Manipal - A home away from home

The campus is situated in such great location with lush green forests all around. Manipal is a not a very big place but the student community attracts many big brands to open their stores/outlets making it one of the developed parts of the State. It is surrounded by many number of tourist attractions like beaches, Valleys and Waterfalls. Manipal Institute of Technology offers a good amount of exposure which makes us ready to face the outer world all alone. I always feel the decision to pursue my Engineering here as one of my best decisions.

Like an average Engineering aspirant in the country I opted to take JEE Mains, and a few entrance tests of some prestigious private institutions like BITS, VIT, MIT. I was qualified for JEE Advanced and secured decent ranks in all other examinations I took. I gave more importance to the stream I wanted rather than the name of the institute. My interest was towards Electronics and Communications. So I was getting this course in VIT, MIT and few new IITs. I visited Manipal for counselling and felt very happy with the infrastructure and the opportunities this college provides and opted to pursue my Engineering here.

The Course Curriculum followed here is based on the AICTE system. The course in divided into 8 semesters and each semester is given with credits, which should be completed in order to get into the next year. Every semester has 5/6 theory subjects with 3/2 Labs. The curriculum allows the students to gain more practical knowledge, with hands on experience as, the students will be assessed on the projects we do during the semester. The Curriculum is always updating and with inclusion of Coursera as a partner from this year, it has helped many students to work on their interests.

Some companies like Microsoft, Sandisk, Amazon, Cisco, to name a few, which come for placements for final year students opt to recruit the third years for internships. They provide a stipend of around Rs. 30000 to 40000 per month. The procedure of recruiting is the same as for the placements. So the students who apply for them will get a prior exposure for campus interviews, and people who secure the internship will get an industrial experience and those who can't secure will gain experience and get prepared for the placements. We also have organisations like Iaeste and Aisec which provide foreign internships in various fields which include both Technical and Non-Technical

The placements in MIT are very good. Though we don't get the highest packages across the country but the average package is decent. There is a blend of both Software and Core Companies visiting our college for fresh recruited. We have a placement all along the 4th year. Most of the placements are along with the internships for the 8th semester which can be used as the Project.

There are mainly 2 fests in an year in MIT. One is TechTatva, the technical fest which is held in Odd Semester which gets a number of students clubs together to conduct technical events and workshops for 4 days. Revels is one of the biggest cultural and sports fest in the southern part of the country which lures a great number of outstation participants form various institutions. During Revels, we get a good number of well known and famous artists performing. Various student clubs also conduct tech-weekends with various technical events along the semester.

The fee is a bit expensive when compared to other colleges across the country, but it is worth for the infrastructure the college has. A total fee of 14 to 15 lakh is collected with 3.5 lakh to be paid in the first year and the remaining fee is to be paid before the start of every academic year. The fee should be paid at once at the start of every academic year with no installments entertained.

Scholarships are given based on the performance in the Online Entrance Test which is conducted every year in the months of April and May. There are a few scholarships for the locals. Student loans will be provided by the college in collaboration with some banks. AICTE scholarship is also offered for economically backward students which gives a waiver on tuition fee. No scholarships are offered on hostels.

Students from various parts of the country pursue their engineering here. There are a number of student clubs and student project teams which encourage students to come out of a routine academic life. Most of the students and people around the college speak English and Hindi. No political involvement is there in the college. Student projects here work on different fields like a Solar Vehicle, Formula Car, Rovers, Rockets and Robots. We also have a Student Satellite team which is working in collaboration with the scientists of ISRO. The students toil day in and day out reach their goals with their passion.

The hostels is the thing that places MIT above some of the other private institutes. We have 24 hour Wi-Fi facility in the campus. All the class rooms are air-conditioned and we'll furnished. We have a staggering number of 23 hostel blocks with a good number of Mess. Medical needs are covered by the Kasturba Medical College Hospital with an Ambulance service available in the campus for 24 hours. The mess food is decent to eat and offers a good variety. If the students opt to stay out in a PG, the total cost is almost similar to the hostel fee which varies from 1 lakh per year to 1.6 lakh for single AC room. Most of the rooms are only double sharing with a few single rooms available.

There is no ragging problem in the campus and this allows the freshers to interact with the seniors. Being part of student projects, clubs and sports teams increases the interaction with the seniors. The seniors here are always helpful and the alumni network is very strong.

The week mainly consists of 2/3 full days and 4/3 half days with labs on the full days. This leaves the student more time for pursue their hobbies and be part of various student clubs and project teams. The total evaluation is divided into 50 marks of internals and final examination of 50 marks. The internals are divided into 2 parts with 2 tests of 15 marks each which are conducted with a gap of 1 month. The other 20 marks comprises of surprise tests, assignments, presentations and projects. Most of the time it is chilled out. Even the end semester exams will be conducted with a day gap in between each exam.

I scored a total of 153 marks out of 200 in the MU-OET, the entrance which resulted in me getting a rank of 304. The admission process is very smooth. You need to visit nearby counselling center on the day you are called based on your rank in the Entrance Test. You need to carry some documents they mention with you during the counselling. You can opt the seat you want that are remaining at your rank. Once you pay the fees, your seat will be blocked.

The college is having many streams in which vary number of students are pursuing their Bachelor degree. With the increasing number of students, the faculty is also increasing but there is a lack of experience in all departments. But for the core subjects, we have good faculties with most of them being Post Graduates and some of them who completed Ph.D. The faculty is always there to help and improve the interest of the students towards the subjects. They usually follow textbooks and provide the materials in soft copies when necessary.