#  > Engineering Entrance Exam Resources/Ask the Experts - For U.G. Entrance Exams >  > Engineering as Career Discussion Zone - for Engineering Aspirants >  >  Factors to consider while choosing an engineering college

## Manoj

*Factors to consider while choosing an engineering college*

After the 12th  Board exams, it seems there is no rest for the students wanting to  pursue engineering studies. Theres a tirade of examinations to decide  the college where youll spend the next four years of your life. But  with the vast number of colleges already present in India and new  colleges coming up every other day, how to choose an engineering college  best suited to you?  
 Before  opting for any private engineering college, there are some specific  deciding factors which may help you make a wise decision.

 1. *Affiliation and Accreditation:*  These days in news we often find many colleges being shut down due to  false accreditation. Before opting for a college, one MUST check if the  college has proper accreditation (i.e. to a central governing body, like  AICTE) and affiliation to a valid technical university of the state.  For admission to new colleges, be sure to check the accreditation and  affiliation details. These details can be found on the college website  or on AICTE website or on the State Technical University website. This  is of utmost importance hence one must ensure genuine details of the  college.

 2. *College establishment*:  Reputation of a college is an important factor. One may not feel that  way while enrolling, but after graduation it works like your identity  tag in the job industry. Hence, do a thorough background-check of the  college. If you are considering admission to a relatively new college,  do make it a point to speak to the college management about the various  facilities they provide.

 3. *Infrastructure*:  Infrastructure is one of the pillars supporting an institution. It is  of vital importance that the college must have a good infrastructure  with classrooms, lecture halls and most importantly laboratories. It  would be a great discomfort having to attend lectures and classes in  another college building (as happens in case of many new colleges). Be  forewarned that the impressive buildings on the pamphlets are normally  graphically designed. Please ensure that the college has the minimum  requirements in terms of infrastructure by speaking to the locals or ex  students who can vouch for it. If possible, do go and visit them before  taking admission.

 4. *Laboratories*:  As engineering students, half of the academic schedule would go into  labs right from the first year. Hence, the labs must be well equipped  with ample lab assistants. This can be found out either from the college  website or ex-students of the college.

 5. *Teaching Staff*:  Any engineering college is as good as the teachers who teach in it.  AICTE has strict instructions that any teacher (basic lecturer) has to  have an MTech degree. However, this is not the practical case in many  colleges. In lesser known colleges, teachers are BTech passouts  (sometimes even from the same college itself!) with very less teaching  exposure. Before you apply to any college, you MUST check the teaching  fraternity who are present in the college. Most good colleges have this  information on their websites. However, if this information is not  available, you can contact the college and ask for information on the  teachers.

 6. *Pre-placement Training*:  In todays recession times, finding a job after spending 4 years in  engineering studies is something most students are worried about.  However, they cant just sit for the placements; they need to prepare  for these exams. Students need to be given an environment to develop the  extra-curricular skills through interaction with the industry and  continuous learning. Hence, before choosing a college, it is essential  to check for the campus placement preparatory facilities provided by the  college. 

 7. *Campus Placement*:  Due to the recession, companies are becoming very choosy in their  recruitments. Also, they are going only to the top 10 or 15 private  colleges in every state. Hence, one must ensure that the previous campus  placement record of the college has been good and that the college has  tie-ups with reputed companies for campus placements.

 8. *Industrial Trips*:  Although this might seem trivial, industrial visits or industrial  internships are very important to engineering studies. Sadly, not all  technical universities have introduced industrial internship as part of  their academic curriculum. Hence, before one applies to a college, they  must check if they have such internships in their curriculum.

 9. *Cost of education*:  Of course another important thing, which most parents ironically  consider first, is the cost of the education. Private engineering  colleges will definitely be costlier than government ones. Some colleges  are transparent in their expenses whilst others are not. It is  important to have a clear knowledge about which category your desired  college falls into.

 10. *Co-curricular Activities*:  All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy. This saying is very apt in  todays engineering studies. Prospective employers are looking for  students with a complete personality i.e. someone who balances academics  and co-curricular activities. Before applying to a college, do check if  they have avenues for sports and cultural events. These might not seem  very crucial to selection of a college, but it plays an important role  in the all round development of a student.

 11. *Location of the college*:  Although this might seem a very trivial matter, many students dont  like the location of the college with respect to distance from main  city, lack of amenities around the campus, poor transport facilities to  the main city, etc. Sometimes the campuses might be situated at the  outskirts of the city with means of basic amenities at a distance as far  as 15-20 kms. It might become very cumbersome to travel such a distance  (especially in times of medical emergencies). Further, please do check  if the city is prominent enough to be a centre for competitive exams  like IAS/CAT/GATE, etc. This will prevent lot of journey time. If not,  check for the closest prominent cities which may be exam centre. Hence,  location of the college must be kept in mind before applying.

 12. *Availability of Coaching Centres*:  Availability of coaching centres around the college and the outlook of  the college management towards students taking those courses can also be  an important factor. For students interested to appear for competitive  exams after their Btech, these centres play an instrumental role in  their preparations. If such centres are available at close proximity to  the college, it would save lot of time on travelling to and fro  everyday.

 13. *Others*:  Finally, the kind of intellectual and cultural environment of a college  should be evaluated. Find out what kind of students enroll in the  college, the frequency of meets from outside colleges, any guest  lectures or workshops from reputed people in the industry, etc. The four  years of engineering life should be a balanced mix of rich learning,  interactive colleagues, all round development in cultural and  extra-curricular activities and a wholesome personality.


 At  all stages, it is very essential to be in touch with the alumni of the  college one is interested to apply for. They are the only people who  will give you an unabridged version of the way things are done in that  college. Also, the college websites are a rich repository of  information. If you are on a social networking site like Orkut or  Facebook, chances are there must be a community of the college you are  interested to apply for. Hence, you can interact with the students,  teachers, alumni members, etc and follow the latest happenings in the  college.

 These  are the most important factors which will help you choose the college  of your liking. Remember, college life is the most exciting and  happening phase in anyones life. Make a wise decision, make a wise  choice.





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## sciengprof

An informative post.But I'd like to add one simple,but very important point which you missed out .i.e  "one's interest in his/her chosen branch".

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## vrishtisingh

Nice article with good reply by scinceprof......

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## hitesh190289

nice article with needful information

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## hitesh190289

most imp it's placement record

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