How To Get Into A Good Engineering College In India

Engineering is the prime choice for students pursuing science in India. It provides a technical education with the necessary skills and abilities to perform much-needed tasks in the field. Engineering colleges have a ludicrously high demand in the Indian market, but the question is, how do you get into one.

Now, everyone associates engineering with IIT, this monolith that once you get into, you’ll be drowned in money from the get-go. That is not the case.

First of all, all IITs are not the same, they differ in faculty, facilities, average packages offered etc. Secondly, they are not the only engineering colleges in India. There exist multiple excellent governments as well as private colleges/universities.

There are a total of 16 IITs in India, the most popular being the ones in Delhi, Bombay, Madras, and Kharagpur. To get into the IITs, you have to clear the JEE (Advanced) examination that is held annually.

But to the first qualify for JEE (Advanced), you have to clear a minimum cutoff in the JEE (Mains) exam. 

Now, many excellent colleges like DTU and various NITs accept the scores of JEE (Mains) to determine the rankings for admissions.

Then there are other institutions like various colleges in GGSIPU in Delhi, VIT, and BITS Pilani which have their own admissions test. Other good colleges in India include Punjab Engineering College, IIIT-Delhi, College of Engineering, Pune etc.

Also Read: How To Get Admission In A Good Law School

The common thread in any entrance that you give is that you will be asked questions based on your +2 PCM syllabus. The questions will be based on the concepts that you have studied over the past two years but are not straightforward. They test your understanding of these concepts and how well you can apply them to problems.

Every entrance has a varied difficulty level and marking scheme. The most common scheme is +4 for every correct answer and -1 for every wrong answer. Further, you have to answer 120+ questions in 3 hours.

So, the entrance is not just about how much you know, how you attempt the examination also matters. You have to manage your limited time and aim to maximize correct answers and reduce wrong ones.

The most difficult entrance by far is the JEE (Advanced) since it is a two-part paper with very conceptual questions that require a significant amount of time to solve.

One thing to note is that almost all of the entrances do consider the marks of your board’s examinations usually in a 60:40 ratio when determining the rank. However, JEE has recently dropped these criteria.

As for the preparation, since the questions are from the syllabus that you are already studying for your board examinations, self-studying might suffice if, and only if you understand and practice your concepts and questions really well. A superficial rote knowledge might suffice in the boards, not so in the entrance exam.

There always exists the option of going for coaching classes offered by institutions like Vidyamandir Classes, FIITJEE, Narayana etc. They have well-researched modules of each subject, sub-divided by chapters. Weekly tests and regular classes help with the practicing part of the entrance-cracking equation, students have a hard time learning. 

They have to balance school with these classes and boards with entrances. The punishing schedule and barrage of information that these classes offer hampers the learning process.

But whatever the decision may be, I would highly suggest taking the test series offered by these institutions. They really help in improving time management and provide heavy revision.

So, if you decide to get into engineering, be sure that you are built out for the rigors of such a course. Study and prepare well either by yourself or in coaching classes. When going for admissions, always choose your preference of course over college. Also, remember this, if you don’t get into engineering, don’t be disappointed, you might be perfect for a  different vocation.

All the best!

Sources: Indian Express, Shiksha.com, Hindustan Times

Image Source: Google Images

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