do that. I started of my first semester as 5 pointer. Being good academically, this was a disaster for me. Now, I am completing my PhD in soft matter physics. In hindsight, I think it did not make a huge difference how my carreer turned out. My thought process was that grades are everything, changed! It became more about my experiences, the friends I made along the way.. So, if you need to talk or vent, just drop a text.

I faced a lot of problem with pornography. I went through a lot of mental trauma and I finally have solutions about how to deal with it. Get in touch with me if you need some help regarding it.

Got no stories as such. But am always ready to help a troubled bitsian(or anyone in general)

SA'd by someone close at a young age. Trying to kms from the age of 15, but never could. ACB in second year. Never been above 6 CGPA, if this information really matters to you. Toxic family, always belittled for being a piece of shit even though I try my very best. Never connected with people at first due to trust issues but have started to trust people, little by little Still standing and fighting. Kys is not the answer. Talk to people, even though they won't get it.

BITS was a turning point in my life. I remember everything about it fondly. Not just because of all the good things, the fun things, but because of the struggles as well that I had faced during that time in my personal life - struggles that I could overcome because I found some good people around me. But it was not the same for all. I know this from few of my own peers. Since then, my life has moved on, I went and did my PhD from a less popular country (for higher studies) followed by postdocs, and it has not been the most breezy ride so far but I have gained a lot of perspective. And I know the importance of having someone to talk to, when nothing seems to make any sense, or when hope diminishes for whatever reason. I want to reach out to let anyone from my Alma Mater know that there are seniors, including myself, who want to help, and are there to listen whatever you would need to share without judgement and with high level of compassion. I want to help someone in need if I can, and I would please strongly encourage to just reach out. There is always light (hope) at the end of the tunnel

I'm a post-doc at KU Leuven; and was a (reasonably) well respected member of the Music Society Bits Goa from 2011 - 2015. I am currently offering Bachelor Theses to students from BITS as an alumni service, I am happy to chat with students.

Whatever your grades are, I had it worse. Multiple failed courses, a semback, Disco, whatever you can think of. Graduated with a CG < 6. But once you leave that place full of unempathetic professors, admin and even students sometimes, things will change quickly. Those 4-5 years will not define you. 5 years after graduating, I am finishing my PhD. I have friends with similar CGs and stories who have >60 LPA jobs, work in US/EU, or are researchers in top universities. Whatever you want, you can have it. Don't let any shitty "professor" who has been "teaching" the same slides for 30 years tell you otherwise.

There are many disappointments in life. Every step feels like you’re not good enough - and so did I ! It took years of coming to peace with the fact and trying to be strong. I took help from my support system and people who offered help. This kept me sailing.

Had an average 1-1 and then a pretty bad 1-2. Understood the things where I was better and focused on working hard to compensate to make a good profile. Then had a good PS1. In 3rd year managed my acads and became a coordinator of the club. Managed to get a great ps-2 through my own off campus efforts and then converted a ppo and also got a job offer from Placements.

Being in electronics and wanting to pursue it comes with its challenges of facing the “placement” issues. Having just 1 company come for Analog placement during my time, it was always scary of weather I will get placed or not. But now I realize that should not been a primary concern, and wish I could help my younger self in finding some peace among all the chaos. I was always someone who was didn’t stop myself to just academics, was in many departments, dance club went out, got a DISCO. But Bits will always be a special ride and hopefully its the same for all the juniors now as well

Had zero clue what I’d do after my degree, was always under the impression CG determines the kind of life you live after graduation. Summarizing below a few key realizations (and epiphanies) 1. Your CG does not matter by and large. The only place it might matter is for a master's. 10 years from now BITS will just be a line on your CV and your CG will definitely not have space on your CV 2. People, managers and professors are much more humane and skilled after you leave BITS. Don’t let failure at bits lure you into thinking you won’t do well later. I still can say with certainty the sadistic weirdo professors would not survive in the corporate world or the academic world outside India 3. Dating (as a guy at least)will definitely get easier after bits.Your social circle will definitely improve from a quality and quantity point of view post bits If you’re craving for point4, reach out to me ;)

College can very overwhelming with grades, figuring out what to do after college, socially, and clubs etc. I'm always open to chat.

My story is as mediocre as it could be: middle class background, decent student in school, and a very average student in BITS. My 4-yr CGPA was around 7 and y1 was 5 point something. I’m doing okay career-wise - based in London, CFO for a tech company. I remember my time at BITS with fondness now but I used to be anxious about everything - job, career, money, girl crush. My open offer to the students of Goa: you’re free to call, text, email anytime and I will even fly to Goa to see you and help you career-wise in any way I can.

Starting first semester with a 6 point GPA graduating with an 8.4 I have seen it all. My only message is academics is not everything. Yes, we were there to get a degree but the peers around us, our seniors and even our juniors is what made us BITSGians. I have no proof of this but I have a hunch that BITS-G culture post covid changed drastically, and understandably so. The student body culture is what makes you a BITSian a lot more than your GPA. Trust me… that culture is what all of the successful BITSians you hear stories of are a product of and way more than their transcripts. Reach out. Let’s bring that culture back

Not so great grades but got a campus placement and now at a job where i live what i do in terms of work and get a salary which is very good for our family

No story at all

Hardware engineer at Qualcomm, Teach for India Fellow, and a certified coach from Internation Coaching Federation, supporting mental health in youth is a passion for me. I would love to help in whatever tiny way I can.

In a constant fight against clinical depression (diagnosed in 2019) and ADHD (diagnosed in 2023).. trying to navigate ways and hoping to help juniors who need support, help or just an ear to listen and to know that they arent alone :)

Passed out of BITS with low grade and 0 confidence. Just before passing out also my HOD said that i cannot be successful in academics as i am not made for it and asked me to survive in what ever job I can get because of my luck. Felt so bad that I wanted to prove him wrong. Next 5 years of passing out of college every decision I took in my career was to prove him wrong and i ended up screwing and wasting the most important starting phase of my career. After a lot of trauma and self thought understood that I had to let go and restarted my career and currently building myself brick by brick. Anyone who feels the immense pressure of academics and worry about their career, always ready to talk and listen.

I have struggled with anxiety, depression and low self-esteem for most of my life. While it affected my grades in BITS, I have still created a good life for myself right now. The neat thing about life after college is that the need for comparison reduces significantly, so it will get easier for sure. - Remember that your feelings (positive or negative) are ALWAYS valid. Don't let anyone else discount them. - There is zero shame in asking for help - you'd be surprised at how much people in general want to help you get your needs met (once you ask for it) - You will always make mistakes and you will always fuck some things up. And that's allowed - you aren't a robot, you're a human being.

Didn't do well academically. Barely scored 6.5 till the end of 8 semesters. But did quite well in life. Currently at a mid management role in a Big Tech (FAANG/Manga, whatever you call it). I see my other friends with similar or lower Cgpa also doing quite well. Bitsians have a great impression in the industry. And no one ever asked for CGPA. Talk to me what your worries are.

Ready to help any fellow bitsian anytime!

Spent 4 years at BITS, went through 5 ups and 10 downs!! Didn't move on from my crush!! Didn't live up to the expectations everyone had of me!! Switched future studies plans halfway through 3rd year!! Somehow managed to make it work!! Was supported by a great group of friends who whacked sense into me if I started talking nonsense AND also lifted me up when I needed it the most!! So please talk to people, share your thoughts..... The solution for your sadness will be with some random guy who you haven't even thought of!! And your happiness might just inspire someone's day!! And obviously, feel free to reach out to the alumni, we have gone through what you are going through!! Allow us to help you and if possible, let us relive those memories for a few moments!!

Lower middle-class family, spent 16L over 4 years for a degree without a job. CGPA - 7.81; Year-1, Sem-2 SG = 5.2 was jobless for one year, decided to give GRE and go to the US. Since I didn't have money, tried for a direct PhD. Got an admit to Texas A&M, but they didn't offer funding because of COVID. Joined for a semester (12L more paid out of pocket), couldn't find funding. Dropped out. Got an analytics job, was a high performer in analytics. Got quick promotions and switches to increase my pay. 4+ years of analytics experience, currently at ISB, pursuing my MBA. Left a 30LPA Product Management role for this. Life is good!

You've already achieved so much, and I truly believe you'll go even further—beyond what you can imagine right now. Just getting to this point is a huge accomplishment in itself. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me or anyone in the BITSIAN community if you ever want to talk—about anything at all. We're all here for you.

Msc + BE was tough. I was the chief coordinator of Waves 2013 and involved in several other extracurricular activities. Happy to help anyone struggling with anything at BITS.

I’m here to listen and help you as you deem fit. I hope you find a confidante in me. Know that you are not alone.

I can talk about my experiences in several high pressure environemnts (studying in india and the US and across industry and management consulting). I've seen several ups and lows over the last 15 years and im happy to share any perspectives

While in BITS, my focus was to make friends, explore myself, learn new things and have fun. I did music, dance ,taekwondo, table tennis and anything I got my hands on. Grades came and went and so did placements. Things fall in the right place at the right time

Hi! I am currently in my 3-2 planning to go for 4-1 PS. My initial CGPA was 5.7 which l pulled to 6.55 so that after PS it cross over 7 and l get to sit for most of the companies in my 4-2. But one of my CDC info theory and coding l am among last 10 students. If I get an E (my NC is clear) my post PS-2 CGPA stops at 6.98-6.99. I requested IC to give a D instead of E but he was very rude and said nothing is in his hand. I am very depressed regarding this CGPA torture as core is not my domain. Can anyone please tell a way out, l am hopeless now as l worked very hard and being left by this small margin is eating me up. Please help is anything can be done!!

