The Mind of a Second-Year Undergraduate

The second-year undergrad is in the exact middle ground between being naïve and experienced. Most people have found a comfortable routine that enables them to manage (mostly) the various academic and non-academic challenges that life throws at them.

But there is still this thread of naivete that survives, of young idealism not yet chipped and sharpened by the stones of reality. It’s refreshing to see that idealism hasn’t died in the second-year undergrad. Pragmatism is just the realization of practicality in one’s ideals. And this motivates one’s purpose, one’s reason to pursue what they do. Naturally, it’s a subject of the most intimate kind to touch upon, which also makes it one of the most interesting ones to describe. In the course of maturity, and what we commonly refer to as ‘growing up,’ there is a very subtle shift from idealism to pragmatism, and hence, one must strike when the iron is hot!

In some sense, it goes without saying that students of IISc are admirably passionate people—passionate about the subtleties of living, passionate about understanding the gross manifestations of these subtleties, passionate about weaving a personal story in response to an overtly scientific exposure, ridden with an arbitrary sense of objectivity, which one must masterfully deal with, lest it percolates and damages the appreciation of the subjective.

In one sense, one’s passions dictate and reflect one’s personality, but that’s a very idealized take. Precisely because reality affects the realization of the above, you might want to do something you’ve always wanted to, but still not be able to actually make yourself do it. How does one cope with this potential barrier—be it physical, mental, or institutional—that comes in the way of realization?

For this quest, we inconvenienced several members of the second years. From their collective answers, we hence provide a general understanding (or at least better the bound) of the mind of the second year.

Sweet(?) Beginnings

Most people who somehow found their way into the BS program of IISc already knew that they wanted to do it from a very long time.

It’s curious to note that behind these young minds are supporting families, providing the necessary exposure to even allow the student to aspire for this chance. Moreover, these are also people who were very sure that this was the path they wanted to take, with many people remarking how the social expectations centered around the career path of an ‘engineer’ or a ‘doctor’ were too removed from the naive taste of what their future held, whatever that may be.

And in here, we see the common false ‘dichotomy’ that Indian society passively validates. There’s this idea that people pursuing ‘Science’ are the residue of the common crowd, people who could not survive the rat race to become the former. But this fundamental fact, which may sound very defiant in nature, isn’t meant to be so.

No student is thinking about breaking social stigmas or hierarchies while deciding to apply to IISc or wanting to pursue a career in research. It’s just the pure, noble love for academics that motivates them to find a place here amongst like-minded peers.

Now, one might naturally wonder an auxiliary question—why would these people even find science interesting? The answer is honestly very trivial: it’s just this ultimate quest to understand nature.

Nature is the ultimate muse. The mystery that surrounds nature is maddening, addictive, and trying to resolve it (or rather, coming to a position to even resolve it) is a long trip down a rabbit hole. Learning for the sake of learning—this is the main motivation for our second years to join here.

We must also acknowledge the constant support, the constant activation of imagination from the teachers, siblings and parents.

(Great) Expectations?

Well well well. This is a loaded question. “What were your expectations when you joined IISc, and do you think in some capacity, it has been fulfilled?” There’s a lot to unpack here. Since IISc caters to a potpourri of academically motivated children, it is again very hard to make everyone happy. And we realize this, but that doesn’t stop us from presenting the general ideas that people seem to have, to enrich and embolden the lives of the future juniors to come. (Juniors always have it easy compared to us).

The first and foremost, and again a very natural expectation that most people had was—to be academically challenged. Most people who had this sort of expectation were very happy to be independent, with the understanding that they didn’t come here to be spoon-fed, and they learned whatever they did, explored whatever they did at their own volition. They had no general premonition on what they wanted the course to be like and were happy discovering the liberal environment encouraging the same.

Some people also commented that they did find the first three semesters a bit challenging but also appreciated the liberal, conducive environment to research. Helpful and impactful discussions with lovely seniors, professors willing to provide state-of-the-art research opportunities—everything is just a fingertip away, you just have to ask. The general freedom was very well appreciated, as it gave people time to nurture hobbies, be part of elaborate clubs, and once again—learn more.

However, now we must address the elephant in the room. ‘Are you satisfied with the course curriculum and structure of IISc?’
This question had the UG community divided, and for good reason—this is something worth initiating conversations about. We’ll present the views.

