Vidyalakshmi Padmaja's Review On Amrita School Of Engineering - [ASE], Coimbatore

This was and is one of the best institutions in South India with excellent faculty; exemplary facilities and amazing infrastructure. The bountiful placement opportunities is just the cherry on the cake. It doesn't hurt to study in a scenic ambiance that urges everyone to become a photographer.

I took the Tamil Nadu State Entrance Exams in 2006, this was a year or two before Amrita introduced their own entrance exams (AEEE). I forget what my score was but it did not really matter - I was a big time Chemistry buff and Amrita, Coimbatore being one of the only colleges in Coimbatore to offer Polymer Engineering (the name is changed to Chemical Engineering now) - I opted for the Polymer Engineering course. So it was more or less a straight-forward decision for me.

The course curriculum, not limiting to Chemical Engineering/Polymer Engineering, is one of the best in the state. I can safely say that it was on-par with the IITs of the country. There was a good mix of practical and theory subjects with enough emphasis on research and paper publication. I think by the end of 4 years, I would have be a part of at least 10 conferences and symposium.

Internship opportunities are only a handful for the Engineering graduates since it is not a requirement. And the stipend depends entirely on the Organisation offering the internship and also the time period. The college, however, encourages students to conduct industry visits and collaborate with organisations for the end-of-course projects.

Our university is known for its placement opportunities in the state. The university strives for 100% placement year-on-year. Some of the best companies visit the campus every year. Companies like Caterpillar, TCS, CTS, Infosys, Google, Schneider, etc are regulars.

The culturel events in the college are so many that if you are extremely active extra-cultural wise, you will be spoilt for choice. ANOKHA is one of the biggest events of the college - a technical symposium; NRITYA & RAAGA are the dance and music events. Apart from these, Talent shows and Public Speaking events are a common occurrence in the college.

The fee cant be compared to Government institutions, of course, which offers subsidized rates. Given all the facilities and opportunities provided by the university more or less justifies the fee structure. I wouldn't know about the fee structure now; because I passed out in 2010.

The campus life is one of the best in the state. It is located at the foot of mountains and you can get one of the best views in the city. The campus is home to peacocks, rabbits and other animals. Gender ratio is more or less equal except in departments like Mechanical engineering which is more or less male-dominated. If I have to talk about diversity, it is more or less South Indian dominated but lately there is an increasing number of non-South Indians being students as well.

Just like in every other hostel facility and mess, it is good till it grows on you. The wardens and the management are a bit stringent on the rules like mess timing, going out of the campus, using mobile phones and laptops. Hostel rooms are aplenty; because of the location of the campus.

The alumni network is very strong. There are individual networks also that are set up for specific purposes like helping juniors with MS or PhD studies etc.

The exam structure was very similar to most colleges, there is an something called Periodicals (Internals) every 2 months and then the end semester exams. Sometimes pop quizzes or class tests depending on the faculty. But it wasn't too hectic. The evaluation method is continuous evaluation which means your attendance and your participation class is given more weight-age than the written exams.

I went down to the administration office and got the Admission packet which had the Application forms and other forms I had to fill out - like if I am opting to be in hostel or if I am a day-scholar, if I would be taking the college bus service. After which in April of 2006 I got a call for the counselling session (independent). During the counselling session, we got to meet with the professors in the department including the HOD to ask them any questions we might have. And we had to make our decision then, pay an advance in the fee. The course was to start mid-June.

The faculty members are all extremely competent with a number of years of industry experience and/or a Doctorate specializing in their areas of expertise. In the Chemical Engineering department atleast, the faculty members were more or less like a family - we even had one or two faculty from other departments come and teach us for our electives.