My first semester at BITS was filled with constant panic attacks, self doubt and endless thoughts of dropping out and switching to an "easier" college. The summer vacations after my first year was an extreme fear of being "left behind", trying to do everything all at once, and ended up doing nothing. I was extremely burnt out by the end of my first summer vacations, to made it worse, I realised I didn't achieve or learn anything. I just stressed. Something had to change, I decided to just focus on my acads for now. I did just that. Then came my 2-2(came to campus after COVID), when I realised I had no friends. I used to have my lunches then alone, it was terribly lonely. No friends + no amazing academic achievements; it was my biggest nightmare. I went back home when the end of 2nd year vacations hit. I was preparing for SIs, but deep down I thought I wouldn't really get any company, due to the insane competition. But this time I just accepted it, leetcoded as much as I could, and then I left the rest to fate. I thought, "even if I don't get an SI, I'll bag an okay company in placements or PS, work up the corporate ladder from there." People will tell you to be ambitious, but this is what worked for my mental health. I'd already learnt from my last vacations. I did bag an SI though, and I in all honesty think that if I didn't have this "let it be" mindset, I wouldn't have bagged it. Universe had a funny way of teaching me to just have faith. My third year started, and I came back to campus. I picked up 2 dels, and during the midsems of one of these dels I looked at the paper and - realised I knew nothing. I completely blanked out, realised there's no way I can bullshit my way through this paper. I got up midway and went to my room, and dropped the del. I felt like I'd failed in life. Another normal sem goes by(made a few lunch buddies and friends - yay) and then comes my SI. My first 2 weeks were terrible, I had no clue how to solve my problem statement, I came home everyday after office in a state of tension that I won't bag the PPO. After 2 weeks of this, I realised I'm too tired to stress anymore. I thought, "fuck it if I'm not going to get the PPO. It's free money for me". Somehow letting go of this knife stopped my bleeding. The point is: 1. I made it, and I'm probably the weakest person I know(I can cry over a lost cup). If I did it, so can you. It's fine if you cry the whole way to your destination, it's not fine if you give up(on life xD; you can give up on subjects and fields and stuff if you don't think it's for you) 2. College doesn't have to be "the best 4 years of your life". It CAN be just another 4 years of your life. You don't have to find the "friends of a lifetime". I know an insane number of people who enjoy their post-college life more than their college life. 3.When you're in college, not getting a good company or good grades can feel like the end of the world. It's not. Sure, many people make it by the end of college, but many people don't too. And they make it later in life. "Making it" can be a 50LPA job, it can be a business, it can be switching fields and starting over. You can make it later too, it's okay. You've got at least 23 years of your career to do and achieve whatever you want

Things are going to get better!

I came to BITS with multiple health issues. In my 4 years, my only objective was to just get through. I focus on fitness and health and stopped studying think that studying led to my health issue. While that was not true, I still graduated with subpar grades. But life always averages it out in the long term. Call if you need to talk about anything (career, life, stress,etc)!!

I am a mech guy in IT. Had my own struggles with placements but the college is something that was the most beautiful part of my life. I want to understand how current students think about it, I want to help them realize it's important not to be serious with everything, learn to take things litely in life and then make a plan and stick to it. Honestly I never did that, yet things just worked out.

A 5 point someone. An entrepreneur. A happy father. Learning that life is so much more than what i imagined it to be in college.

Was a below average student for most my college. I still remember getting 5.29 CGPA after my first semester. Slowly, but surely I started improving. I am currently pursuing my masters, and I have to say I don't have a stellar academic record. Occasionally, I sometimes do well in my exams, but most of the time I am still in the middle of the curve. I still am very unsure what I'd do after my postgrad. The Solution: Don't Overthink. Life's pretty short to do that. Instead take a walk in the park, Grab a coffee, and do Gym/Yoga. Appreciate the small things in life. Be Grateful. It eventually gets better. ;)))))

I was a EEE major who struggled severely with poor mental health, academic failures and identity crisis for a long time while at BITS Goa. I was diagnosed with depression a few months after graduating and have since recovered. I now work as a PhD in a totally different field abroad, and am willing to help anyone who thinks life has reached a dead end.

I was never a 10-pointer, but I still had a lot of hope in myself. I got a 6 in my first year — alone at home during COVID, no friends, and honestly, I was devastated. But I didn’t lose hope. When campus reopened in second year, I gathered myself up, joined clubs, met new people, and slowly turned into an extrovert. I graduated with a CG of 7.5 and am now pursuing a job in core. First-year me could never have imagined this. But something kept me going — maybe it was the belief that I was worth fighting for. I know things are tough, but don’t take life too seriously. It’s okay to be lost — everything falls into place eventually. I’m still figuring things out at my own pace, and that’s completely fine. If you’re struggling — with academics, mental health, or just feeling stuck — know that you’re not alone. Feel free to reach out.

Graduated from BITS feeling I had wasted my entire time there not learning anything and passed with a much lower than average GPA. Spent the next few years realizing all the great lessons I had learned along the way without ever considering it. Now I am running a successful startup doing things I never imagined I was capable of and love my life. You are worth a lot more that you give yourself credit for.

I always wished I had a mentor in college, I was not able to be friends with any senior in the college. Hit me up on LinkedIn with a short message if you are in similar space or just want to talk.

About to complete 10 years since graduation and one advice I'd like to give is that whenever you think you have it all figured out, there's a chance you aren't going to be prepared for what's coming next.

Still working on it.

Typical dual degree student, took MSC Bio in hope to get CS.Then Covid hit and everything became a mess, got Mech in my 3-1 at BITS Goa grades started to drop, still worked without getting distressed, increased my CG from 6.3-->8.2 at the end of 5-1.Currently in Flipkart. Just try hard and please reach out to seniors, and keep in mind its not the end

Things you do in your 20s will seem silly when you reach your 30s, no matter what. College is a place to just enjoy your teenage and create memories for a life time. Every single person that I know who graduated from BITS is doing well in life irrespective of their GPA. You are in BITS only because you are one among the smartest in the country, nobody can take that away from you. Please be safe and happy. I so wish I could go back to my college days!!!!!

The four years that I spent at BITSG have been the most fun and impactful years of my life. BITS prepared me for my life, and made me who I am today.

Graduated with a below par GPA after obviously being a good student in my school years. I too faced heat from my parents but I continued on my path without being too scared. I like to think I've done fine up till now. It's important to remember that there's enough of a pie outside for everyone to get their share. I've not had a conventional path at all so there's something to be said about embracing unknowns and eschewing the well taken paths. You'll figure it out and most likely on your own terms.

Graduated with a six pointer CGPA with various life upheavals during my time in BITS, post this ended up navigating job, RAShip, switching domains to do Masters in CSE, Tech Job hunting post masters etc.

Bang average 7.5+ cg student here. Could've very easily been below 7 if I'm being honest. I decided very early on in my college life that I wouldn't be going after placements, tech or finance jobs. But that's not the general route of a BITSian. What then followed, was me trying to find my place and build some sort of an identity among 800ish batchmates. I pressured myself immensely in academics and certain extra-curriculars. This period and its fallout taught me things I'd never learn in any classroom. Wont get into the details on here. But now as I look back- all those late nights studying, evenings of running to get in shape and chaotic club schedules were preparing me for what I do today. Those are the experiences and lessons I treasure the most.

Ever since I gave competition exams, I wanted to be a scientist. After a lot of planning, effort and research, I realized my dreams of getting into a PhD in theoretical physics might not be realistic after a seniors in my field weren’t getting funded PhDs anywhere and I got not 1 but 2 D grades in CDCs in 3-2. I still didn’t sit for placements believing in my dreams and went for a research intern resulting in multiple admits. My biggest struggles with mental health happened during my PhD where I was diagnosed with a major mental health condition which requires medication. Im still dealing with it so feel free to reach out if you think you need help from someone with experience of mental health conditions.

BITS has been a defining experience of my life so far. I graduated in 2019 and since then went the academic route, pursuing first a PhD and then, currently, a postdoc. As someone who is still trying to figure things out, I want to say that yes, it is hard, and no, you are not supposed to have all the answers. BITS (3rd year onwards) is when I remember first trying to figure out what kind of a person I want to be, and around a decade since, still figuring out I'd say. I had the privilege of having half-decent grades when I was in BITS that made me choose academia as a possibly naive career option. It might be hard to believe, but everyone is absolutely right when they say the effects of any academic performance is washed out in 5-7 years. Many of my close friends ended BITS with a range of grades (still much better than our individual lows, because PS and thesis), and in terms of life/work satisfaction, financial stability, etc. there is no correlation to those grades. Everyone is doing their own thing (corporate in India, abroad, startups, UPSC) and building their own little lives with their most informed guesses on what the next steps could be.

College is a tough time - the first time many of us find an identity outside of our childhood home. We are balancing the expectations of our professors, parents, friends - all the while trying to understand who we ourselves are and finding validation for it. We mess up a lot, fall down, feel lonely and are afraid to reach out. Relationships are built and fallen - romantic, friendships, and the one with ourselves. What we often want is for someone to listen without judgement, someone to say "yes I messed up too". I messed up a lot - but I hope my experiences would give someone some hope that this is just part of the journey. I'm here to be of support.

(Sorry, this is a long one) Mental battles come in many flavours. You could feel like you're falling behind, or be exactly where you want to be and still feel hopeless. You can be struggling to get out of bed, or slaying your days and still come back to your room and break down. When you're alone, it's really easy to start spiralling and feel worthless, even if everyone around you thinks you're wonderful. It can turn into a vicious cycle - so please, try to reach out to someone you trust before any of this happens. If there's nobody you can think of, pick a few of us in the list and shoot off a "Hi, I saw your name in the sheet". (You might think we've got "important things" to do but we're usually scrolling memes, so don't worry about taking up our time. Even if you don't feel doing it for yourself, please do it for us.). Struggling mentally is a lot more common than we realise it is, especially in universities (apparently, 25% of PhD students go through depression at some point). So when we say you're not alone - we don't just say it for moral support, we mean this. I know it's not particularly comforting when you're feeling low, but I hope it's evidence enough for you to convince yourself that things will be better when you're ready for it. Many of us have been there. We know people we love who have been there. We're terrified at the thought of people we love going through it without us realising. We also know how close we've been to giving up and how little we were hanging on by. We don't want to lose another person because they lost hope. Story time (It's not inspiring, but I think every story helps to the reader feel less isolated): I had started a PhD. Everything was going really well except that I wasn't particularly happy, and couldn't figure out why I was doing any of this at all. (Tbf, I was likely burnt out and it was lockdown so I couldn't meet my group in person). A few weeks in, I was lucky if I could get even an hour of work done in a day and spent most of my days spiralling in bed - What helped was [1] that I had built a habit of doing meals properly - which broke the day in three; [2] that I'd go over to a friend's every weekend to watch a match - this brought some external anchor which stopped me from drifting into isolation; and [3] my sister had picked up hints that I was struggling, so I didn't want her to worry. That was enough to get me through the days (sometimes barely). I knew I'd fail the exams at the end of the year, So I'd just go home and hope everything resets. [3] It's strange, but giving up on the PhD relieved me of any "pressure" and guilt of not achieving anything and I actually managed to build up to 25+ hours of work per week, which was enough to feel like I was justifying the time that was being spent on me. I also spent more time with friends and started feeling better overall. I did fail the exams but my prof was onto me and suggested I try again in six months. I went full-steam but too little too late. Regardless, my friends picked me up[4] and convince me to take the job I'm at now. It's been chill[5]. There are hard days, which is inevitable, but I get through them. It's not much of a story, but it's still pretty dark when you're in there[6]. Moral(s) of the story[7] - [1] Try to take care of yourself in little ways [2] Please reach out to someone and stop yourself from being isolated. They may not have direct solutions, but you'll figure things out once you're out of your head and talking. [3] Your mind can make your problems feel insurmountable. You'll be able to figure them out when you have the mental-space. Like the others stories testify, you're where you are because you're legit and you'll do fine in life afterwards. So don't worry too much about it and back yourself. [4] People are nice. Take a chance on them. [5] The happiness you get from "success" plateaus out pretty fast. It's fine to say "I like where I am. I'm gonna chill with my friends and family for a while". [6] Don't belittle your struggle [7] I'm 30, this isn't life advice. Nobody has their shit figured out. I'm just erring on the side of oversharing hoping it lowers the barrier to reaching out.

