My review of my college

My college in some ways is very good. Those will be areas of placements (IT sector only), discipline, ragging free campus, placement driven training programs, etc. The downsides to the college are the extreme lack of cultural activities, cultural fests, clubs, etc. Also, and I'm not kidding, but our college has a strict rule that boys need to be cleanly shaved at all times and are not allowed to keep beards. Rules like these, and the problem of unavailability of core sector placement opportunities are the let downs to a otherwise good college where any student would be happy to join.

The course curriculum is mostly satisfactory and relevant. The college is affiliated to MAKAUT, and follows the syllabus, curriculum and examination structure set by the university. Industrial visits are organized for the students (at least one visit is mandatory for each student). Industrial visits are organized in relevant companies and industries. Students wishing to go to any other industry and not the ones provided by the college are also allowed. The curriculum is sound, and helps in many ways to prepare oneself for the Industry experience and placements.

The on campus placement opportunities are heavily dominated by the IT sector. The main recruiting companies being Infosys and Congizant. Core engineering based companies coming for placement drives is unheard of, which is a big disadvantage for students in departments like electrical engineering. The college provides separate campus training programs ( paid, and it costs around rs 12,000) for preparation for the placement season. This, again, is fully software based, and the training is in IT and computer science subjects only. The recruitment drives have 3 or 4 rounds (depending on the company) like HR interview, technical interview, aptitude tests, and programming skills tests. The average placements per year is comparatively better than other colleges, and good number of students get placed. However the big drawback still remains that all students no matter from which branch of engineering, are expected to join the software IT industry only. Attempts by the college to have a few core companies come for recruitment would be greatly appreciated.

The college only holds one technical fest each year. It is a one day affair, and is a smaller affair than what is done in other engineering colleges. Our college for some reason does not want the event to be very big, and on the whole it appears as if they just do it for namesakes. Participation in the college tech fest is open for all college students and students from other colleges. But out college does not encourage us to participate in such tests in other colleges. Students are even punished if they participate in such fests elsewhere at the expense of missing a working day in college. No cultural festivals are held, despite numerous requests for the same year after year.

The total fee for the whole b.tech course is Rs. 4.18 lakhs. Payment is to be made at the beginning of each semester (i.e., twice a year). The fees are reasonable, as the college follows the standard fee structure set by the university. No additional charges are demanded by the college during admission. The fee breakdown is transparent and mentioned in the admission brochures. The college accepts payment through cheque, or demand drafts.

The college does not offer scholarships of its own, but does not hesitate to encourage students to apply for other scholarships, provided mostly by the government's scholarship programmes.

Gender ratio is quite well balanced in software departments like information technology and computer science engineering. Core departments like electrical engineering is still male dominated, the ratio being around 5:1. Student parties and fun gatherings are a big no. Cultural societies or clubs like music, dance or drama clubs are disapproved of. The college does not encourage any non technical activity except the few sports events. The plus side is the tolerance among students on the basis of gender, race, economic status, etc. I have not seen or heard any case of hate or discrimination against anyone on these grounds.

The college does not have hostel facilities of its own. There are pg accomodations near the college run by individual homeowners where students from far off can put up. The pg accomodations are basic, and not lavish in any way. The average monthly rent per head is in between 3-5 k (exclusive of food). Pgs are available for boys as well as girls (separate). There are few pgs offering food facilities(for extra payment) but a majority of the students prefer to eat at nearby eateries or restaurants.

Most (not all) seniors are helpful but that is only if you can build up a good friendship with them. There is no alumni body as such which would be very helpful for someone not so Interactive.

Admission to the college is primarily based on the WBJEE entrance examination. After securing a rank in WBJEE, we have to apply for online counseling. Based on the examination rank, we can choose a list of available colleges and courses. For this college, a rank of within 10k in WBJEE is recommended. I personally chose this institution as it is close to my home and it is one of the better colleges here in terms of placements and discipline ( on campus ragging is almost unheard of here)

There are around 12 to 20 lectures per department, along with other staff like laboratory assistants. Most of the teaching faculties are post graduates (i.e., completed their masters degrees) and a few are doctorates having PhD degrees. In my personal opinion, the teaching prowess was a mixed bag, where some teachers were exceptional but there again are a few who I rate as unable to satisfy the students' minds or teach them well. A few lecturers have industry experiences, ranging from 1 or 2 years to even 20+ years. Many lecturers again, do not have industry experiences.