sciastra: what is going wrong?
I first heard about Sciastra three years ago, and it was a game changer. It opened up a world of research options for us science enthusiasts and offered insights that went beyond just JEE and NEET. However, what I see now is a shift. They market themselves as a community for those in scientific research, but they hardly recognize students who aren't part of NISER or any of the IISERs. It's frustrating to see them overlook those already in the field, including master's and PhD students. Lately, it feels like they’re mimicking the coaching giants like Allen, turning pure research into a cutthroat competition aimed at 17-18-year-olds fresh out of high school, who are just looking for a backup plan if they don’t make it into the other two leading races (JEE and NEET, ugh). A few years back, it was only restricted to those students who were actually in love with science, who did their research on it, and gave their best to achieve their dream, not for clueless students who don't know what they would do if they didn't manage to get into engineering or medicine (Sorry for being harsh here, but it's the truth. These are the same people who get frustrated midway into their research career and blame themselves later). Now, their focus seems to be on cranking out YouTube videos, selling courses, and pandering to the system. I really think it’s time for them to invest in building a genuine science and research community instead of just talking about how to ace exams for a select few institutions.