On my LinkedIn

left corporate world and pursuing filmmaking now. Also came out as queer before all these. U r in nobody's race but our own. BITSians reading this u got it folks. It will all be okay.

Was a 5 point someone at one time. Doing well in life now. It’s not the end of the road - so please do not hesitate to reach out.

I had a decent 4 years in BITS Goa. Did my masters in Computer Networks and have been in the US ever since. If you are reading this in your first or second year at BITS, you must've been a topper in school and are probably facing a crisis in confidence. What suddenly happened? How have I suddenly dropped off at stuff I was good at? I felt the same and at times, it was just bad. Coding or atleast the idea of coding had been joyful and then in college, it just felt painful. If you felt or are feeling that way - not only limited to Computer Science, but any field, reach out. Life is a lot bigger than just a grade in exams. Irrespective of the expectations set on you by your parents or friends or teachers. Every single person I know who probably wasn't that great at acads is doing phenomenal right now.

Had chronic health problems that doctors didn't understand for years. Was barely avoiding NC. Doing fine now.

Please reach out if you want to talk about anything be it acads or something personal. Always happy to help.

One of my biggest points of shame happened even before I joined BITS. I failed to get into BITS on my first try and had to go to a local college. It affected my self-confidence deeply, and I lived in shame and depression for a few months after that. But I persevered, and I am so glad I did, because I got into BITS the next year. My undergrad journey wasn't easy either. I was a dual degree student, and the coursework was tough. I never seemed to have enough time to do anything, and couldn't excel the way I did in school. It was a huge learning curve, being ok with not being the "best" amongst your peers. Regardless, I am now in a job that I had wanted since undergrad, and an industry I had wanted to be a part of since high school. It wasn't a straightforward journey, with lots of setbacks, but I am glad I saw it through.

I’ll keep this short and real. What you’re going through is extremely intense—not just because of college, professors, or classes, but because of everything else that piles on: family circumstances, the race of the outside world, societal expectations, and the chaos of our first relationships. It’s a lot. Back then, I was a closeted queer kid, juggling financial stress, family pressure, and emotional confusion. I had dark thoughts—many times. What helped me was pausing, looking at the beauty of nature, and trusting that something better was ahead. Now, here I am—10 years into a professional journey at an MNC. Do I regret those dark thoughts? Absolutely. If I could go back and talk to that version of me, I’d hug him tight and say, “You are you, and you will always be you. And that is enough.” So to anyone reading this—hang in there. I trust you! I believe in you because I know you will be most happy in few years. If you ever feel like talking, ping me. I may not have all the answers, but I promise I’ll listen and help however I can.

College will always be a rollercoaster ride and I can assure you the landing will always be smooth :))

Been through the stress of compres, grades and placements. Never could score an A grade in all of the 4 years of college (except PS maybe). Decided to skill up on my own and currently working in an US based startup. All I am going to say is, bad grades won't ruin your future. Always open to chat.

Hardly studied during semesters just pulled all nighters before exams and then got enough to pass them. Focused on coding and embedded systems. Went to meghalaya for PS-1 and worked a little and went around a lot. Went for mitacs during 3rd year summer and went to Australia for thesis my seniors helped me in getting there. Wasn't the best experience for thesis still got into Columbia University (again seniors were really helpful. Gave tips for the whole process also BITS friends were in the same boat so we discussed all of this and helped each other). Got a job in new Jersey and currently working at toyota company. Feel free to contact me anytime. Exams and CGPA are not the end of the world your skills matter a lot more in the real world then these metrics. Focus on developing and figuring out what you want to do in life. Work towards your life goals and make some real and deep lasting friendships, everyone of your friends are going through the same things talk with them it would always make you feel better.

Started with a 7.12 CG in the first semester. It takes a while to adjust to your surroundings and a new environment. Give yourself time. I have seen friends do extremely well with low grades. Try to find what you like and enjoy spending time in. There are people around you who care about you. Talk about it. Please share. Please do not think you are the only one going through what you are going through!

I appreciate this initiative, always willing to help anyone.

I was in ACB for a couple of semesters, with my CGPA touching 4.4 at one point, and eventually graduated with a CGPA of 6.0X. I'm currently working as a Senior Product Manager and doing fairly well. So, if you're fretting about your CGPA or feeling unsure about non-tech job opportunities, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn—happy to guide you!

I have no story to tell. Stories of success, of failures, are incomplete and flawed facets of our lives. An attempt to measure ourselves, using the conformal definitions of worth. For anyone who feels lost, dejected, sad, and hopeless - talk to people not in BITS, get out of the suffocating walls of the institution, out of a place where grades are put on pedestals. If possible, seek help of mental health professionals. This clout of despair you feel might seem permanent, but its not. Reach out to me, and we can critique it out :)

Been through all the hectic schedule of 3rd year both maths and cs degree courses to maintaining CG to PPO and placement pressure experiences to also enjoying all the fests and hostel life.

Got in for the college, landed electronics, took what i got. Hated it. Stopped trying at some point of time. Got NCs and many Ds (was a 5 pointer). Was always uncertain about future. Age 16-25 don't necessarily need to decide your life path. From the worst days, the only thing to take ahead is - how to ignore your problems. It's an important one, no one talks about. Heartbreaks, Loneliness and Academic Failures are just gonna become stories you tell over a tea one day. Less popular statement, Life after college actually feels like the real freedom. Treat yourself better, look at your journey, you have earned it.

I decided on the very first day that I wasn’t going to optimize for my CGPA. I set a not-too-ambitious target of a 7.0 and just focused on showing up and trying. That turned out to be one of the best decisions of my college life, second only to doing what I’d always wanted to do: starting my own company, which I eventually did in the second year. I began with an SG of exactly 7.00 in my first semester and still graduated with a 7.9, and I think all the credit goes to the decision of taking the CGPA pressure off. And in the end, it didn’t even matter — I didn’t have to sit for placements, simply because I managed to monetize my venture decently. And even after one of the worst placement seasons in the college, I walked out fulfilled with my college experience.

Life might seem hard for you in college with keeping a good GPA, exams & placements, but trust me your GPA/marks will not matter in 5-10 years once you pass BITS. My department was E&I (Electronics & Instrumentation) at BITS Goa and from my second year I realized I did not like it. I ended up trying many things, like I stayed back in summer at BITS learning Data Science. My PS-2 internship, which was ML-focused was great and I hoped for a PPO, however the company said a hiring freeze on my last day of internship, which felt really bad. Still, I persevered and managed to get placed at a company with my ML experience after 1-2 weeks of struggle in the placement season. Soon, after I got bored of my job and tried to pursue a research careeer in NLP by taking a lower salary and temporary RA position in Germany in NLP. Fast forward to now, I'm liking research and finishing up my PhD at Waterloo in research. I think I've found my path in academia and now in hindsight, what grade you have in power electronics (I had a C) doesn't matter at all. Life will always give you oppertunities and always remember that this will not be the end, but rather a start to your own journey.

I was in a wing where almost all of my wingies had a cgpa over 8 and I had my cgpa around 5.5 and yet I never lose hope and when the placements got over, I was the highest placed among them.

Agreed 💯 here, degree is a stepping stone. One needs to build on from there. Understand who you are. Becoming mature is a big turning point in everyone’s life. For me I’ve realized I can’t and I shouldn’t let go of mathematics. I wouldn’t have had this realization if I didn’t stop studying at BITS. Time away from engineering actually was the very reason why I came closer than ever to engineering later 🤷‍♂️ Having said this, let me tell you one more thing. BITS degree although with a low gpa has always given me chances in USA multiple times. I choose USA for work and USA immigration has never let me down till date. And I can assure you BITS background has played a critical role in this. Also I’d like to ask all you guys a simple question today. We entered BITS based on an exam which tests ability in Maths, Physics and Chemistry. These are the subjects which we are supposed to be good at. I sometimes fail to understand why our people sometimes tend to deviate away from these subjects ? I believe these topics are the “core backbone “ skill set of every BITSIAN. Then why shy away from your own core competency? Feel free to express yourself here. Thanks.

Been through Ups and extreme Downs of life, happy to lend a listening ear and a non judgemental space

"To the Next Wave of BITSians – From a Senior Who Lived Through It" Coming to BITS Goa felt like a dream. But dreams don’t warn you about the weight you’ll carry. A dual degree, MSc Physics and Electronics Engineering. I come from a humble background, funded my education through scholarships and loans, and walked into this place thinking I had to hustle every second to “deserve” my spot. The reality hit hard. Low CGPA ≈ 6.8, Zero-attendance by choice; learned from YouTube playlists. Skipped all classes. There were days I questioned everything my intelligence, my choices, even my future. While others had connections, resources, or a head start, I had just sheer will. I fought through burnout, isolation, and the endless pressure to prove myself to family, to faculty, to myself. But here’s what BITS taught me: pain sharpens you, but it doesn’t define you. I found power in obsession built AI models that decode markets, developed FPGA-based trading systems, and launched full-stack apps without a mentor in sight. I learnt to treat every failure as a feedback loop. I rebuilt my confidence brick by brick not because things got easier, but because I became harder to break. So if you’re struggling with academics, self-worth, or just figuring out what the hell you’re doing here know that it’s part of the process. I’ve lived it. You’ll survive it. But don’t isolate yourself. Ask for help. Talk to people. You’ll be surprised how many are quietly fighting the same battles. If You’re Stuck Freedom here is absurd: skip class, build crazy stuff no gatekeepers Campus is full of 1 a.m. nerds and last-minute RAs to fund ramen If you ever need someone to talk to reach out. You don’t have to wear your armor all the time.

