Suman Ghosh's Review On Presidency University, Kolkata

I have gained a lot from this college in this three years. So all I have a very good impression about this college. The College management was very active and honest in their duties. The institute has an anti-ragging committee to ensure that there will be no such incident happen to innocent newly admitted student by the seniors.

I have taken Presidency College Entrance Exam in the respective subject Mathematics. I have secured 35 rank in that exam and gets admitted in the Mathematics Department. I have a strong base in Maths and wanted to build my career in this field. The examination was moderately difficult but I fared well to crack the written exam. There was a short interview taken by the HOD which mainly focuses on the soft skills. My dream was to get admitted in this prestigious college as Many dignified personalities passed out from this college.

The course curriculum was very much in depth at per with the Honours course. The college was under Calcutta University so it follows annual exam format. The department used to conduct class tests and other assignments to enhance the skill set. The syllabus was perfect to build the foundation for the higher level i.e. Masters and PHD.

Our college does provide internship but the opportunities were very minimal many companies used to visit the campus and provide internship opportunities to deserving students with some offer of permanent placement after completion the project and degree.

There was a placement cell through which students have been hired on campus by many companies. There was ample job opportunities in IT/ITES companies, Educational Institutions, R&D Labs, Banks, Editorial and publishing houses. To name a few companies are Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Genpact, Cognizant, ITC Infotech, HSBC, Exin Group of companies, Bridgetree, SIBIA Analytics, Ideal Analytics. Packages offered were very good as per the industry and institute standard.

The Presidency college is known for its cultural programs and Annual fest (MILIEU Annual Fest). The fest used to run for 4 to 5 days. Many celebrities and well known personalities from various fields were invited as guests and for performance. Many college students also participate in many cultural programs like singing, dancing, musical performance, drama, speech, recitation etc. Apart form that there used to be an annual sports day celebrated for all the students as well as the staff members.

The Presidency college being a fully funded Govt. Institution, the fees structure was very feasible for normal middle class people. The science department fees was a little higher than the other streams due to the Lab fees. But overall it was affordable and for higher middle class the fees was like peanuts. It was around Rs 1000 per month in 2001 - 2004.

There was a departmental as well as College scholarship available to meritorious ans deserving students. The scholarships can be availed on producing proof of parents annual income certificate and meeting some minimum academic score.

The campus life was awesome and life changing for me. It was a good mix of academic as well as cultural. The gender ratio was reasonably balanced based on the departments e.g. department like English, Sociology, Political Science etc. have female heavy where as science steams like Maths, Stat, Physics have male heavy. There were many extracurricular activities like drama, music, sports, debate competition, magazine writing etc.

The college have a limited seats hostel facility for both boys and girls. Many students used to commute from home who stays in the city or nearby. Only those students who cannot commute from their respective residence are provided hostel on demand. The boys hostel was situated adjacent to the college campus but the girls hostel was located a bit far hence they were provided a Bus service to pick and drop. The mess food was not that great but there was a canteen run the hostel authority which serves snacks and other eateries at a nominal cost. The mess charges was very minimal - Rs 500 per month.

Every graduating student of the institute have an opportunity to become an Alumni for Life time by enrolling into Presidency College Alumni Association. The institute arrange Alumni days so that Alumni members can interact with the students and share their experience and provide networks or industry contacts to the students. I had gained a lot from some of the Alumni members of our department.