My experience at IIT Kharagpur

I took the IIT-JEE examination and got a rank of 3398. I took this course in order to pursue my interest in the field of Mathematics and it's applications. IIT Kharagpur is the oldest and one of the most reputed IITs.

The course is very well designed covering a variety of aspects in the field of Mathematics and Computing. It starts with basic courses like Mathematics-I and Mathematics-II in the first year. For students without any coding background, there is an introductory programming course in C programming. The following years contain various courses across various disciplines in Mathematics and Computer Science.

In the pre-final year, companies come from August to December with for hiring interns. Every company has different stipends. Investment banks like Deutsche Bank provide stipends up to INR 60,000 for the two months summer internship period along with other perks like accommodation in a 5-star hotel for a week and commuting fare. There is also a good opportunity for receiving a pre-placement offer from these companies.

IITs are well-known for their placements and job opportunities. Tests for various companies start in August following potential candidates are short listed. The hiring process starts on December 1 with top companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon (coding firms) and Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse (investment banks) coming for recruitment.

The fee structure is quite reasonable. I'll be able to shed light on the fee structure at my time i.e. from 2009-2014. The cost per semester was approximately INR 50,000 (including tuition fees, mess charges, hostel accommodation, etc.). Students of pure sciences courses (like Mathematics and Computing, Chemistry, Physics, etc.) are eligible for INSPIRE scholarship which provides INR 80,000 per year.

Students of pure sciences courses (like Mathematics and Computing, Chemistry, Physics, etc.) are eligible for INSPIRE scholarship which provides INR 80,000 per year. This scholarship is provided by the Department of Science and Technology, India. This covers most of the fee for the institute and is very helpful.

The gender ratio is very low, more like 9:1 (boys vs girls). There are a variety of cultural societies and workshops held all year long at IIT Kharagpur. These include societies pertaining to music, dance, debating, art, etc. Students can participate in these and learn a lot. Societies like that of robotics can help a student plan a career in this field too.

IIT Kharagpur follows a semester system. Every year has 2 semesters with 2 sets of examinations each for the subjects taught in the semester. The exams are held for 1 week across all department and all subjects of one's semester (generally 5-6 subjects) are clubbed in this period. The mid-semester exams last for 2 hours and the end semester exams last for 3 hours for every subject.

I'm not sure about the dates of the interview process. I was provided with an invitation for a counselling session in Roorkee where I filled a list of courses I'm interested in. I was also provided with a brochure containing a rough mapping about the nature of the course one can get for a given rank. Accordingly, I'd listed all the courses I'm interested in and the corresponding the insitute in the form.

IITs tend to have the best and the most reputed faculty across the country (as well as the globe). Thus, all the teachers are highly knowledgeable and experts in their fields. They have several research papers published in reputed journals. In every semester, some teachers become one's favourites, primarily due to their teaching style.