Been through many hard times during college . CGPA, socially , you name it. It did take me a while to realise not everything is too important to be stressed about. Did take me a lot of time to regain the long lost self confidence in my self .

I bombed several courses and am doing fine now! Happy to chat about your present or future aspirations, being a faculty in higher education in the US.

Really struggled to make it through Eni (just wanted to reach 7GPA by the end of first year and I didn’t) I thought this reflected my capabilities and I was so wrong, life really has a way of turning things around

Just a guy who tried to enjoy all the things that I could in the college and had my fair share of moments where I had lost it.

We’ve all been through phases of self-doubt and feeling stuck—believe me, most of us are still figuring things out. Don’t lose hope; it does get better. If you ever feel like talking or need help—whether it’s acads , life, or anything else—don’t hesitate to reach out.

I was a 6 pointer in the CS class and felt demotivated and cornered. Did not have a lot of friends, so I jumped from group to group without feeling like i belonged anywhere. This is just some background of my situation in college. Just know that if I can succeed, anyone can.

Had a terrible sg in 2-1, still with the help of my friends I managed to get back on track. It’s never late to give a comeback. My seniors and friends helped me a lot during that time. If you’re going through some bad phase either in acads or personal life, approach ppl u love and talk to them. They’ll help you out for sure. Feel free to reach out to me as well. Remember you are not alone!

I slept through half of M1 midsem, somehow managed to convince the IC to let me sit for the rest of the exam. I also messed up the date for my PnS exam and was in D-mess through the paper when a friend told me my paper was ongoing and ran with my calculator late to the exam hall. I get how tough managing acads, life, sleep, extra-curriculars and club/lab work, but please learn to take LITE. In the end it is what truly makes us a BITSian

1st year CG 8+, during Covid because of multiple reasons (infrastructure being one of the main) I wasn't able to attend lectures, give exams. Barely survived those semisters with 5ish Semester grades. Barely survived in the electronics branch. Somehow graduated with 7ish Cg (thanks to ps school) Right now cruising in the ML world. Your CG, your degree doesn't matter, your approach to life does. Don't give up. Life is precious

I did pretty well academically till 12th grade, which helped me get into BITS. But reality hit hard in college: my first-semester GPA was 5.78, and I didn’t realize then that it would be my highest GPA for the next 4 years. I somehow graduated with a 6, thanks to the PS, and eventually landed a job in the 1st interview I was "eligible" for. Funny thing? After that first job, no one ever asked about my GPA again. Not even once. College can be overwhelming, and it’s easy to feel lost or question your worth. But remember: you’re surrounded by an incredible support system of friends, seniors, and juniors. And whatever you're going through, someone out there has felt the same way. You’re never as alone as it feels. 💙

Same old, 7 cgpa - shit ps scenes. Tried pulling in the end, still am. Happy to chat

I've broken down multiple times during college. Dualite struggles, Grade stress, COVID years, therapy, Internship stress, hard times during Practice school and a tough job market. I'm grateful and lucky to have had the best seniors, amazing friends and a supportive family. I understand if it feels overwhelming, if you feel stuck with no end in sight, but I promise, it gets better, for everyone. Please reach out if you're feeling low, would love to connect. Just a call/text away.

At times, I felt that I was underperforming; there were other situations where I felt alone or under-rewarded. Spending time with friends was really helpful. Try not to worry about what's ahead and do whatever makes you happy.

Cracked JEE and BITSAT, went to BITS Goa scored poorly on core subjects (Ds in some and even after PS I closed at 6.7 cgpa only), got placed almost in the end with very low package and role I was not interested in. Took a gap year from role I didn't like after 1.5 yrs into it and went for an MBA from college that would be called relatively sub optimal for BITSians by some. Since 2021 I am working in the industry I love and have had good monetary growth in last 4 years. I am proud of my journey and have seen a LOT of struggle in first 5 years after completing engineering. It has only made me stronger, confident and empathetic with strong belief that everything falls in place with time. Reach out to me I am sure you will feel motivated and confident about yourself. Good luck and keep talking to people. It really helps!

Just another average BITSian out here…. While i was very consistent in attending classes and trying my best in acads, somehow i could never score like really really good…that often used to demotivate me…however i would talk to my friends and also rather getting too demotivated with my situation ,i would try to find ways how to get things better…not all at once but step by step…most importantly learning to take lite when you feel too much is going on with you… i am always up for talking on any challenges you are facing…will be really happy to help!

if there's one thing ive learnt in college, it's the fact that you never know what tomorrow holds. had some genuinely horrible times on campus but with time and some hope things did change. all i mean to say is, don't let the shitty present colour how you view your future. give yourself a try. 'tujhme na kami koyi hai bas tera ye din bura hai' if you ever need someone to talk to or even just listen, ill be there :)

Been an average, curious kid all my life, worked really hard at studies. Liked Physics. Tried doors of JEE: didn’t get in. Tried KVPY: didn’t get in. MH-CET: got in some good colleges. BITS was the place I got in as well. Chose BITS Chem Engg. Tried physics courses to see if it was the right fit. Turns out it wasn’t (didn’t score well on the courses), so, I carried on with Chem Engg. Placement season came, Chem Engg Core was the way I chose. My CG was low, enthusiasm was high. I went unplaced, got depressed. Finally, cracked an off-campus interview and got in. I’m currently working hard in the Core petrochemical industry, trying to improve myself.

Graduated with an avg cgpa, figured out everything very late but bitsians - they help you everywhere, I came by bunch of bitsians who healed me. Believe in the people you are around, believe in bits pilani s magic and believe in yourself.

Heartbreak, low CG, missing CD by 0.1, Placement fears - Seen and been through it all

Was absolutely alone in the first year of college life with just one solitary acquaintace. Days felt endless, having no friends coupled with the FOMO of seeing others enjoy their college life filled my head with despair. I felt no point in carrying on with my miserable existence but the hope of doing well academically kept me going. COVID gave me some respite as I could be at home but I was back in campus in 3-1 and now I made one more friend - anxiety :). Couldn't sleep properly and panic attacks would greet me at the start of the morning. Somehow persevered it through it all. The acquaintace that I made in the first year became a good friend eventually in 3rd year and made it all seem a little less miserable. Dared to have a couple of minutes of courage and introduced myself to a few people in my wing and suddenly found myself with a good friend group by the end of 3rd year. Got placed as an AI engineer, still not where I would want to be in my professional journey but if my 1st year self knew that he would make it this far he would be proud of me. Ultimately, my advice would be to open up to people and take that leap of faith to make new friends if you are alone. Relying on friends can make you feel that any unsurmountable difficulty can be overcome.

Have had a roller coaster ride throughout and have struggled with cgpa like everyone but at the end all that matters is how happy you are with what you do.

I was from a humble Tier 3 place in MP where cracking in BITS was itself an achievement, leave securing a CSE degree. The expectations were already high in my home and then the reality hit me along with the 'freedom'. My CGPA was on a decline path from 7.0 in 1-1 to 4.8 in 4-1 due to my indulgence in gaming non stop, not attending classes, wasting dad's money on booze/weed etc. Thanks to my PS -2 sir, I got a 10 GPA there to boost my overall CG to 5.47. However, no company offered me a job and I was one of the few unplaced guys. The depression to watch either all friends as placed or admission in IIM was killing me slowly then. After that, I tried for MBA in 2011-12 and secured admission in Nmims but due to dad's accident in same time, I had to opt out from MBA and secured a low paying job in PSB in 2012. 13 years later, I had worked hard and went up the corporate ladder but I never took any excess pressure in my life. Now, I have a sweet own gome in my hometown neary parent's home, a beautiful wife and relaxed work life. I didn't end my life despite these failures because my life cannot be determined in few years we can always move ahead and change it guys. Just keeping believing in yourself.

Got E in M1 and 4.8 CG in sem 1. Got a back in 2nd year, graduated 1 year late. Thoughts of ending oneself, went to therapy, worked hard and found my own little support group(discord coding friends). I want you to understand these setbacks don't matter and now when I look at these they seem so small. I want you to persist through your college life and keep making friends who can support you throughout. Therapy helps a lot too, just text Mpower whatsapp once and they will take it from there. My college life was the best thing that happened to me considering the whole journey and I graduated with 4 offers in the last semester when hope was little. I joined Google as a SWE after graduation.

Not really any story, just ready to help anytime. Please feel to reach out, message and call anytime I am available always.

Being someone who sought helped from peers and seniors whenever I felt like it was necessary, I'd love to give it back and help juniors out for any matter important to them. Just one ping away.

Here to help

Over four years, it was the people—the friends, mentors, and peers—who pushed, supported, and inspired me. They challenged my limits, celebrated my growth, and turned college into a journey of becoming.

Was severely depressed in college and knew a bunch of people who were equally severely depressed for various reasons, be it home, or studies, or feeling very isolated or different from peers, or feeling this sickening feeling of constantly being two steps behind everyone else. But all of us made it, and the problems we had then seem incredibly inconsequential now. Life isn't all roses either, I still have mental issues and struggles almost every day. But the fact remains that every day I get through, and once in a while I get to experience something that makes me happy I'm still on this planet. Getting therapy helped. Talking to the people I care about helped. So please reach out about ANYTHING, and don't hesitate in fear of bigotry or fear of judgement or anything!

