There used to be a time when a student scoring 60 per cent marks in Class 12 could walk into any college in Delhi University and get admission in a course of his choice.

However, today the story is different. The cut-off lists of top colleges like St Stephens, Hindu College, Sri Ram College of Commerce, Miranda House and Janaki Devi Mahavidyalaya are giving both students and their parents harrowing, anxious moments.

In most of these colleges, almost all the seats have been filled just after the release of the first list today. And in most probability, a second list won't be out. The lucky ones being those who scored between 85-90 percentage.

So much is the rush for admission that Miranda House, once a women's college, has now thrown open its gates to those of the other sex.

Parents had a busy college day when the first list was released. Most of them reached colleges an hour before the list was put up.

The notice board on most colleges read:  B.Sc (Honours) Physics -- 81.67 per cent; Maths -- 85 per cent; BA (Honours) Economics -- 91 per cent; Political Science -- 83.1 per cent and so on� Many returned dejected despite scoring well.

"I had applied for Political Science as well as English Honours. I got through with 82 per cent in Political Science. I am still waiting for second list in English Honours. My mother is delighted, but we would prefer to wait for the second list," said Ishita Paul, an applicant.

In Sri Ram College of Commerce, whose alumni include noted economist Dr K N Raj, the cut-off percentage was as high as 98.75 per cent. The minimum required percentage was 94.75 per cent. Even for BA Economics (Honours) the cut-off percentage for commerce students was 96 per cent.

Pious, who came from Kolkata to apply for a seat in SRCC was disappointed not to find a place in the first list despite having secured 93.5 per cent. He had secured admission for B Com (Honours) in St Xaviers, Kolkata, but still preferred to join SRCC. He has decided to wait for the second list.

In St Stephens College, the story was not too different. The college which every student dreams of entering, is believed to get its graduates the best of everything -- be it in the civil services or scholarships abroad.

Here, the cut-off for B Sc (Honours) Physics was 91 per cent while for BA (Honours) it was 84 per cent.

Sidhhant, who hails from the north-east, applied for both Mathematics and Economics in St Stephens. He got through the Economics cut-off (97 per cent). Though he preferred Mathematics and has got through the sunject's cut-off in Hindu College and Hansraj College, he is unwilling to let go of the opportunity to be a Stephanian. Such is the charm of St Stephens College.

Hindu college, which is considered the arch-rival of Stephens, has a brilliant history of its own and has produced outstanding students.

Rajeshree Sarkar, who had secured 100 per cent in Maths in his Board exams and a 93 per cent aggregate, is confused. He got through BA Maths (Honours) in Hindu but wants to wait for the second list for Economics, as he ultimately wanted to pursue a career in finance.

Meanwhile, the Delhi police has made elaborate arrangement to prevent any eve-teasing. Criss-crossing cycle rickshaws in the campus have been adding to the cops' woes, causing massive traffic jam almost every 200 metres.

The offices of the Vice Chancellor and the Dean of Colleges were thronged by students and parents who could not make it in the first cut-off list. In some cases, college authorities put up their cut-off lists around midnight on Monday to prevent a stampede.

Capt Naveen Kumar, whose daughter had an 86 per cent aggregate, could not make it through the first list of English (Honours). But he has made sure that his daughter had back-up ready. She has applied for at least 3-4 courses in most of the colleges. With the cut-offs rising every year, aspirants are adopting this strategy to secure admission.

"This is a familiar scene in Delhi University and every year, over 20,000 students turn to private colleges after they fail to get admission. We cannot do anything about it," a former dean of Delhi University told rediff.com when asked to comment on the ever growing demand for more seats and ever rising cut-off marks.

The second and third cut-off lists will be released on June 27 and June 29 respectively.

Do you know what the college cut-offs are in your city? Are you aware of the last date to submit college admissions? If you have information on this year's college admissions, write in to getahead@rediff.co.in, along with your name, age, occupation and contact details. The information you send just might help students hoping to gain admission into their dream college.