I scored 70% in 1972 and got L.S.R.; getting a first division was a big thing back then: Suman Sharma, principal, Lady Shri Ram College for Women

I got Hans Raj with 75% in the second list in 1992: Parvin Dabas, Actor

Got through K.M.C. with 81%; in my I.P.S. batch of 120 trainees, not even 10 were from D.U.: Monica Bhardwaj, DCP (PCR), Delhi Police

Getting admission in any general course wasn't that difficult during my college days: Satish Kaushik, Actor/ Director

I did my graduation from SRCC, and I scored around 70%, which was equivalent to scoring 99% today: Sunil Sethi , president, Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI)

I was getting a better course at CBS, so didn't go for SRCC: Nitibha Kaul, Bigg Boss contestant

In early 60s, admission into a D.U. college was simpler: Ritu Kumar , fashion designer

I got through Hindu, but decided to go to Venky, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Actor

The DU admissions season has kick-started with the first cut-off list announced on Friday. While every year the talking point would be the unbelievably high cut-offs which would go beyond 99%, this year, it did not go beyond 97% in most colleges. Though it is not a huge dip, DU aspirants are thankful even for this small mercy of a more 'realistic' cut-off than the previous years.As a new batch of students gets ready to figure out their academic future, we ask the university’s proud alumni what cut-off percentages they had to deal with. And "it was easier in our time" seems to be the unanimous verdict.I took admission in LSR in 1972, and the cut-off that year was 62% for Political Science (Hons). I had scored more than the cut-off - my score was 70%, and the highest that year was 71%. I got through in the first list itself and ours was the second last batch where Board exams were conducted for three classes – Class IX, X and XI. Getting a first division was a big thing in those days. Nobody would ask you anything if you got a distinction (75%).I took admission in Hans Raj College in 1992. I don’t remember the exact cut-off that year, but it was somewhere around 80%. I had scored around 75%, and got through in the second cut-off. I was getting a transfer to Hindu College, but I decided to stay in Hans Raj because of its dramatics society.I got through KMC in 2001 with 81% in the last list for BSc Computer Science. When I look at the cut-offs now, I almost get a heart attack. In my batch of 120 IPS trainees, not even 10 were from DU. So making the the cut-off is no big deal and students should remember that there is life beyond that. Live your life, that is more important.I do not really remember the cut-off that year (1972), but I do remember that the admission in any general course wasn't that difficult. I had scored 56% and I was easily getting Chemistry (Hons) in Jamia Millia Islamia, but I preferred B.Sc (General) at Kirori Mal College because I wanted to study in a college in North Campus. Players (the dramatics society of KMC) was really popular even in those days, so I chose to stay in this college. And I think I did not get through the first cut-off, it was either the second or third cut-off that I got admission in.I did my graduation from Sri Ram College of Commerce in the early 70s, and the cut off at that time was 62%. I had scored around 70%, which at that time was equivalent to scoring to 99% today. Cut-off percentage for commerce students was slightly lower than that for science students at that time. SRCC, even then, was one of the most premiere colleges of Delhi University and it wasn’t easy to get an admission there. There were people like Arun Jaitley and Gulshan Grover studying in my batch.I had the option of choosing between SRCC and College of Business Studies in 2008. My score was 91.6% and you require a minimum percentage to be eligible for the entrance examination at CBS. The cut-off for that was 85% and I was getting SRCC through my Kashmiri student quota. But I chose this college over SRCC because I was getting BCom at SRCC, (an undergraduate course), while the one at CBS was Bachelor of Business Studies, a professional one. So I chose course over college.I don't remember what exactly was the cut off when I passed my Class XII in the early 60s. I scored above 90% and I was getting an admission into Miranda House and Lady Irwin and many other colleges, but I chose Lady Irwin. Cut-offs then were not announced like they are now, admission into a DU college was a much simpler affair.I don't remember the year exactly, but I guess it was the year 98-99 when I had applied for admission in DU. I studied Chemistry and in North Campus, I think that the first cut-off for Bsc was 92-93%. I got 95% in PCM and I got through both Hindu and Hans Raj College, but because I live in south Delhi, I went to Venky. It's cut-off was 89%. Venky had a very good science department. I would suggest DU aspirants to not switch streams because of the college. If you can't get through your choice of college in the cut-off, then go for your choice of course in some other college.--With inputs from Divya.Kaushik@timesgroup.com and Niharika.Lal@timesgroup.com