A rollercoaster ride

All in all, the overall college life is good but a lot can be done by the college management in many areas. Judging students on the basis of their CGPAs is the only thing which I do not like about the college environment.

Like admission to any engineering course, students had to appear for AIEEE in the earlier years, I too appeared for JEE Mains exam in the year 2015 to bag a seat in this college. I applied for this college by an offline form which I availed directly from the college and I got the counseling email for day 2. I could check the status of the admission online as they were continuously updating it on the website. I was mentally prepared for my admission tomorrow and finally when I saw that students were being called up on the stage in the increasing order of their JEE Mains rank. I had a rank of 185289 and so by the time my number came, I was only left with ECE Integrated branch so I locked my seat in that branch. No interview process was followed as the admission is totally merit-based and I like that procedure. To be honest, I had an inclination towards CS since my school time so I wanted a seat in CSE branch but I had no option except to choose a seat in ECE Integrated branch because only that was left. I am not really fond of electronics but I yeah, the course is treating me well.

The course is very comprehensive and thus demands the student to study a lot to grasp all of it. The first 2 years of the course was great but I felt at some point of time that the course is not that much updated with the time we are living in right now (well, the course is defined by the HRD ministry so college is not really at fault). As of now, I've had 7-8 Labs for the ECE course and not a lot of them encouraged practical knowledge but limited to the simulation of projects mentioned in the Lab manual. Yes, the institute is involved in research projects too about which I do not have much idea. Though, our college hosts International conference for ECE dept where everyone presents their research paper. As of now, I did not get any elective for ECE branch subjects but I do have electives for Humanities branch.

The college doesn't help in providing internship to the students. Though college is supportive in terms of formal requirements for an internship of a student needs it but doesn't facilitate any internship drive for students. Students are expected to find their internships on their own. Since students find internships for themselves on their own so average stipend cannot be commented upon.

The placement scenario of the college is quite good. Last year, 27 Lakhs was the highest package given by Amazon. Some of the prominent companies that come to our college for hiring freshers are Amazon, AWS, and Deloitte. Lately, many startups are also coming for campus recruitment. As per the past statistics I remember, it is always more than 100%. I do not have much knowledge about average package because it is not officially announced.

The college is busy with events throughout the year. Technical events like Line follower robot competition, Cyber Sristhi are organized apart from small events by individual hubs like Programming competitions. "Impressions" is the cultural fest of JIIT with an average footfall of 10000 in the span of two days. Other events of the college include Garba Night, Musical night and joust, to name a few! College does provide all the help needed to organize these events but management as a whole participates only for International conferences like IC3, ICSC etc. Our college is more of into academics so they do not give permissions for cultural events easily but its somehow managed.

The fee keeps on getting revised. When I took admission in 2015, this was the fee: Semester Fee= Rs. 65,000 Development Fee= Rs. 60,000 (yearly) I haven't any taken any hostel room so my fee= Rs. 65,000*2+ Rs. 60,000= Rs. 1,90,000 My friends have taken hostel so they pay an additional fee of Rs. 55,000 per semester for the hostel. So for the students with a hostel seat, the fee= Rs. 3,00,000 (Approx) For a girl hailing from a middle-class family like me, this fee wasn't really affordable but somehow we have to compromise for our future so finally took admission here. Moreover, this is the fee scenario for any Private engineering college in India so we had to digest it.

The college recently started giving 2 scholarships, details of which are mentioned on the website. I did not avail those scholarships as I did not fit the criteria. The college allows some banks to set up stalls in the college on the days of counseling so that parents can avail the loan facility for admission if needed.

There is no as such facility for students who are into sports as the campus is not that big. The only time students can explore different areas of their interest is during events. As for me, I'm into debating so I discovered my inner talent of debating by joining the society and that has helped me a lot.

No, I haven't taken the hostel but I do visit hostel often to sleep. The rooms are on double sharing basis and students are given the freedom to choose their floor and wings for the hostel second year onward. The overall campus of JIIT is very clean and so are hostels. The hostel fee is Rs 55000 per semester and it is worth it because the college also provides AC facility in the night. There are different rules for girls and boys hostel but overall, no student is allowed to exit the campus after 10 PM due to safety reasons. The food is okay. There is not that much variety in the menu but students are somehow managing with whatever is available. The mess follows strict timings and the weekly menu is also put outside the mess for the students to read what they will be served in the week. There is no option of snacks, just three times meals and hence students have to depend on the outside food for the evening snacks.

The official Facebook page of our college often publishes stories of the Alumni and allows the current students to connect with them. I've been very much guided by my seniors as they have walked in our shoes as students and they know which way is right and which is wrong. Many alumni have been contributing to the overall growth of the college as they do visit the college for recruitment, thus ensuring some placement.

Exam culture has never been a chill culture in the lifetime of an Indian student but then, college exams life is that spicy sauce in the already smoking spicy food of the student life. JIIT Exams system is pretty exhaustive and similar to the school system. T1(20 marks), T2(20 marks), and T3(35 marks) in one semester are equivalent to FA1, FA2, and SA1 of what we had in school. The time between T1-T2 and T2-T3 is kept for 2 lab evaluations, 20 marks each. The remaining time is gone through the hassle of submitting assignments and projects so it is difficult to realize how time passed by. Other universities have just 2 exams in a semester but the 3 exam system in JIIT crunches the social life of the student.

The faculty qualification varies as per the courses and department of the subject. Senior teachers usually do not teach 1st and 2nd-year students so I've never really got any chance to study under any professor except a few cases. Well, those professors are always available for the help if any student approaches them. I personally approached some of them for understanding few topics and they were supportive. Very few teachers are interactive as per my experience with the college in past 2 years otherwise most of them just follow the conventional teacher-student relationship and end up making the lecture boring. All in all, the standard of teaching is quite good if the student pays attention. Weekly tutorials to clear the doubts of students is pertaining to the lecture is very effective and course material updated on college's common server ensures the uniformity of the final course that all the students of a branch study. Students are also given regular assignments so that students understand the practical application of the concepts.