Low cg, no on campus placements, relationships, friendships you name it and have been through all

I had a 6 CG in my first year, first time in life I had bad academics, went through the motions in college as an introvert didn’t socialise much but eventually things do workout. Looking back regardless of the tough times college was probably one of the best experiences of my life. So reach out if you want to ask absolutely anything or are feeling down in life, trust me eventually it gets better

sabka baap ho phir bhi thanks for the data hahahhah will use it for personal marketing

I am the first female in my family to receive a college education, let aside one in STEM. In 2017, it was the first time that BITS had dropped its cutoff to as low as 202, and guess what, it was infact me who secured the very last seat in Goa campus with that score (not very proud of it but I'm glad for this opportunity to have miraculously appeared in my life- BITS PILANI, IT'S MAGIC!). It didn't end there, my first year CG was 4.9, I wasn't even sure if I would get Chemical as my B.E. dual. The worst part of it all? This happened despite attending ALL the lectures and tuts, religiously making notes while sitting in the first bench (which would be later shared amongst the ghots), going through previous year papers before the exam, spending hours in the library, and what not. Sigh! There were folks who intentionally (or not) ridiculed me, said how I was living up to my 202 score. But then, there were peers and professors who motivated me and believed in me throughout. "Arya, you don't know it yet but I know you'll go far in life", "You know Arya, as a student you have the privilege to make mistakes. Don't be scared to take your chances", "It's not a bad grade, but a rather a bad day"-the list is endless and I can go on and on about it. Well, the above text was an overview of a part of my BITSian life. And if you are still reading this long paragraph, I am glad to have been able to hold you attention for this long haha! Thank you. Therefore, in return, how about I listen to your stories? Sounds like a fair trade-off right? :P

While I was at BITS, I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect — in academics, co-curriculars, and social life — all at once. Surrounded by people who seemed so clear and successful, I often felt anxious and overlooked my own progress. No achievement ever felt like it was enough. It’s taken years of reflection and effort to shift this mindset. Through different jobs, and countless conversations with friends, mentors, coaches, and therapists, I’ve learned that my worth isn’t tied to my professional success or social status. True happiness, I’ve realized, comes from living each day with gratitude and warmth. And when you do that, everything else eventually falls into place. Always here to chat if you're feeling down. There is a way forward no matter how bad things feel in the moment.

I didn’t do great in JEE, and—as you can guess from my ID, I only got into BITS in the 5th iteration. Imposter syndrome hit right away. Instead of leaning on my strengths, I kept thinking I didn’t belong. Every club I tried to join rejected me. My GPA tanked in the first two years. I liked electronics, but PS‑1 sent me to a cement factory. I hated most of the “opportunities” BITS handed me and just wanted to graduate early. The ARC wouldn’t give me the courses I actually cared about, only whatever my department offered. I did manage to finish early, but didn't appear for placements, and had no job or no real plan. I’d never made many friends at BITS, and I drifted apart from the few I did have. Depression set in hard; every day felt dreadful. I took a bland job just to get by, all the while looking for something that could make a real, positive impact. Then COVID hit. Somewhere in that chaos I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life. I’m not as depressed now, and I’m working toward a PhD in Information Science at Rutgers.

Grades while being slightly important are not so important that they shape you. Grades are just an easy way out, but the real quality is how determined you are. I wasn't ever a very high scoring student but still managed to get a PS at JPMC. No one at JPMC has ever asked me about my grades in any subject. They don't even care if I am from BITS or not, they care about the attitude, willingness to work and learn. Talking to people is always a very good choice as it can help you lighten up and also give a more diverse perspective. If anyone's ever feeling low or confused, always try to speak to someone.

Your Grades don't determine your success. A 10 pointer is not going to outperform a 6 pointer. You will remembered as a BITSian and not by your grade.

We learned the concept of take it li8 at BITS and this has stuck throughout. Just take it li8 when nothing else makes sense.

Keeping myself anonymous for reasons which will become obvious later. Do give my story a read of you get time :) Introverted and underconfident kid since my school days. Quite bright academically but more of a history nerd and literature enthusiast. Got into IIT prep because that's what was cool. Lacked discipline and got below expected scores in IIT and even BITSAT. Joined BITS with as Math student, couldn't figure out what to do and all. But became a extremely social and popular person. Didn't figure out academics well. Got hospitalized before 1-1 compres. Got below expected grades. Felt the need to get CS, for no reason other than everyone is targeting it, studied like hell. Did great in 1-2 but missed CS by 0.0x. Second year went great, explore math and CG was good. Tried hands in coding, development, machine learning, but wait I don't like it? Why is everyone doing it? Seemed pretty boring to me. 3rd year, epic-ly flunked academics. Loved the content but never got good grades. Lots of C-s few Ds and one E as well. CG dropped significantly. Held 2 PORs and did significant work there. Started smoking lots of weed and experimented with other drugs as well. Somehow managed to survive 4-1. Got hospitalized again in 4-2 and this time had to take a sem drop which became a year drop because courses were not offered. College was least supportive. Parents and family were quite supportive. Meanwhile girlfriend cheated on me, and then spread the rumour I assaulted her. Leaked some explicit photos of me. Friends left. Social media trial. Became suicidal and depressed. Started clinical counselling, medications and the usual stuff. But slowly realized gaps in it. Started questioning and deep diving into psychology and also explored spirituality and religions. Healed myself over the year drop, and practice schools and some initial years of jobs. Made some great friends who helped me a lot along the way. Not as many friends as before, not even close, but would gladly drop everything for these few guys at this point. Still healing myself daily by enjoying life :) Did various internships which I didn't like, joined a startup which failed, joined a services based company which was boring, joined a huge bank with interesting work but slow pace. And much more. Somehow figured working in the domain of product management and analytics, but that's not my entire thing. Realized that work is just a part and don't let it define myself completely. Now I work in a mid sized company, great products and wlb. Took a pay cut for better life. Doing work with a musical artist. Doing advisory role for a few startups. Writing a blog about psychology. Writing a book and potential game script. Go on few weeks trips almost regularly. Connected with family and friends. Transformed from fat asf to fit and also doing MMA now. I'm quite happy now. Unfortunately the grind never stops if you're just following trends and in the rat race. It changes from acads, CG, grades to increment, promotions, base salary to having 10k followers to travelling XYZ countries, reading 100 books, going to gym 6 days a week to having kids and then living your missed aims in life via your kid. So take a break. Just look at yourself. Write your thoughts. What makes you happy? What's something which interests you? Explore yourself. Do what works for you. Don't stop in hell, keep going.

Came in with Physics, and wanted a CS dual, because everyone wanted it. My first sem CG was 7.5 and I was really worried about my future at the time. Then came second sem, gave up hope for CS dual, studied because I wanted to learn and ended up with SG 9.1. I got the CS dual but realized in 3rd year that I liked Physics and wanted to make a career in it. In the end, I dropped my CS dual in 3rd year despite the backlash from friends, family and professors. After building up my “profile” for Physics PhD, I applied 65 times and was rejected 65 times. It was difficult to handle rejections at the time, I believed that I was special and would easily get in. Used to feel helpless at the time. Next, I applied for industry positions, did not have much luck there either. Subsequently decided to write CAT—did poorly on it but did well in NMAT. I took the offer from NMIMS Mumbai and am going to start my second year next month. I’ve realized that everyone’s journey is different, you are no better or worse off than others. Do not associate your worth with your grades, performance, CTC etc. You are all special, and full of potential. If it doesn’t work out today, this month or this year—its alright, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. You will go on to do much better things that you’ve never imagined. For the boys out there, it is okay to feel clueless, helpless and cry. What helped me during difficult times in Pilani was taking long walks and talking to myself believing that things would turn around soon. If you need someone to talk to (we all do!) please reach out.

There were a lot of up and downs in college life but whenever I look back, I feel those were the best 4 years of my life. No matter what problems you are facing right now someone has faced it before and will be ready to help you cope with your situation. Talk to your seniors or your peers to get through the tough times.

Life is non-linear and BITS is probably the first time many of us experience this. If my experiences can help in future BITSians navigate this, more than happy to help.

I have equally run through highs and lows of academics at BITSG, but what has stood the test of time is the personality I've grown (and so does EACH of us) as a BITSian. I am now working in a respectable job in the Netherlands as a process engineer and learnt to tread the various horizons in a diversely multicultural place like Europe! Do reach out to me to talk about life at BITS, your doubts about studying abroad or general guidance of making a difference with your personality :)

BITS has given me a lot and I truly believe all of us can achieve whatever we set our minds to, we are the smartest and most driven people out there! Don't worry too much about acads - sure CGPA matters but what matters the most is what you make out of those 4 years - talk to lots of people, join lots of clubs, try different things to see what sticks. You are in safe hands - BITS has a really (and I mean really) strong brand name and an absolutely awesome alumni support. Once you graduate, there will be people everywhere ready to help you in whatever way you require. Just keep trying things out to figure out what you wanna do in life. I've seen people with 5 CGs from BITS get into CMU and people with 7 CGs get into top 10 (fully funded) grad schools. Yes, CG matters but what matters more is what you wanna do and your dedication and perseverance towards it - fuck the past, start working towards what you wanna do now. No one cares about your past, the world only cares about you wanna do (or plan to do) in the future. You got this, we are all here for you, I am personally rooting for you ❤️

I struggled with my sense of self and self-worth while at BITS and more so during my Master's. Achieving more did not give me the peace I wanted and deserved- therapy did. I couldn't have made it this far without mental health support in this country and I know we are not yet evolved in our thinking and perspective about success in India. I strongly believe we need to redefine success as a nation. Pressure from our parents and the society may not change but we are adults capable of setting boundaries that benefit our lives. I'd be happy to support anyone who is struggling with unhelpful thoughts change their perspective a little bit.

Had my fair share of good and bad moments at campus, more than happy to lend an ear to anyone who has something on their mind

At the end of 2nd Year I was diagnosed with an incurable disabling disease, It shattered my dreams and the issues with the illness made working in Mechanical Engineering or Chemistry industry (my chosen degrees) near impossible. I felt lost and for next 2 years, I barely went to classes and was depressed to the point that I started antidepressants, my cgpa wasn't kind during this and I think I got near 4.5 for 2-3 sems. My PS and internships changed things, because I realised that cgpa didn't really matter for any job, that every job required you to learn and do things from scratch and those tasks barely had a relationship with what we learnt. All they or any job requires is the ability to learn, a skill that you already proved you had by getting into BITS. So after a lot of thinking, searching and asking practically every person I could find, I started learning software development as an alternative career path during my internship and now currently work as a lead software developer for a logistics startup in Bangalore. Life isn't always easy, and sometimes we feel like there is no other path and are trapped in our situation and consequences. Reach out, cuz there might be a way you didn't see and even if there isn't, there will be someone who could walk beside you for it.

