The website enabled students to browse through and apply to colleges of their choice besides displaying merit lists. It was introduced with the intention of easing the process of application by eliminating the trouble of rushing to different colleges for application forms and for checking merit lists.

However, the process was not error-free. Sanjay Kumar, Secretary (Sports, Education and Youth Affairs), said: “The response the website achieved last year was not that encouraging. A number of students applied online as well as by physically going to colleges because they were not sure of their online applications. Mistakes were reported in lists put up by colleges. Not all colleges had registered with the website. Some accepted online application, some did not. This resulted in confusion.”

Another reason for most students opting to go to colleges and fill up the application forms instead of applying online was that, students would take time to adjust to the new website. For applying online, the students had to buy Zipcash (mobile phone payment system) cards and use the secret personal identification number on it to make payment for application forms. After creating accounts, the students were assigned usernames and passwords to apply online. Many students were not comfortable with the idea of online transactions. Besides, the website experienced heavy traffic during the entire admission season, especially during the first two to three days making the website slow, till extra servers were added to ensure smooth functioning.

Some colleges like Patkar college, Goregaon, had even decided to print lesser number of admission forms last year because it was expected that most students would apply online. However, despite the recently-launched website, the first day of the sale of application forms saw a huge turnout of students and parents at various colleges across the city. In fact, according to college principals, there was no difference in the number of students queuing up this year and previous year when there was no website.