On one side, some people are very against the idea of ‘core courses.’ They agree with the philosophy that these are general things that society expects a particular major to know about, but it also constricts the richness and possibilities that one can explore drastically. There’s also a common consensus that people who are very sure about the field that they’d like to pursue must be given a space to explore that. Having other commitments at the same time makes it difficult to explore and satiate the natural curiosity of learning more.

But, there are people who believe starkly the opposite—they believe that the current international scientist must be multidisciplinary. They emphasize the usefulness of the several courses they’ve had and how that impacted their view on a particular field, making it insightful for their own research.

Some believe that the curriculum is too packed, and while it’s hard, it’s also interesting to learn so much in such a short time. It does place the UG student from IISc in a very good place worldwide.

Major Major, What Major Did You Choose?

This is the most important decision in any UG student’s life. IISc curriculum offers a choice of six majors: The obvious PCMB (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology), along with Earth Science and Materials. Students also have the option to minor in any of the major subjects, as well as in Bioengineering and Quantum Technologies.

“Till ninth class, I was more interested in physics, so I wanted to be a physicist. But in tenth class, when lockdown came, I started doing a lot of mathematics, solving problems are reading theory at the Olympiad level. Then all of a sudden, I realised that math is the way to go. So, yeah, then I changed to mathematics, and that’s how my the story started.”, says Pradyun, a second year maths major. This is a fairly common trend among mathematics majors. The decision to go in the field of mathematics was made before joining the institute. Anurag however, another second year mathematics major is an interesting outlier. He switched from physics to chemistry to biology, before finally landing on mathematics.
Almost 50% of the batch ends up pursuing a physics major. Muralidhar gave an interesting hypothesis for it. “I feel that the way physics, of all sciences, has been able to reach out to the general audience in terms of popular physics, has made it very appealing. I think physics has succeeded in that as a science by being able to communicate with non-experts. So now if you’re a student, it’s more likely that you’re going to get a influence by physics because it, in some sense, seems more understandable to you because of the way it’s being presented to you. So that’s why out of the students who decide to pursue research, physics turns out to be a larger subgroup.” A lot of physics majors chose physics due to the versatility it offers in terms of working at the intersection of two disciplines and the flexibility to switch fields in the future, if the need be.
“I was not sure at all. So during counselling, after the all the presentations and stuff, I was straight up confused. I did not know what I want to do at all. At that point, I was like, yeah, I can do anything: Chemistry, biology, physics, materials, earth science, all of them. And it it was a bit overwhelming. So in the in the first and second sem, I was actually very clueless on what I want to do. Later, I decided to talk to some professors from different departments to see what they have to say, what all is going on in their field and based on that, I finally decided what I want to do. Chemistry, that is.” Said Achintya. And this is a fairly common trend, whether it is Shouvik stuck between Biology and Mathematics, Abhinanda and Milan between Physics and Biology, Priyanshu between Physics and Earth Science, Kalpesh with Materials and Physics—name any combination and you’d find a person with that dilemma. There are so many people who dropped biology in 11th and 12th grade and then went ahead to pursue a biology major. This is not a bad thing at all! The interdisciplinary nature of IISc provides students enough exposure to pursue interests in multiple fields and explore fields they never considered before.

Conclusion

After much contemplation and conversation, we arrive at a crude yet honest understanding of the second-year undergraduate. At its core, it is a peculiar mix of the familiar yet unknown, a tightrope walk between the comforts of routine and the unsettling realisation of looming decisions. The second-year undergraduate is no longer a fledgling, but neither are they fully formed in their academic or personal journeys. They possess enough experience to maneuver through academic rigours, yet still retain the capacity to be awed, still find themselves grappling with the big questions that define their path forward.
Perhaps the most compelling takeaway from this collective exploration is that the second year is a time of transition—of realizing that passion alone does not suffice, that structure and discipline must accompany enthusiasm. Yet, it is also a reminder that passion itself does not wither away. Instead, it evolves, tempered by the trials of coursework, the occasional pang of disillusionment, and the discovery of new intellectual fascinations. What remains unchanged is the drive to understand, to seek, and to pursue knowledge for its own sake. And in this ever-fluctuating balance between idealism and pragmatism, between unshaped curiosity and structured inquiry, the second-year undergraduate finds meaning—not in definitive answers, but in the continued pursuit of them. It is not about knowing exactly where one will end up, but about embracing the process of getting there. For all its uncertainties, the second year is a paradoxical comfort—a place where the future is uncertain, but the passion for learning remains an unwavering constant.