NIT Durgapur: Face the realities of life and have a good time along the way

NIT Durgapur is an Institute of National Importance. Along with that, the NIT tag is very valuable after graduation. I also was getting CSE here, which was something I wanted to pursue since I was a child. The institute is close to home, so travelling to and fro is not much difficult. The hostels are a bit old but new ones are being built. Durgapur as a city has most of the facilities and amenities one can ask for, but it is not a metropolitan city, something that one needs to keep in mind. It is also pretty clean and green.

CSE is something that I always wanted to pursue, hence I chose this course. Faculty, like any other college, is a mix of good and not so good. Curriculum is just like any other college, but in my opinion it can be updated to match the current trends. We have two (or three) exams in a semester, and in CSE, ECE, EE, and a few other branches you can score good marks if you study well. Faculty-student ratio on an average is pretty good.

Placements are as good as any other NIT. Many reputed companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Goldman Sachs, JPM&C, Amazon, etc. come and recruit interns and offer job opportunities to students. For example, in 2020 Microsoft offered internship opportunities to 24 students. Students can sit for internships from the 4th semester, and for job opportunities from 6th or 7th semester (if they haven't got a PPO). Placement percentage hovers around 75-80%, as quite a significant percentage of students opt for higher studies directly after graduating. Highest package was 43LPA, and average is around 11-12LPA, although our college doesn't disclose the statistics for highest and average packages officially. I might go for higher studies after my bachelor's degree.

Fee hike is not that common. We have a tie up with CERN wherein every year students are sent to CERN from NIT Durgapur for internships. Many reputed companies also visit our campus for interns and job offers.

Social life is very good, albeit Durgapur being a smaller town than other metros, the nightlife isn't as good. There is a big mall and many restaurants that you can visit.There are many fests in NIT Durgapur like Quizzitch Cup (quizzing festival), Aarohan (techno-management fest), RECstacy/NITyamini (cultural fest), Verve (literary fest) and the like. They are conducted roughly from January to April. The library is pretty huge and there is a wide variety of books to choose from. We also have an e-library. There is a Sports and Activity Center, two fields, basketball courts, tennis court, and a gym. There are two auditoriums (one is already functional, the other one is being built). There are a plethora of clubs catering to all kinds of interests the students have, like cultural clubs, technical clubs, knowledge clubs etc.

The hostel facility for male students is passable, but new hostels are being built. Hostel for females, from what I've heard, is decent. Quality of food increases as the seniority rises (i.e food in 4th year>food in 3rd year and so on). You can visit other hostels to have good food though. Hall 12, the one for PhD scholars and foreign students has a canteen, not a mess, where you can purchase whatever food you want. The food there is good. Registration for hostel is done just after the admission process ends.

JEE Main, 2019, AIR 8413