A post for my fellow VTU mates

Usually September - December is when students from all over the country discover new energy in them and start applying for higher studies. This is an important point in every student's life. There are a lot of things that need to be done in order to successfully submit an application to a foreign university. I probably cannot help you with all of the steps. However there is one area, which I can help you out with, "Getting Transcripts from VTU". Many of you might already know the procedure for the same and have got your transcripts already. But I thought it would be helpful to write down the procedure in detail so that it would help the many others who are unaware of the same. I was motivated to write about this mainly coz, I went through this process recently and before getting the transcripts, I had absolutely no idea about the procedure. Also there are not many blogs which describe the process in detail.

    First of all, there are two ways to get the transcripts. The first one is to apply through your respective colleges. You will have to go to the admission section of your college and fill up a form and get your Principal's attestation on the form. Pin up a DD along with the proper fee and post it to VTU. This is the longer process and might take anywhere between 3-4 weeks for you to get your transcripts. I would suggest you go for this method only if you have at least a month time to submit your applications. Else there is method number 2. You will have to personally go to VTU to get the transcripts in this option.

    Well, for method 2 here is what we are supposed to do. Even before you start planning your trip to Belgaum (which is where our VTU office is), I suggest you call up the VTU office.  The number is 0831- 2498136. Please check with the person if the Registrar is available on your proposed date of travel. If so, we can go ahead with our planning for the travel. There are a lot of buses and trains which leave for Belgaum daily from Bangalore. I preferred to travel by train, coz I can’t sleep in buses. If you are planning to travel by train, you will have to book at least 5 days in advance to get a ticket. Bus tickets can be easily booked even on the day prior to travel. Bus fare is around Rs.450 whereas train costs about Rs.260 (one way). Book your tickets such that you reach Belgaum by 9.00 AM in the morning.

   Once you reach Belgaum city, you will have to take a bus or auto to Shanti Baswad.
Again, make sure you reach VTU office by 12.00 noon. Requests submitted before this time would be attended to on the same day. Else it will be postponed to the next day. I suggest you be in VTU before 11.30. Also it would be better to get a DD from Bangalore. The DD should be in favor of "The Finance Officer, VTU" and must be payable at Belgaum. The cost of the first copy of the transcripts is Rs. 250 and the subsequent copies are Rs.150 each. Since you already have the DD with you, it saves you a lot of valuable time. Once you reach VTU, make your way to the regional office. Here you will have to fill up a form for obtaining the transcripts. This will include filling up of details like USN, DD No, Name, Address, etc. Once you complete the form, attach the DD and submit it to the clerk there. If you do this before the 12, you will be asked to come at 4.30 in the evening to collect the transcripts.

    In case you need to collect transcripts for your friends, you will have to carry letter authorizing you to collect the transcripts on his/her behalf. Sometimes, they do ask you for identification (College ID card) and your old marks cards. You would be on the safer side if you carried them along with you.

    Once this is done, all we have to do is wait. Carry a good book along with you. There is absolutely nothing to do from the time you have submitted the form to the time you get the transcripts. The VTU office is around half hour drive from the city and you find nothing except trees around this place. Alternatively you could make your way back to the city and roam around till its time to head back. Again, there is nothing much you could do in Belgaum as well.

    Around 4.30 - 5.00, you will get your transcripts in hand. You will have to collect it from the same office you submitted the application in. Count your transcripts and make sure all of them are sealed and signed. Suppose you have applied for 10 copies, you get 10 sealed copies along with an unsealed copy. You can now head back to Belgaum to get back to Bangalore.

    If is advisable to have some buffer between the time you get your marks cards to when you book your return journey. It would be safe to book return trains/buses around 9 in the night. Buses to and from VTU are very less and this buffer would help you also if the transcripts are delayed. In order to ensure that I didn’t miss my train, I booked my return journey from Hubli. The train from Hubli was at 11.00 PM and it would take me about 2.5 hrs to reach Hubli from Belgaum. You would reach Bangalore by 7.30 if you take the same route (Rani Chenamma Express).

    Hope these details will help you get your transcripts without any hassles. If you are a foodie like I am, make sure to try Kunda - a sweet popular in Belgaum and a typical North Karnataka Jolada Rotti meal.