One for future architects

The college management has been very successful in shifting to our new permanent campus which is now located in the heart of the city. Though there has been some academic mismanagement which has caused difficulties for students, but overall the management is good enough for a national institution.

I took the JEE Mains Paper 2 exam for admission in SPA-V. I scored 225 in the exam and coupled with my board marks, I secured an All India Rank of 4091. I opted for this college because it is one of the three central government colleges in India which specialize in the field of architecture and planning and the full focus of authorities lies in these 2 departments itself as compared to IITs and NITs.

The course curriculum has specifically been designed to provide ample theoretical as well as practical knowledge to the architects of future. In the initial semesters, the focus is more on the development of creative ideas and thought process. Later in the course, the design problems are made more practical and realistic for the practical experience of students.

For an architecture student in SPAV, the 8th semester is completely dedicated to the internship at an architectural firm wherein the student has to spend 20 weeks and work for the firm. Later in the semester, there is an overall evaluation of the work done by the student over the course of those 20 weeks. Regarding the stipend, it depends on the firm the student applies to. It could range from 1000 per month to even 16-17000 per month.

There is never a placement in the campus for an architecture student. At present, there isn't a working placement cell at our college. Also, the system of companies and package doesn't work like engineering in this field. Through the course of five years, a student works on multiple projects; both academic and non-academic. All of this data along with training experiences has to be put in one's portfolio. The portfolio is what matters the most in our field. So once a student passes out of college, he/she has to apply to companies with his/her portfolio.

Every year our college celebrates the annual cultural fest, Inyaan. It is generally held in the month of January. Its participation has grown over the years. In the recently concluded Inyaan, we had visitors from the neighboring colleges too. Apart from that the college also hosts annual sports week too.

The fee structure is too feasible if compared to the current fee structures of IITs or NITs. For a general student, the annual tuition fees amount to 35000 and in addition to some other necessary fees, the total college fee amounts to 43000. If a student avails hostel accommodation, then availing mess facilities is mandatory. The annual mess and hostel fees total to 38000.

Being a general caste student, I don't get a scholarship from the college but the institution does provide for scholarships for SC/ST students as well as students from Andhra Pradesh. I am actually not very sure about this aspect.

The hostels are exceedingly well suited for the students. For students up to the second year, the room has been provided on a twin sharing basis. From third year onwards, students have their individual rooms. The rooms are sufficiently spacious for comfortable living. The number of hostel rooms is quite enough to fit in all the requirements.

This course extensively requires the guidance of seniors and super seniors. Also, it is seniors who pass on the baton for different college activities to their juniors. So, overall the relationship between juniors and seniors is quite good.

The most important subject taught in architectural colleges is Architectural Design which carries the maximum marks weightage too (550 out of 1600 in our case). During any one particular semester, there aren't a lot of tests and the exams take place only at end-sem. But, there are times when a lot of submissions could pile up altogether leaving a student with a hectic day.

During the form filling process for JEE Mains, there is an option of choosing whether a candidate wants to choose enginnering or architecture or wishes to appear for both. I chose to appear for both the papers. After getting my detailed rank and score sheet, I had to lock my choices of preferable institutes for counselling. I had preferred all the SPAs (Delhi, Bhopal and Vijayawada) in my locking choices. After being allotted a seat in SPAV, I had to report there with all the necessary documents.

The least requirement for a faculty to teach in SPAs is to have a master's degree, which ensures almost all of them have sufficient experience and exposure to shape the future of students. Most of them have professional experience and the institution also arranges for time to time guest lectures from various architects and planners for an interactive session with the students.