NVS after 10th: Pros and Cons

To all the Nath Valley students interested in science,

After the 10th grade I faced a tough choice of whether to continue in Nath Valley in 11-12th or not. Hopefully this article will help you make that choice.

I am interested in Physics, Computer Science and Mathematics.
For my Undergrad. degree my first choice was(and still is) a good college in the US as they undoubtedly have better Basic Science courses due to much better facilities, funds and faculty. If I do not get admission to the top 10 universities in the US, in my desired field, I would prefer a very good Indian University such IISc or IIT.
Admissions in the US depend on a variety of factors. First of all you have to get very good SAT scores and SAT Subject Test scores. Further you can appear for AP exams to show that you are good at that subject and ready for adv. college level courses. Getting very good ranks in Olympiads such as the National Physics, Mathematics or Chemistry Olympiads(NSEP:-INPhO, RMO:-INMO, NSEC:-INChO, ZIO:-INIO) and representing your country in International Olympiads also definitely counts. Besides Academics, you need lots of co-curricular activities of significance such as participating in debates, MUNs cultural programmes, state/national level sports, volunteer work and so on. Also in your college application, teacher's recommendations play an important role.


Pros of continuing in Nath Valley:

• Colleges in the US would definitely prefer CBSE board, which is used in over 15 countries, over Maharashtra State Board(duh!)
• You can get good college recommendations from teachers in Nath Valley who have known you for many years.
• Preparing for SAT is much easier in NVS(esp. the English Section) as you can get your essays corrected and clear your doubts from the English teachers, who would definitely know a lot more than State Board English teachers(eg. the SB english teacher says, "I am English Post-Graduation")
• You get opportunities to participate in co-curricular activities
• You can get leadership opportunities such as becoming a part of the Student council.

However,
College admission in India is almost solely dependant on IIT-JEE scores(for eng. colleges) and JEE preparation definitely requires some tuition such as Bansal, Gurukul etc. If you do join a tuition, then school timings clash with class timings, what is done in school seems repetitive as it has already been taught in the tuition and you do not get enough time for self-study. Thus it is better to join a college like SB or Deogiri that do not require attendance. And this arrangement is really beneficial. You have 3-4 hours of tuition per day and can put in 5-6 hours of self-study and practice, and yet have time to play an hour every day or pursue your hobbies.


Cons:

• TAKES UP TOO MUCH TIME
• Not enough time for self-study
• Not enough time for pursuing hobbies/sports
• Tuition homework + School Homework becomes a burden. 
• Repetitive and boring
• Does not really serve any purpose as far as IIT-JEE preparation and college admission is concerned
• It is about 10x more expensive than state board schools. One month's tuition fee in Nath Valley is equal to the entire year's tuition fee in SB.

Here is my schedule with Bansal and NVS:

6:45                Wake up

7:40-8:30       Bus journey to NVS

8:30-1:00       School(+bansal hw + studying for olympiads) 

1:00-1:45       Bus Journey back home

1:50-2:10       Lunch at home

2:15-2:55       Study and Bansal HW

3:00-6:00/6:30 Bansal

7:00-9:00       Study(School+Bansal+olympiads/SAT)

9:00-9:30       Dinner

9:40-~10:30   Study or Astronomy

10:30              Sleep

This is how your schedule will be(more or less) if you continue in school and join a tuition. I would have liked to have more free time. It is fairly hectic and feels very restricted. 

That said Nath Valley+Tuition wont adversely affect your performance in either of them. I have been 1st in Nath Valley throughout 11th and have maintained a class rank <=3 in Bansal.

Ex-students, classmates and juniors, please comment and add your own pros and cons to the list to make this article more comprehensive.