Choosing the right engineering college from the plethora of those available in India to you nowadays is probably one of the most crucial decisions you will ever make in your career. The most formative and shaping years of not just your career but life in general are spent here. A student’s perspective changes, avenues broaden, experiences prepare him/her for what he will face in the future and we couldn’t stress enough on the importance of making that right pick that may well go onto make/break your one’s life. Confused? Scared? Fear not. Stupidsid gives you a low down on how to take the tough call going parameter-by-parameter.

Firstly, every student should make a realistic list of colleges and courses he/she is getting and then thoroughly research them by reading about the college on the official website and other information portals. You should also try getting in touch with 2-3 students currently studying there and even alumni to give an all-round perspective of what life will be in college and what you will meet after graduating.

1. THE AGE/LEGACY OF THE COLLEGE

The foremost factor while choosing a college is making sure that the institute has been around long enough for it to have been established firmly. Almost all the following factors will be taken care of automatically if the institute old. All old colleges are constantly scrutinized by the government and efforts are made to upgrade and develop them from time-to-time. Beware, there are some old colleges in a bad shape so checking with current students will give you the clear picture, such colleges MUST be avoided. The most important advantage of an established college is ALUMNI NETWORK. An older institute is directly proportional to the number of alumni and if the college enjoys a good name chances are there that some alumni may have become global leaders of organizations, owning their own companies or in other influential positions. This will directly help you later in order to get internships, projects, prospective clients, form an entrepreneurship network and will also affect placements of colleges as well. 

2. INDUSTRY INTERFACE 

Engineering is a course which you cannot do justice to by doing theory from books or performing some experiments in a lab. Unless and until one goes on to try their hand at hard core industrial work, one will never be able to grasp what you have learnt and be updated with modern technological trends. If a college has high quality industry interface the prospects of your learning or getting placements, interns or projects are again brightened depending on the MoUs colleges sign with the companies. In some cases organizations are known to sponsor labs, centres of research, festivals and events of colleges. Certain technical organizations also provide advice to various student projects directly thereby making you more involved from an early stage in your career. All colleges supply information about their industry interface on their website.

3. FACULTY

They maybe your project guide, your course instructor who awards your grades or your hostel warden even if you don’t like it profs play an important role in your engineering college life. Feedback can be best obtained from current students and one must be sure to check up specific to the department of interest. Some colleges are known to have excellent faculty for core branches and M.Tech graduates teaching in other departments. Profs who have wider research exposure and industry interface should surely earn brownie points in your book when deciding the college. Please do not get bowled over by a prof who has degrees from every foreign institute. All such professors need not be excellent teachers or mentors.

4. PLACEMENTS AND ADMITS

This is important for you to know where you may end up after your four years in the college. A fat paycheque and wider job variety is far easier to obtain in established and reputed top colleges. Again check with students currently studying and alumni specifically in this case to know if placements in your branch of interest are good. If you intend to study some more and get an admit for MS from your dream Ivy League university name and reputation will count a lot. Getting recommendations from profs again will count here so find out whether they are approachable enough to help you in your application procedure.

5. LIVING CONDITIONS AND CROWD

If you are going to be an hosteller, which is again recommended to improve your experience at large and make your development complete, it is important that you know about living conditions, mess and also other food options available near and around. Find out if basic amenities, hygienic food which is also palatable and most importantly sanitation is not a problem at all. Lastly and most importantly CROWD. Your interaction with the junta of your college will leave a great impact on you. A good crowd will expose you to a large number of ideas, activities and makes your stay a lot more enjoyable. You will definitely be able to enjoy your festivals better and become closer. It is well known that many batch mates go on to start businesses together. All this is possible only if you have excellent peers. A cosmopolitan crowd exposes you to all kinds of cultures and people which again has far reaching consequences in your people management skills in the long run.

If you intend to be a day scholar consider proximity of college to your house as well. Find out if there are convenient modes of travel which will not take too long. If your spending a large chunk of your time in a day travelling then you may want to rethink your choice of college. Weigh your pros and cons accordingly while choosing between a reputed college which is far away from home and a not so reputed one closer to your home.

6. Fees

Another factor which may matter at times is the fees of the institute. If you find the fees to be a bit stiff, do not get distressed, approach banks for educational loans or apply for scholarships which are available. Information regarding this is provided by college offices and websites. Banks rarely turn away kids who have landed seats in good colleges hence that option can be kept open if you want to take the risk of taking a loan.

LASTLY, do not get tense and discouraged. Keep calm and have faith in the choices you make. Back yourself at all times. Hope for the best and everything will end up just the way you want it. Punditji wishes you all the best in all your endeavours. 

Image Courtesy: myfootpath.com