There are several factors that need to be considered before choosing a particular stream after Class 10. This is because the chosen stream would determine which path a student’s career would take and a wrong decision not taken in accordance with a student’s personal interests and strengths must be avoided.

The two main factors that should be taken into note by students while choosing a stream are:

• Aptitude of the student
• Personal Interests

Aptitude - An aptitude can be defined as an innate, acquired, learned or developed component of a competency to perform a certain kind of work at a certain level. Aptitudes can either be physical or mental.

In order to choose a stream after Class 10 that is right for students, it is advisable that students take an aptitude test that will allow them to know their personal strengths, weaknesses, skills and intelligence in different fields.

An aptitude test is a standardized test that is designed to measure the ability of an individual to develop skills and acquire knowledge. Aptitude tests help in determining the probability of a person’s success in some activity in which he/she has not yet been trained.

While choosing a stream after Class 10, an aptitude test can be quite helpful for student as it can provide them with options that they had never thought of before and can also confirm if a particular career path that the student has always wanted to explore will be good for them or not.

Aptitude tests also help students in figuring out what their natural preferences are when it comes to working. They can be quite a useful tool in narrowing down a student’s best career choices.

There are several aptitude tests that are widely available for students. Apart from the aptitude tests available for free on the internet, there are also several organizations that aide students in choosing the stream that will be best for them with the help of aptitude tests.

Now, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced an aptitude test after Class 10 that will help students in choosing a suitable subject stream. The aptitude test that has been developed by the CBSE, called the Students' Global Aptitude Index (SGAI) will be made available to students in all 10,000 schools that are affiliated with the Board. The test aims at helping all students to make a better choice regarding their career.

According to CBSE, the test is two-and-half hour long and is a paper-pencil test. The SGAI has been customized by the CBSE specifically for Indian students. While conventional aptitude tests help in determining a student's professional orientation, the SGAI test by CBSE will only help in determining the subject orientations of students at the +2 level.

For the news on CBSE Aptitude Test, click here

Personal Interests - Choosing a stream based on an individual’s personal interests is almost as important as based on their aptitude. Hence, the second step towards choosing a subject stream after Class 10 is to match personal interests with potential careers.

Based on personal interests, it can be quite difficult to judge which subjects a student must pursue as even though a student might want to be a doctor, it would not matter unless he/she is good at science. This implies that even though a student might dream of pursuing a particular career, they might not always have an aptitude for those subjects.

For this reason, a student must know their aptitudes before they decide what subject stream or career field they are interested in. It is not advisable to dream of being a doctor when the student knows that he/she was no good at science. Even though certain careers or subjects may appeal to a student more than others, they can only pursue them if they have an aptitude for those subjects.

It is important for a student to take a decision regarding the stream to pursue after Class 10 which is in synchronicity with their interests and their aptitudes. Every student, ideally, would like to choose a stream that will enable them to have a career that leaves them fulfilled.

When thinking about what stream you would like to pursue after Class 10, and consequently what career you would choose for yourself, you should consider several aspects of your personality. These include things that you have always been interested in, activities that you enjoy doing, topics and subjects you like reading about, etc.

For example, a student who has always enjoyed reading science fiction and keeps abreast of the latest scientific discoveries and inventions may want to take up the science stream. Similarly, a student who has grown up in a business class family and has observed and learnt the goings on in a business by watching their family members may want to take up the commerce stream.

Likewise, a student who is creative and imaginative and enjoys writing and the arts may take up the science stream.

It is important for students to pursue a stream in which their interest lies so that they are able to choose a career for themselves later which will give them the most mental satisfaction and a life that they will enjoy.


For a student to choose a subject stream that is best suited to their aptitude as well as their interests, they should try to answer the following questions and see where their interest lies:

• What is your aim in life? Every child grows up with a role model in mind. This role model can either be a family member, a person known to them or even a famous personality. More often than not, a student’s aim in life will center on their role model. Or else, there may be a certain achievement that a student might want for themselves. It is important to identify this ambition in life for a student to judge which subject stream will be best suited for them.

• What subject do you like the most? Before choosing a stream in Class 11, students must keep in mind the subjects they have always enjoyed studying and which they are good at. Every student has a favorite subject at which they excel. They should choose a stream for themselves that includes their ‘favorite subject’ as well. For example, a student who enjoys studying history should take up the Arts/Humanities stream. Similarly, a student who excels at and enjoys studying the sciences should take up the Science stream.

• Which subject do you feel is the most difficult? No subject is easy or difficult. The subjects that are found easy or difficult by students depend on their individual aptitudes and interests. In order to choose a stream that a student will enjoy studying and also excel at, they must think about the subject that they do not enjoy studying at all and also do not excel at. For example, a student who does not enjoy studying the social sciences must not take the Humanities stream. Listing subjects that a student does not like or cannot perform well in helps in narrowing down the stream that will be most suited for the student.