Just a regular BITSIAN. I was average at best at studying. Still remember the time I had a lesser Course Total in PnS than my PCT (Got negative in compre) and the time I had 1 mark in M3 compre because I got the wrong notebook for an open book exam. Currently working at JPMC (without a Fin Minor). Open to any and all discussions. If I could bounce back, literally anyone can.

I had a GPA of 9.5+ throughout all semesters. I chose to pursue a thesis and skipped the 4-1 placement season. When I returned in 4-2, I had no PPO from my SIP. The last semester of 4-2 was a disaster — I was rejected by a total of 16 companies during campus placements. It was a really rough time, filled with uncertainty and personal challenges. One of the hardest parts was not being able to attend my sister’s wedding due to some unavoidable issues. What truly carried me through were my friends. There were always kind and beautiful souls around who were willing to talk and support me. I also realized that opening up — whether it's to a close friend, an elder sibling, or anyone you trust — really helps. It’s okay to talk, and you don't have to go through everything alone. Eventually, things worked out. I got an offer from a good company, and while the journey wasn’t smooth, it taught me a lot. Feel free to reach out — whether it’s for advice or just a little pep talk. I’m always here :)

MSc Physics + BE CS. Completely bombed numerous CS courses because the dual was incredibly tough to balance and the skill sets and cultures across department communities were at ends. Took a gap year to write the Physics GRE, and graduating with a Physics PhD soon.

Well, to start off I didn't clear JEE or BITSAT in my first attempt. And after taking a drop year I could manage to get in to Chemical. In my first sem, I lost track of number of 0s I got in midsem and compres. I got 4.64, barely safe from ACB. In the 2nd semester I got 5.5. Things aren't as good or as bad as it seems. Just hang-in there and keep doing what you like with a pathway to be where you want to be. So many paths were closed because of my CGPA, like Finance Minor, Preferred PS stations etc. But that's not the end of the world. Just don't take the rules as very rigid and try doing things which are unconventional. You'll be around your early 20s and try to take as much risk as possible if your family situation allows you. Without any formal training in CS, I was a founding engineer for US based startup which happened because I helped in making an MVP through which we raised $2M. If someone had me told that I'll be pursuing a masters degree down the line in my 1st year, I'd have asked are you blabbering. Years later, now I'm going to pursue one at UC Berkeley from this Fall. Just grab all the opportunities life gives you for redemption. That being said, please don't fall into the illusion of survivorship bias. I met some unbelievably good people who helped me and got lucky at places. But to get lucky you need to increase your surface area. The trick is surviving long enough to get lucky :)

Started in COVID with a very low CG, coming from not so big city, didn't knew a lot of people, very introverted so speaking with new people was a daunting task, been through phases of self doubt. Just trust the process. Feel free to reach out, anytime, always there!!

Marks and gpa on campus is not the end of the world. As BITSians we can be successful in our life based on the skills you learn

Each person's college experience is unique, and challenges are kinda bound to arise. There's no doubt that times can be rough. Although what always helps is reaching out and getting another perspective. I was lucky to get support and guidance to help me get through my struggles. So if you ever feel like talking, don't hesitate to reach out.

College exams and bad grades are not the end of anything. Spend time with friends, stay positive and breathe!!

BITS GOA made me who i am today. And much more than college, it was the wonderful set of people i was surrounded with. From being an introverted and timid person to becoming a headstrong and confident individual. From barely being able to get a C in all courses to getting a 7.5 CG while graduating. It always works out, you just have to believe and be kind to yourself. Let’s talk!

Nothing is serious in life. Some things work out and some things don’t. Failure is a part of life and there’s no reason to beat yourself up over it. Every person who’s done well in life has gone through a lot of failures. If you’re struggling with anything try reaching out to others. Whether it’s friends or family or even a stranger. Have faith in people and you will always end up receiving the support you need to get through whatever it is you’re going through. Sending lots of love<3

Learnings from College Life: 1. Priortise sleep over grades. Late night study only creates unnecessary anxiety and stress. 2. Please dont compete with your friends. It will make college life miserable. 2. Try to be regular to classes, 100% attendance helped me in passing, if not acing the exams. 3. If you face any challenges (about grades, peers or personal issues), please do not hesitate to speak to your Seniors, Alumni, Parents or Professors (In Pilani, for instance Management and Humanities department profs are really good)-whosoever you find the most approachable. You shall eventually figure the way out. 4. Prefer IPC(Pilani) over library and room for exam preparation. the constant distraction in the Library and room will not let you concentrate. 2 hours of IPC Study = 15 hours of Library/30 hours of Room Study! I would say, IPC is the most underrated space in Pilani. I missed this place for 3 online semesters. 5. Dream big and dont care about grades. Attempt the exam with your best efforts and leave the rest. You shall be remembered as BITSian, not as a 5 pointer. 6. Explore as many as courses as you wish to. Many dull courses in a particular semester can be counterbalanced with a single interesting course. Entrepreneurship courses shall give you a real thrill, trust me! You will forget all monotony of life in the classroom. 7. Keep Minor degree as a backup option. Investment of 20k (in our times) can give you an edge in off-campus (or on-campus) placements. 8. Maintain good relationship with your professors (from your own and other Departments), so that you can contact them in the future whenever you need them. 9. Being an introvert is fine. You shall eventually be friends with someone. 10. A low Grade cannot spoil your future prospects. Extra-curriculars and PS will eventually make up for the damage done.

It can feel like a very troubling and hopeless time. But these years are truly a drop. It can be devastating when it feels like there is no end to it. Do reach out, do believe in time - if nothing else.

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BITS has always been a home and a safe space to me. Friends, batchmates and seniors are always there to help.

My first year at BITS was completely fucked. I was bad at academics (5-point CGPA), bad at English (everyone in Mime club would converse and joke around in English - I was the guy who was quiet for 1 year - not exaggerating), and I was fat (so no female attention). On top of this, I would think of my parents who would call every day expecting me to be having the best time of my life - all I would say is "yes, it's great". All I had was perseverance. I fixed one thing at a time. In my 1-2, I found my comfort zone to speak broken English with eventually giving me the confidence to build strong connections across everyone in the club by the 2nd year. In 2-1, after my parents forced me to quite mime due to CGPA, I decided to attend all classes - 2-1 GPA crossed 7 - hence, made the case to my parents to rejoin mime because friends = sanity. Finally, bombed all the limited interviews I was eligible for and had to join a mass hirer. Applied externally, got rejected everywhere. Finally landed my dream job - now 10 years have passed and I'm still here. And guess what, no one asks about my CGPA. Guys - life is not linear - not for you, not for the guy next to you. Everyone will go through deep trenches in life. All you need to do is persevere, somehow. If things feel overwhelming, talk to people and don't try to figure everything out at once. Sometimes all you need to give life is time and it figures itself out. End mein sabka sahi ho jaata hai - just have faith in the universe and yourself.

When I was at BITS, it felt like lower CG was probably the worst thing possible. It’s 3 years later and I haven’t thought about CG or what grades I got at BITS all these years. Life is full of second chances. What is the worst case scenario? I’m sure that it’s not something that you cannot recover from. Please don’t give up. There’s so much to life outside of college. We’re all here for you and my email is open to anyone who would like to talk! Take care <3

Undergraduate is the time to learn and experience everything. It's not to take everything seriously specially academic results or personal setbacks. Many of us had poor GPA, personal setbacks etc but eventually college is to learn while having fun. Happy to help and share my own stories if it helps students 1:1 and overcome any challange they might be feeling.

We've all been through tough times in life and just know that you are not alone and there are so many people who care about you. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk!

I am currently pursuing Masters in AI and ML through work integrated learning program. I have just competed my first year in this program. It is a bit challenging to manage both work and masters but I was able to manage. But during my bachelor's I have faced lots of struggle but these struggles made my strong enough to take up any challenge in life. I spent almost 2 years in depression as I used to feel lonely due to lack of friends, self confidence and the competition. I was a good students but when I joined bachelor's I had to face so many failures which I have never experienced in my school days. Those failures made me feel like a complete failure and I went into depression and had to seek medical help. But one thing that kept me going was my persistence. One thing I believe in is that showing persistence during challenging situations can get you out of such situations. Also, there is always someone to help you, you just need to open up. I have reached out to counsellors multiple times. There is solution to every problem in this world. I want students who are facing difficulties not to lose hope as these difficulties will make you stronger. Please reach out for any kind of help.

Want to help them improve their psychological health

I graduated with a dual degrees in bio and mech with a not so great cgpa of 7.5. Became a software engineer and I'm still trying to figure it out. You are not alone.

Just talk to us

Had a 6 CGPA in first year, felt lost and helpless at the same time. Was fortunate to have seniors and friends who always helped along the way. And things took their good course. BITS gave all the stories I will keep on repeat all my life, and I am sure it does the same for everyone. Do reach out and we will see the bright side of things which may appear tough now.

Life at BITS was a mixed bag. Getting into a top college felt great, but it was tough from the start. Back in 2012, I was hopeful for a CS seat because I genuinely enjoyed coding, but my entrance exam ranks had too many trailing zeros—except BITSAT, which got me ENI. Electronics was hard, and I didn’t even like it. I joke that I got C,D,Cs in my CDCs, but it wasn’t easy being the “smart kid” who suddenly struggled. Social life? Also tough—awkward introvert here. And personal life didn’t offer much relief either. Still, I kept going. I worked hard in my PS2, which became a job, and even repeated a course in my final semester to push my GPA over 7 so recruiters would notice me. That wasn’t the end, though. I spent years in a field I didn’t enjoy before doing a master’s in CS to pivot to AI. It’s taken over a decade since Class 12, but I’m in a good place now—and you can be too. If it’s hard right now, hang in there. Even if your goal is just to be happy—it’ll happen.

