BITSian - to be or not to be

Admission to BITS Pilani is done through the entrance exam BITSAT. It's a multiple-choice question exam consisting of 450 marks and tests the applicant on Maths, Physics, Chemistry, English and Logical Reasoning. All admissions are on the basis of this entrance and are merit-based, there are no reservations whatsoever. For details regarding admission procedure, visit www.bitsadmission.com

I chose this course because the course focuses more on electronics as compared to traditional electrical engineering, which is an industry-relevant sector and allows me to pursue relevant core electronics engineering as well as giving me the option to pivot to software engineering if I so desire. Faculty to student ratio is generally decent in BITS, however, it's the lowest for electronics. The faculty is very qualified, teaching method for most leaves a lot to be desired, a lot of studying would have to be done on your own. Exams will be difficult, passing should not be very difficult given that you study a little.

The college offers 2 placement drives called Practice School 1 & 2 respectively. You pay around 70K to be eligible for the first one, are offered no stipend, and get the most basic of jobs as your internship. you are offered a stipend of anywhere from 30K-90K in your second internship at top tier companies like Microsoft, JP Morgan and Amazon, and often get placed directly in these companies. The projects are centred around web development, data science, or quantitative finance.

Students are eligible for placements from their 4th year (5th year for dualities). Over 100 companies visit the campus and most people get placed. Big tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and Uber hire from here, while core companies like Snapdragon, Qualcomm, Mercedes Benz, and Exxon Mobil also show up. Finance and consultancy companies like Deloitte and JP Morgan also show up. Microsoft has hired many students over the years, and offers the highest package at around 40 LPA. The average placement package is around 13LPA. Excluding the people who opt out of placements, 90%+ people get placed.

BITS is very expensive, and this is one downside of taking admission to this college. Fee hike happens every year and it's about 8-10%. Do not take admission if you are under immense financial stress and have a suitable alternative. That said, there are merit-based (very difficult to get) and need-based (depending on monthly income) scholarships. You are applying for the latter only if your family's income is below 12LPA (approximate figure) The need-based scholarship is quite helpful and saves 25-75% of your tuition fee, based on your CGPA. You can also apply as a teaching assistant for a stipend of 5K per semester if you wish.

The annual cultural festival is called Pearl and is held in October. The annual technical fest, called Atmos, is held in March. The library is well furnished with books and journals, and classrooms are all air-conditioned with smartboards. There are a plethora of technical and cultural clubs and associations on campus, like CruX, the computer programming club, SEDS, the aerospace club, Ad Astra, the astronomy club, and Wall Street Club, the finance and trading club, to name a few. There are also college teams for various sports like cricket, volleyball, football, hockey and Frisbee.

BITS Pilani has compulsory hostel accommodation for all. The hostels are quite well maintained and managed. You are allotted a double room and one roommate in the first year and are allotted a single room all for yourself by 3rd year latest. A single room consists of a chair, a desk with drawers, a bed and a wardrobe. I found it to be spacious and did not have any issues. The meals are edible and better than most other colleges. They aren't particularly nutritious or delicious but are palatable. Mess and hostels aren't particularly affordable but aren't expensive either.