An Honest review of MBBS at Chettinad Academy of Research and Education

The course of MBBS is a very different course than any other course, it is a very rigorous course that almost dries you out of time in your student life. This course, how much ever rigorous it may be, prepare you to be a doctor and prepare you to fight through problems just for the noble cause of helping people get better physical healthwise. The CBME curriculum, that the college follows, has many advantages especially in practical scenarios. However, some parts of the curriculum may feel very redundant. The frequency of the exams can be said as pretty frequent, along with a medium difficulty. If you study well, it can easily be aced.

The college provides a mandatory internship program during the last year of the course, it has a stipend of around 8 to 10 thousand rupees a month. The internship process is done in order to make you get used to the the clinical side.

The course has a very high fee(incl. tuition, hostel, books, misc.) of 1.25Cr over a span of 5 years, which may be higher for the future batches. The fee you pay on the first year stays the same without any hikes for your specific batch. You do recieve scholarships if you perform good in the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate). Campus does not provide a proper employment, unless you count the mandatory internship which do promise a stipend per month during the final year of the course.

The campus life of Chettinad is very quiet, however when given the oppurtunities, the campus is very lively. The library of the college has a massive selection of medical books and journals, if any book you require is not there, you can just write a request letter and they will bring it to the library asap. You can also reserve books you want to borrow if its already borrowed. Classrooms are usually provided with projector screen which is very well used by the lecturers. The extracurricular scene of the college is not much lively, with the first years not even being given the oppurtunity.

The hostel has various types of rooms available: 1. Triple Accomodation, Common Bathroom, AC/Non AC : 1.5-2L 2. Double Accomodation, Common Bathroom/Attached, AC/Non AC: 2.2-2.5L 3. Single Accomodation, Attached Bathroom, AC/Non AC: 2.5/3L The prices are expensive for what you are provided with, but you get a decent service for your room. The food is sub-par, edible, but not something you will be looking for much. Hostel registration is done during the admission process for the college.

The eligibility of the course is based on the rank obtained in NEET(UG) Exam that occurs annually during the month of May every year. The elegibility criterion of Chettinad Academy of Research and Education was about 167 marks in 2023. This may increase or decrease depending on the cut-offs every year. The application form is provided in the college if you have availed for the college during the online counselling process done by NTA.

In a regular classroom, there are a total of 250 students causing a very absurd 1:250 faculty-student ratio. However, even with this ratio, the students are given equal and almost indiviual attention. Doubts can be asked during a lecture and always are answered. There is a different form of lecture, called as small group lectures with a ratio of 1:50, this helps much during in-class interactions. The faculty members have a degree in MBBS along with a MD/MS in their respective departments. They take a very practical approach to teaching, using as many case studies as possible. Mentorship program exists for each department, the mentors are assigned to each student who are very approachable at any time of the day during class hours. Teachers are very approachable and friendly to the students. They are ready to help you with your doubts without shunning you at any point.