I joined the E&I program and specifically BITS Goa with the intent to develop my skills in Robotics, Leadership, and Public Speaking. My time at BITS was grueling at times - I felt completely uncertain about my future, felt like an imposter too dumb to make it anywhere, I was frustrated with the "required coursework" not being practical, had multiple heartbreaks, and lost some friendships. But the time was even more rewarding - I made a community that I spend days of shared expressions with. Even now, 10 years later. I am now working for a large Robotics company (self driving trucks), I have made multiple music tracks for my close family and friends' special occasions, explored my dream languages, countries, natural landscapes, roads, and foods, I have met some of my biggest role models in academia and music, and I continue to grow my community in every new location that I move to. This future that I live now was thanks to the community of my family, and the network of friends and acquaintances that I built at BITS. And I want to share that you can materialize the future that you imagine for yourself too. If you find any of this to be relatable. Please reach out to me at my email or LinkedIn. I am happy to listen and share some time together to help you, the student at BITS, discover your own strengths and future.

Classic over-achieving student in school who suddenly entered BITS and found out he was "av minus" everywhere, in everything, and all the damn time. Even getting into BITS was a struggle, just barely making it in the 5th iteration in our year. Took on Maths + EEE, and struggled really hard in EEE. Probably scored the lowest scores on our placement preparation mock tests. Failed so spectacularly that I might have set a record low (negative 15 marks out of 100 something). Trusting faculty members paid dividends. Seniors helped out. Inspired me to do something with my 2 theses, and that was all I needed. Confide in friends, seniors and family. Help will come, you will get through this, and achieve things your younger selves would refuse to believe. Happy to talk.

I am a final-year student of ME Microelectronics. I am not able to secure any job in the placement cycle, and due to less CG, I got WILP in the Hyderabad campus. So basically I am stuck with WILP, where I got no knowledge or experience of VLSI industry I constantly try to find a job. If anyone here who work on any VLSI related company and help to land arrange one interview in digital design or design verification roles it will help me a lot. I attach link of my CV please check this out. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1krjigrCdUdWCJmac7XTsN3g_7JjVDMN7/view?usp=sharing

Joined in as a chemistry dualite, switched to physics and choosing EEE, all with the help of my batchmates, seniors and professors. BITS gave me the environment and the tools to interact with folks from different departments, work on collaborative projects and learn to move forward no matter where you came from. Would love to hear your story, learn from it, share my experience and I’m sure we can come up with ideas together. Just reach out, I’m always here.

Graduated with a GPA of 7.1. Over the four years my CG went from 7 to 6.2 and back to 7.11. I suffered from depression and anxiety at my lowest due to my academics and some personal reasons. I have always fared well in school academically but often times in BITS I felt like maybe I wasn't good enough after all. Having contemplated the worst, I genuinely believe time makes everything better. I will be going for my masters in audio tech at a European university in the fall of 2025, and all said and done, I am very happy with my life personally and career wise and that's all that matters. Feel free to reach out :)

Just another EEE grad with low GPA, dealt with typical (ikyk) phoenix profs, missed compre in first sem, constant low gpa even with much effort and trying no luck. struggled with PS, realised it's all for nothing and it all turned out okay in the end, living peacefully now, have a decent job. never thought about gpa ever since. Just focused on enjoying the good moments of college life.

Engineering never made sense to me, took a while but nagivated a whole different career after that

Failed to clear JEE and BITSAT in the first attempt. Didn't had funds to go for masters, and failed to get admission into PhD for two years continuously. Finally going to Georgia Tech for PhD this year. Everything falls into the right place at the right time. I would be happy to talk. I am just an email away.

I got a CG of 5 in one semester have seen E grade 2 times, lot of Ds also, professor intentionally asked me questions in classroom wasn't even able to answer anything reasonable graduated with a CG of 6.8 somehow, PS didn't gave PPO, applied offcampus and living a kind of good life after getting placed. Feel free to connect :)

1. 4.9 -> 7.18 CGPA 2. Decent internships & research work 3. Self starter initiatives 4. Product Management - Airtel 5. Fairly good master’s admit - Engineering Management

Coming from a humble background with regular hurdles to creating a meaningful career! I hope to be of some use in shaping mental strength.

I have gradueted from bits goa in mech with cg of 6.03, first my jee mains and advance didn't go well due to covid and i never thought i will join

Dealt with a lot of anxiety and depression during my undergrad, thereafter in a job and now in the US. I understand, please reach out.

i graduated with a cg of 6.73. I got an NC in MuE, my cg was 3.73 that sem. I ended up repeating the course, and did ADVD with my juniors, AE in summer term. Scored well, and ended up with a decent cg. 2nd year was difficult after covid, but I seeked help of my seniors, and it helped me. Today I'm going to the USA with a scholarship for my masters in Electrical Egineering. It all works out, everything is a lesson, even the worsr of failures, even rock bottom. Feel free to connect with me.

I got 2/75 in Test 1 in Probability and Stats in Semester 1 even though I had felt I understood it reasonably well. It was a shock. I reached out to others and found most people scored well and some were in the same boat as me. This was disheartening. But I worked hard by studying with some friends who also hadn't scored as well and learning from some friends who had.... ended up getting a B- by the course end. I remember 2nd Year Sem 1, first class of a math elective where it felt like I didn't have the necessary background to understand what was happening. I still remember calling a senior while walking back from B-Dome, crying with full tears that maybe I won't be able to do it, that everyone else seemed to know everything, that I was terribly behind. She reassured me that I'll be able to catch up since the course will cover some preliminaries so I won't be behind. I ended up not only catching up after a couple of weeks, but actually getting an A in that course, doing more math courses....(more life events)... all of which lead me to eventually do my PhD in math. And now I work in Quant Finance, where probability and stats are very important. Please reach out to your friends and family and really be there for each other because you don't need to do this alone. Everyone has struggles. It becomes much easier if you talk to others and when we are all there for each other. Bitsians for each other.

Connect to know more :)!+919029588559

I graduated with a CG of 6.1 in Computer Science. I didn't like most of the subjects at all and never knew my calling in life. Worked for 2 years in web development, even that didn't appeal to me. After taking a break for 6 months and doing some online courses from Udemy, I broke into data analytics. I am currently working to transition into data/ML engineering. No matter what life throws at you, take it as a challenge and keep smiling! Pursue some hobbies like running, reading, traveling etc. Life is too precious to lose over anything.

Back in BITS, I had to deal with bullying and other social issues for most of my time in college and even a few years after. Also, I was very incompetent with respect to career orientedness and job/internship applications. I didn't even know what an internship was till my 2nd year (yeah, literally). If anyone had asked me in the second year where I saw myself in the future, I would have panicked. It get's better, though. With help from others around me, I achieved more than I could have imagined and find myself successful and happy. I will be happy to elaborate and play my part in helping you achieve the same. We want you to know that you don't have to face anything alone. We seniors are there for you, not only to advise you, but also to help you with solving problems if we can. Our seniors did a lot for us when we were facing problems. We will never hesitate to do the same for you. Just reach out :)

Anyone whos reading this, always believe that your best is yet to come. Come on yaar, you're a BITSian- you can literally achieve anything!! No academic validation is worth taking tour life. I screwed my acads big time, barely edged 7, received an NC in ADVD. I thought my parents & friends would think lowly of me. I thought I was cooked. But its too late to do the right thing. I grinded through all the courses again & cracked GATE with a pretty good tank. I'm now pursuing M.Tech in Integrated Circuits & Systems from IIT Bombay, which is one of the best programmes for VLSI Design in India. I'm absolutely enjoying this. Remember you're not alone & reach out to me, if you need absolutely anything at all.

I was a pretty average student during my time at BITS and did not know for a long time what career I wanted to pursue. Struggled finding research internships and funding opportunities but was able to chart a course for myself with guidance from seniors and a few genuinely caring faculty members. Went on to do a PhD in Biology and currently working as a postdoc in San Francisco with the intent of becoming a professor one day. Happy to talk to anyone who is struggling.

Please talk to however you are comfortable with, but please do, be it friends, seniors, family members, anyone. From my personal experience, jobs, placements, academics, all of these things are part of life. They are not life so take it with a pinch of salt. But please talk.

Graduated in 2011, currently a Principal software engineer at Microsoft

Been through a lot and came out of it just call kabhi bhi

I joined with MSc Chem with the responsibility of paying entire fees myself, got 7.2 in first sem, improved in second sem and got into CS. Landed into a subpar internship and was out of placements, during peak recession where only 50% of the college was placed. Tried multiple things ånd failed miserably. Worked towards offcampus placement and got into an amazing company. Always seeked for help, never let it decide my fate. Feel free to contact me

Hey all! I joined bits goa back in 2020 november, right in the middle of the pandemic. Didn't know what to expect, whom to talk to, how to study. Ended first year with a cgpa of 5.96. I was shattered. I always heard people saying that a good cgpa in 1st year was a job half done. I had failed miserably. It was an uphill battle from there on. 2nd year was the year of confusion and self doubt. I was in chemical (we all know about the job market). The entire year I kept asking me, "should I switch to IT? They have jobs." Gave it a try. Realised that I wasn't cut out for it. So I decided to give chemical a try. Ended 2nd year with a cgpa 6.9(after ps1). I started making friends. I realised I had a support group to rely on. I missed SIP season as all the cutoffs were 7. That sucked. 3rd year is where I underwent a lot.of character development. I was the VP of celestia. Juggling between acads and por was not easy. The placement sem was coming closer. This was a tough year overall. Managing a club and taking it back to pre Covid times was especially challenging. We did it. I made some of my best friends there. I could share anything with them without getting judged. I changed a lot in 3rd year. 4-1 came. I sat for placements. Half of the sem went away without any companies coming. Some of our best companies did not come for placements.I was questioning all the decisions I had taken that led me to this point. That was a bad sem for everyone. Luckily one company came and I got selected. A big weight was lifted off my shoulders. Ik this was a very acad heavy story. But believe me when I say it, I've met some of the best people here. Even today when I meet a bitsian, the vibe is different, a bond is already present. Bits has given me so much. It's priceless. I hope you all find your place too. Stay strong and feel free to reach out. Okay Bbye:)

I got around 8.5 CGPA. Had ups and downs in various subjects but never let it decide my life's fate.

BITS was an amazing time in my life but not without its fair share of ups and downs. I was lost for the first two years and just getting by while my friends made huge strides and it seemed everyone had figured out what they wanted to do while I was clueless. Even when I tried to score better grades, professors and the system made things difficult and I couldn't achieve my desired outcomes. But at the end of the day, you need to remember that you've already done really well to make it to this college and a few hiccups and failures don't define your life. I decided to take inspiration from my friends and seniors to improve myself and take each challenge as a learning opportunity. Remember, things are never as bad as you think they are when you're in the thick of it. Feel free to reach out, whether it's advice or just some pep talk that you need :)

it's okay to not have everything figured out in life, especially at such a young age. We can talk about our problems and come up with a solution together

Struggled for quite a bit, found some light at the end of the tunnel. Happy to support and help for anything , literally anything. Call me directly, if you will.

