Honest Review

I applied for medical colleges via NEET but my rank was not enough to fetch me a Government medical college hence I switched to BSc as I did not want to drop a year. I applied for ICAR and CUCET and qualified both with a good rank. I chose a college based on my CUCET rank as I wanted to go for higher studies in Biochemistry. I joined Central University of Rajasthan's integrated msc program. I belong to general category hence I did not avail any quota. The minimim marks for admission to Biochemistry department in Central University of Rajasthan in 2018 was around 31 out of 100 but the last score that got admission for unreserved category was around 45. There are no age barriers but they ask you the reason for education gap, if there is any. The admission process is such that firstly you have to apply for cucet exam then choose 3 colleges and departments you would like to get enrolled in. Then give the exam and score well (above 50 atleast) to get a call letter from the institutions.

The faculty is highly qualified. They have all done their PhD. Most of them have done PhD and post-doc from foreign reputed institutions. The teachers who taught my batch were highly knowledgeable and helpful. They teach us well enough to qualify national level exams like GATE and NET without the need of 'coaching institutions'. The term exams were taken at the scheduled time even during the lockdown. Our syllabus was completed within the time limit and we always get a few classes just for doubt clearing sessions. The teachers maintain a steady rate of teaching so that we are ready by the time of midterm and end sem exams. It is easy to pass if you take classes regularly and faithfully if you study well. One can score around 8-9 CGPA by attending classes and following what the teachers teach. However, if you do not study at all you are highly likely to fail.

The internship opportunities include working in NGOs, as content writers, as online educators for various sites, fundraisers etc. Companies like Muskurahat Foundation, IFAS etc pick up students from our university for internships and the average stipend is 5,000 per month but mostly it is performance-based especially in fundraising activities.

The fee hike was hot high and it didn't cause a blow to our pockets. The majority hike was in the mess fees. From 2018 to 2021 the mess fees increased from 6000 per semester to 10000 per semester. Since it is a government college, the fees were not high enough to acquire financial assistance in my case but the students who need it can avail any of the scholarships provided by the central and state government. We can get scholarships through INSPIRE or NET during PhD upon meeting the necessary criteria. As far as jobs are concerned, there is no campus selection in my department.

There are a number of cultural fests in CURAJ. There is an annual fest celebrated in the month of February amongst other events like SPIC MACAY etc. The library is huge and full of books. We have both offline and online libraries functioning from 9 am till 12 at night. It is like heaven for most students. The classrooms are well furnished, huge, spacious, well lit and well designed. As far as sports are concerned, our college participates in West Zone competitions and there are many interuniversity events throughout the year. There are many social groups including NGOs, poetry clubs, drama clubs etc Some of them include Svatva Foundation, UnvoicedPoetry etc.

The hostels are big and spacious and the rooms have everything a student needs. UG students have to share a room between 3 students (girls) or 2 students (boys). PhD students get one room per person (boys) and one room per two people (females). The only problem in the hostel bathrooms and washrooms as there are way too many people per bathroom in every hostel. The meals are good, healthy, sometimes tasty but mostly okay. We get a special meal every once in a while which mostly takes us by surprise. Overall, the meals are healthy, nutritious and fairly tasty. You can register for the hostel during admission and you can apply for it whenever you need it. The hostels are located bear the SP buildings within the university campus.

The test was focused on the topics from class 11th and 12th as the test was for UG courses. Cucet also has a certain number of general awareness questions consisting of a bit of English, maths and general knowledge. Once you qualify for the exam they will call you for the first/second round of counselling depending on your rank where they will check your documents and ask you a few questions regarding why you want to join that college etc. Mostly, if you have a good rank in cucet you will be called for the first round of interview where you will just show your documents and get admission.