How do you choose a college?

Updated on: Monday, June 21, 2010

With the merit list for engineering admissions released on Friday and the medical admissions merit list released already, students wishing to take up professional courses know where they stand in the pecking order. The question that must be uppermost in the minds of parents and students now is: How do we find out what college or course to take?

The first choice to make is, of course, whether to take up medicine or engineering. While too many students will not face this dilemma usually, for those who do, it is better to decide on this one based on interest rather than perceptions about job opportunities, educationists say. Once that is decided, the next question is what course and which college. “Any course in a good college will do,” one line of thought says. Another proclaims that a “good course is more important to choose. It does not matter which college you do it in.”

“The atmosphere in which students do their engineering or medicine is very important. The courses are all standardised and every engineering stream has both interesting elements for students and also good opportunities,” says one engineering college professor. Sudha Seshayyan, registrar-in-charge, Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, recently said that taking up MBBS in any government medical college is the same as good faculty and infrastructure standards are maintained.

Infrastructure, quality of the faculty and of the students, the nature of placements, and other facilities are some of the important factors that decide whether the atmosphere of the college is conducive or not.

One student of a city-based college says the classroom atmosphere immediately became challenging and interesting compared to the school atmosphere but classmates helped ease the burden and over time the learning process became fun.

The Directorate of Technical Education (DOTE) has already put up some of the details already available with officials on its website www.tndte.com. The infrastructure details are also available in the handbook provided along with application forms.

Kumar Jayant, commissioner for technical education, says that the information on the infrastructure provided on the website is given by the colleges themselves. “Students should see what is available in which colleges. We have also put up the details of the pass percentages of students in different departments. Students can evaluate how different colleges are based on these to some extent,” he says.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in a bid to improve transparency has asked all institutions to place online all the relevant details. But some of these reforms have run into problems with various associations saying it is infeasible to do in a short time. A case is pending in the Madras High Court and an AICTE official says the hope is that colleges will realise it is good for them in the long run to be transparent.

Ranking of colleges

But ranking of colleges based on their pass percentages or other parameters is difficult, says P. Mannar Jawahar, vice-chancellor, Anna University, Chennai. There are other factors that determine if a college is good including placements, the qualifications of the teachers, the research projects undertaken, he says. Many of these details are usually obtained by talking to students of the college and professors.

Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy advises students to visit the campuses and get a first-hand feel of what the institution of their choice has to offer them. When pointed out that many institutions did not allow parents and students to enter the colleges, he said such things could be brought to the notice of the government, but emphasised that it was important to know if what was promised on paper was delivered.

Students should also be aware of capitation fees being collected by various colleges and other practices not according to the rules. The Tamil Nadu State Council for Technical Education has recently been formed and it would take note of all these issues, says Principal Secretary for Higher Education, K. Ganesan.

R. Ramaprabhu, former dean, College of Engineering, Guindy campus, adds another dimension to be taken care of: aptitude for engineering. He says many students blindly choose a subject assuming it will be good in the job market or because their peers have taken it up. He points out that aptitude in Maths or Physics may not translate into an aptitude for engineering.

How do you choose a college?

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