Need Major Advice

[Alpine]

Hello World. I'm back again with a sword hanging around my neck. I need a major advice for my academic life and I think at this point I need a logical advice rather than one based on emotions. So, I have come here. Before I begin with the problem part, I'll let the readers know something about how education and college entrance works in India to ease advising process.

 

In India, the senior year is called 12th standard or 12th grade (which is the grade I am in). Like all other countries this year decides your eligibility for joining a college. In 12th grade you get to choose from Arts, Commerce and Science depending upon how good your grades are(I have chosen science). Unlike some of the developed countries you don't get to choose what you which subjects you want to study in the stream. In science (physics and chemistry are mandatory), you have to choose between Biology and maths or biology and computer science (I have taken biology and maths), this is a way to divide the classes into pre-medical class and pre-engineering class which are the 2 most popular courses at college level in India.

In 12th grade, the examination pattern is different from the rest of the grades. For the sciences (Physics/Chemistry/Biology) the grading system is divided into 2 parts, the 30% and the 70%. The 30% comprises of practicals, investigatory project (mini-research), oral exam/viva voce and how well your practical records (notes) are maintained. All this will be done by an external invigilator, so our teachers have little to no marks in our hands.

The 70% is very straight-forward. There will be an examination at the end of the academic year (Feb-March of 2013) which will be a nation wide examination. That means I will be competing against like millions of students but that is not a problem as your rank doesn't really affect your career (you grades do). So, even in here the teachers have nothing in their hands. After that there will be entrance examinations for getting admission into Engineering/Medical/Law and so on.

 

So, now you must be wondering what the problem is. The thing is, I want to pursue environmental engineering for which I have to get a rank below 10,000 in AIEEE (an entrance exam for engineering, also one of the toughest in the world). However that's not the problem either. The problem is preparing for this exam AND the final exam but the problem is a lot deeper. The thing is my foundation (academically), though good, isn't rock solid enough to crack the entrance exam. I do have all the resources and time on my side but the problem is the teachers. My plan initially was to tackle one subject at a time, starting with maths (because we haven't been taught integral calculus and it's needed for other subjects).

However, going by that plan would mean becoming a rebel in the eyes of my teacher. I have to avoid doing homework ( a lot because I want to go at my own pace and make a solid foundation), getting low grades on tests and so on. At this point I should mention that NONE OF THESE THINGS WILL AFFECT MY GRADES WHATSOEVER. What it might lead to is me getting sort of bullied and emotionally blackmailed/talked down by my teachers because I'm sure they won't like a rebel attitude. All my life I have been a good person but at this point my career is at stake and I don't think that the idea of other people judging me should cost me my career. So, I'm stuck.!

 

The root cause of all this problem is the fact that India at present doesn't have ANY college/univesity which offer Enivonmental Engineering/Science at Undergraduate level. The ones which do are most likely to be fraud or money eating machines and I can assure you all this. My parents cannot afford to send abroad for undergraduate course as it costs a lot but can do so for further education. The issue gets really bad when you add the fact that I'm pretty much only interested in environmental engineering/science.

 

So, please if you can then do advice on what I should do. Should I become a rebel and get a solid foundation and preparation for everything SMOOTHELY or should I be Mr. Goody Two Shoes and risk loosing my career-to-be. I need some sort of advice. Anything, even a whole new plan to get things done would be great.

 

P.S: Except on Sundays, I only get 6 hours of time per day to do what I want. That is for studying/sleeping/eating and all. The rest of the 14 hours are reserved for school/a good night sleep/tuitions.

[Alpine]

Before I get into any trouble. I'm sorry if this topic doesn't belong in the lounge.

[Lancewen]

Before I get into any trouble. I'm sorry if this topic doesn't belong in the lounge.

 

If I were in your position I would continue with the best acceptable undergrad education you can get. While doing that, if your time permits look around for accredited online universities for the classes of your main interest. The nice thing about online courses is you can pretty much customize when to work and study and at what pace you wish to proceed. I haven't researched any online schools, but I can say I wish I had this option when I was in school.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.