Life @SASTRA

Management rules are rigid and student societies are strictly banned. The rules and regulations are aimed at maintaining good campus environment but could be slightly restrictive. When not overly fussed about these minor issues SASTRA is a pleasant place to spend the most important 3-5 years of your life

Got into SASTRA in 2012 with normalized 12th score of 96.98 %. I scored 964/1000, while the top score in my board was 994. Then the admissions are 70% through 12th scores and 30% through AIEEE Currently JEE Mains score + normalized 12th score is used to fill 70% seats (with 25% and 75% weight-age respectively) and 30% seats through normalized 12th score. I chose it 'coz it is one of the renowned deemed Universities in T.N and great reputation for Mechanical Engineering. Also very economical for a private university.

In the first year, students of all branches are put together and divided into sections,because the syllabus is same and to improve cross departmental bonding between students. First year courses would be a combination of revision of necessary 12th concepts and and their higher forms (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanics, etc), and introduction to new engineering concepts (Basic Civil & Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Drawing, C & C++ etc). From the second year the courses are divided into Core papers, Elective papers and practical courses. Elective papers start from 4th semester and are allocated on first come- first served basis. A preliminary survey is taken up midway through the preceding semester to garner info on number of students interested in each elective paper available. The popular papers are availed higher no. of seats. There is the Choice Based Credit System(CBCS) for choosing the courses and corresponding professors. A Schedule is prepared for each section and the details of professors for each paper for that section are also provided to students a few days prior to CBCS registration. Students are to decide the section that they feel suitable and have to select it during the CBCS. Again it is a first come - first served basis. So there are always compromises. So better to have 2-3 options at hand and MOST IMPORTANTLY, A HIGH SPEED INTERNET CONNECTION AT HAND ON THE DAY OF CBCS. The curriculum is constantly updated and the professors (most of them) are more than capable o delivering the subject exceptionally.

University placement department provides the contacts of HR of multiple company's for the students to approach. It is on the students to have a proper resume and necessary skills to acquire the internship. With its many tie ups with foreign universities, SASTRA provides Semister Abroad Program(SAP) opportunities. Students willing to take SAP should drop in an application and their resume, stating their Areas of Expertise. Based on the projects the foreign universities are working on, students with relevant Areas of Interests are interviewed and assuming they show considerable ability in the subject, they are provided with SAPs of corresponding universities abroad

Placement opportunities in core companies for branches other than IT/CSE are higly dependant on market conditions that year. IT/CSE companies have a plethora of opportunities. Rest of the students have several consultancy, marketing and IT jobs to choose from. A student is allowed to sit until selected to one company from CORE and/or one from IT. Students are allowed to sit for interviews even after securing a placement, provided the company they are sitting for offers a package 1.5Lakh more than the company they got into.

There many cultural and tech fests in SASTRA like Kurukshastra, Hinges, Daksh, Sankalp, Collosseum and students also participate in several fests of colleges like NIT Trichy, IIT Madras, SRM, Amritha, VIT etc., Intra college fests are organised by every school showcasing the departments achievements and knowledge sharing sessions

Per semester tuition fees is around 55k Hostel Charges vary from 8k - 18k depending on the type of room chosen. There are single, double and four sharing options to choose from. Mess bills (Mess+ water + Newspapers + Electricity ) are around 3300 per month. A one time payment for WIfi, Library charges and a refundable caution are to be made at the time of admission. For each semester there would be charges fro damage/repairs for college and hostel equipment of 500 each. Exaination fee is around 1700 per semester. All in All the present day expenditure for the flagship B.Tech courses is atmost 6 lakh. Note : Academic Fee structure for NRI students is different and has to be made only in dollars.