I was someone who didn't take studies seriously in college and ended up in a very bad spot after college ended. Didn't bother to attend classes, got Ds and C- s. My best grade was in electives which was B-. Sat through placements when i had 4.97 cgpa. Graduated with 5.76 ( thanks to PS). Didn't get placed in college. Prepared for GATE exam. Flopped there too. Didn't even qualify. After 1 year of graduating I started learning coding and then slowly life moved into a track which I started feeling happy about! If you are facing any difficulty, it's not because you useless, it just might take some time to figure things out or understand what you really like doing. And it's ok to take that time. It's never a race.

Started with a GPA of 8, but ended with 6. Struggled a lot with my startup for 3-4 years after graduation.

Most things seem important but aren't. I can help you segregate what's important from what's not. No bullshit, only clarity. And goes without saying you can always expect advice, and professional help from me anytime. Us alums love you kids!

If you're going through something great, this too shall pass. If you're having a terrible moment, this too shall pass!

Did so bad in 1-1 and 1-2, that I landed in ACB. Parents were called to the campus to sign an affidavit saying they're going to be more responsible from then on. Struggled so much that the need was felt for a psych eval after 2-1, which declared me clinically depressed. Lost the battle for sobriety in 3-1. Experimented with recreational drugs on campus. Barely avoided getting a sem back when a 29/300 score on a CDC got corrected to 30/300 because, uncharacteristically, I went to collect the compre papers and found an unevaluated correct answer worth 1 mark that changed the NC to E. Fast forward, graduated with a 5 point something CGPA, courtesy of an A grade in PS2. Got a job, did quite well, went abroad, threw it all away to start my own company that failed in 6 months. In parallel, I took a large loan for a business venture that turned out to be a scam, and I lost all the money. The failures mounted a pressure so high that I couldn't handle it, and started engaging in increasing levels of dangerous behaviour like driving drunk, all alone, all night, just to bungee jump in the morning. Eventually, my parents declared me a danger to society, which led to a second psychiatric evaluation that diagnosed me as mentally ill with a serious disease that's a lifetime handicap, requiring daily medication, with no known cure. I was one step away from becoming a lifelong vegetable, did become morbidly obese, and lost all physical health. Fast forward, built myself again piece by piece, started to do well, till COVID ripped it all apart. I still picked up the pieces, one day at a time, to try and regain my health first. Lost 10+ kgs a couple of times, permanently quit cigarettes and alcohol, to no addictions today of any kind, including sugar. Worked so much on my emotional and mental health that the third psychiatric evaluation called the previous one an error and declared me healed and medication-free for several years now. Rebuilt my work muscles, starting from working as a freelancer for an approx $0.5 per hour to today working for X.AI (that created Grok and just bought Twitter/ X), and did 71 pushups last week, so believe me when I tell you - IT GETS BETTER. And HELP is always available. I am one email away.

I took CS only to later find out that I simply can't understand coding , got few friends - and only because of them i barely graduated , i am yet to figure out lots of things and sometimes things gets messy so just wanted to let you know that you are not alone , and their are still kind people who do help others

Fought with chronic depression and insomnia in college. There were days where I couldn't find motive to even eat or get out of bed. Have seen loss after loss, even after giving my everything. Restarting my life from scratch after another such blow now.

I started my very first semester with poor grades but somehow things fall into place as you make your way. There's always a path for you and it doesn't have to be what everyone else is doing.

Barely got into BITS as a dualite Surprised myself with a really high CGPA in first sem which was never reproduced later. Last person to get branch transfer to CS. Things just work out and in the moment when it feels like you are defeated, just take a step back and remember you are probably still in a position that someone else dreams to be in.

Chemistry was my favorite subject in school. At BITS, I don’t think I scored above a C in a single chemistry course. I had terrible attendance, missed every surprise quiz, and honestly had no idea how to handle the freedom that came with being on my own for the first time. I wasn’t disciplined, and I often felt like I was falling behind while everyone else had it figured out. I spent two years chasing research. Just when I was about to go in for a thesis, I panicked — and switched to a PS at the last moment. It wasn’t strategy or brilliance — it was uncertainty, a lot of overthinking, and a bit of blind luck. Somehow, things worked out. What I’ve learned is: life rarely moves in a straight line. There will be setbacks. There will be moments where it feels like there’s no way out. But something will appear — a detour, a person, an opportunity you didn’t see coming. If you're struggling, please know this — you're at BITS because you're smart. But more importantly, you're not alone. Talk to your friends. Talk to your professors. Let someone in. The smartest thing you can do sometimes is ask for help. Be kind to yourself. If something doesn’t work out today, it doesn’t mean it never will. I promise, even in the most unexpected ways — things get better.

Failed JEE (and BITSAT) twice, ended up in Pharma, hated every bit of it. Battled crippling mental health issues throughout college and COVID made everything worse, had a D in 4/6 subjects in 1-2 midsems. Multiple semesters between 5.5-6.5 CG, finally ended up with a 7.4 and got placed from campus. It was not my dream placement, but still figuring out and working towards it.It's okay to be slow and it's okay to fail. Pls don't hesitate to reach out :)

Remember that college is a place to experiment and try things out. It’s okay to fail miserably in terms of your grades, in terms of your relationships and everything else because all of this will help you discover yourself. Some of the smartest people I know had a bad CGPA, some of the best professionals I know never got placed on campus. I failed too, a lot – I had my girlfriend move on to someone else, I never got a job on campus and had no clue what I was going to do after I graduated. It’s okay for things to go wrong, but the one thing that remains true is please reach out – could be your friend, your senior, your sibling, whoever – reach out and talk when you are down. Where you are now and how you are feeling now does not determine where you will be tomorrow!

6 point something. Got a branch that I did not want and absolutely abhorred. Decided to take things in my own hands, created SAiDl, cracked GSOC, set up sandbox, managed Kosambi, got into CAMP summer school. Interacted with working professionals. Decided to do a PhD, realised that academia was to slow for my taste, interned at Amazon after my fourth year and got a full time offer.

Almost failed Engineering Design, was found guilty of not adhereing to academic policies in Professional ethics lol. Failed all placements interviews, PS didnt offer PPO and the list goes on. Yet here am I living my best life

Got an E in material science in 3rd sem. My gpa for 3rd sem alone was 4.5 with the best grade I could manage being a C. Repeated material science and still managed only a B in 7th sem. Graduated with a 6.xx gpa. Attended a total of maybe 20 classes in total in the whole 4 years. While I did get a job offer during placements, it had nothing to do with my grades (the company did not even have a CG cut off) or the engineering degree. Just did well in the interviews and thats it. After BITS, I spent my entire 20s trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life. Worked in advertising, banking, asset management and fintech. Even did a Master's in finance. Only to realize that finance is not my cup of tea. So now, I am someone with a degree in Mechanical engineering, a master's in corporate finance and now I work in Product in a fashion company in Paris :D Please know that you guys are all smart to have gotten into BITS in the first place. That smartness can not be taken away from you, you have the brains. All you need is a bit of confidence and you will definitely find something fantastic. Parents or professors might push you to do certain things in certain ways and pressure you, please know that you are all special and unique, you have a place in this world. You just need to find that place, and no grade or professor or subject or college can change that. 5 years from now, noone is even gonna ask you about what you did in college.

Just almost managed to get into BITS, started first semester in hopes of getting a CS dual, ended with first year CG 6.76, got multiple Es and Ds all across Electronics, overslept and missed a T1 for a CDC. It turned out to be okay, please talk to people around you or ping any senior.

First gen STEM, got into the university with the mindset "I got into BITS and now my life is set" and ignored my acads to the point that I scored straight Es in my 2-2 CDCs. Having someone to talk to can really make a difference, I had my fair share of people who lent me their ears, and now I can lend you mine.

i am B.E Mechanical graduate from BITS goa with 6.03 CGPA,I am an introvert from start and i am from small village due to covid my JEE mains and advance didn't go well and from there my unexpected journey started and mainly as classes were online and as introvert i am not able to make friends and i am not able to adjust to online classes and my cg was 4.35 at end of 3rd semester and the mistake i done was not sharing my problems with and lied about the my CGPA but later i realized that sharing the my problems with others made realize that many people may not be facing the similar problems but everyone have some problems are facing and sharing your problems with other may not solve it but give a relief and release a stress a lot and when it comes to CGPA i think it matters but it is not everything , i have seen people who have struggled to get a placement though there is CGPA is way higher than me but and what i have learned and learning till now the every thing in life treat it as an experience rather than success or failure and give your best. if anyone want to contact you can contact and i am open to hear your experiences.Finally i am currently working as an PM in a gaming startup which is not a success in my life but an ongoing experience.

1st year was a mess with low CG and didn’t know what to do in future. Felt lost but had seniors that helped out in gauging my abilities which is why currently I’m doing well in career and life.

I got 4.5 GPA in Semester 2 itself along with the worst attendance possible. I literally skipped announced quizzes just because it was a game night the night before. No I did not graduate as a 9+ CGPA or anything close. Later in life, again after failing twice, I cleared UPSC CSE and got into the IAS. So, please stop taking too much load. Things will fall into places.

I got a D in Signals and Systems. Years later, I worked on signal recovery for a Nobel Prize-winning physicist. I struggled through EEE with Physics, barely managing 8 courses a semester as a dualite. I barely survived MuP, never took CompArch, and am now working with various processors, learning, developing. Chilling out at a startup in Sweden, living a stressfree life. In Sweden, you have infinite chances to take re-exams. I had to take a Algorithms exam twice to make it with a higher grade that PhD needed. Failing an exam or getting a low grade once is not a failure of your capabilities. But I also had incredible support — seniors who reminded me I was good enough, professors who encouraged me to pursue topics I was passionate about. Managed to finish a PhD in a topic I was passionate about and then switched fields. It’s okay to not have it all figured out. It’s okay to fall. There is always a way forward. 
Please be kind to yourself. You’re not alone in this journey.

Typical story of low GPA and having to work hard at the job to get into grad school.