Hostel Scholarships of 16000 per year are given to students with CGPA of 7.5+, 90% attendance and impeccable record of in time payment of mess and college bills. Students who are in the top 10% in each department are taken into deans list. The top 2% studenst receive 16000 per year and 2- 10% receive 8000 per year as study scholarships. Other than these, caste , merit and ex-servicemen child scholoarships can be availed. SASTRA has tie - ups with City Union Bank and Indian Overseas Bank (both have a branch operating from inside the university). Every student must pay the fees through these banks only (Except for students availing Educational loans from other banks, they have to give DDs drawn in favor of SASTRA University, payable at Thanjavur). CUB and IOB offer Educational Loans at decreased interest rates, sanctioned on the spot on the date of admission. Many other banks provide Educational Loans for SASTRA students at very minimal interest rates

A green campus with good infrastructure, sports facilities, Library, Gym and spacious campus. There are several clubs like Math,Dance, Dramatics, Music, Literature (English, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi) and many other sports clubs. Several inter and intra college competitions are held throughout the year. Gender ratio is very healthy nearly 50:50, sometimes 40:60 in favor of girls. A very secure campus for girls. College rules can be sometimes old fashioned and annoying but do not trouble anyone. Ladies may feel it a bit restricted but college considers safety above comfort.

1st years are provided separate hostels as the university does not wish to take slightest of chances with ragging or unruly behavior. (Ragging is a strict NO-NO in the college and those who are caught in any such incidents are immediately stripped of their candidature from the college). From 2nd years students are provided with a choice of 5 hostels to choose from with rooms in Single, 2 in 1, 4 in 1 and 6 in 1 types available. Room selection is first come first served. Hostel rent charges are minimal and so are the mess charges. the facilities in the hostels are basic and SASTRA does not encourage any special benefits to any of the students. Food is strictly vegetarian and the student have to step out the university to have any non vegetarian food. Hostel rules allow boys to be out oh hostels until 8.30pm for boys and 7pm for girls. Any students with necessity to stay out after hours are to consult the warden with valid reason. Students are allowed to leave the hostel to visit their homes or for any other requirement only twice per semester apart from open holidays, when the students are free to go home. College has a dress code of formal wear / plain jeans for boys (T shirts and Baggy jeans with multiple pockets are a NO). For girls the dress code is traditional indian wear (Chudidhars, kurtis, sarees etc., Jeans are not allowed). Girls residing in hostel are strictly not allowed to step out of university while boys have the relaxation until 8.30pm.

Many former students in respectable positions in many companies, Tech Gaints spread across Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. With it srich heritage SASTRA students are spread across the country in many companies but a major share of them are settled in the three major cities of South India

Exams are conducted in November for odd semester and April/May for even semester. Exams are conducted on alternative days either in the morning session(9-12) or the noon session(2-5). Students from 1st and 3rd years will sit for exams on one day and 2nd & 4th on the next day. Elective Papers are towards the end of the exams. Exam Schedules are released nearly 45 days prior to the end of the semester

I got a rank of 861 in the merit list. Called for 3rd session of the admission procedure. By then most of the seats in premier branches i.e., ECE, MECH, CSE, EEE are filled except those reserved for local students. I had the choice of choosing form Civil, IT, ICT, Mechatronics, Bio- groups and Integrated programs of Mech, Civil and EEE. With an affinity towards Mechanical and Automobile, I chose Integrated course in Automobile Engineering. It was a five year course with B.Tech syllabus taught along with regular B.Tech students until the end of 7th semester and M.tech syllabus in 8th & 9th semesters followed by a project in 10th semester. For integrated courses project work to be done alone. After the completion of B.Tech syllabus one cannot claim the certificate for bachelor degree. Only after the completion of 5 years do the students receive both the degrees together

Many are PhD's and have multiple Masters. Some are research students doing their PhD in the university. From Associate Professor 2 category and upwards, all the faculty have multiple years of experience in teaching and in industry. Faculty have the right to decide on whatever activity they feel is fit to assess the candidate's classroom performance (Assignments, Seminars, Mini Projects etc)