As students are about to complete their class 12th, they are presented with an intimidating task, choosing a college. In particular, for Science students who aspire to become Engineers, the task is especially difficult. India is home to the IITs, NITs, and many more high-ranking universities and colleges that provide Engineering courses. So how does one filter through them and decide on a final college?

Some of the best engineering colleges in Kerala not only provide students with a choice for Engineering specializations but also spoil them with some of the best faculty and infrastructure.

Let us help you with the guidelines prepared below on choosing the right engineering college.

How to choose an Engineering college

Engineering Specialisation: Indian Engineering colleges have a lot of specializations. Besides the traditional specializations like Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, there are more. Some up-and-coming specializations that are growing in popularity are Food Technology, Dairy Technology, Cyber Security, Agricultural Engineering. Take time to research all available specializations and choose one based on likes and dislikes. Look up the career graph of each specialization, job profiles, and also the salary range. Each specialization will have its own set of challenges and problems that will only get harder but with enough passion, one would be able to stay motivated.

Note Down College Criteria: Before one can go about looking at the colleges that offer chosen specialization and shortlist the favorites, one must understand what factors to look at these colleges. Each college will have something unique to offer besides the basic offerings that must be paid attention to. Start by looking at the course tuition and fees, college accreditation, infrastructure, facilities, financial aid. One must also pay attention to the faculty of the chosen specialization and their qualification, how far the college is from home, transport facilities, the faculty-student ratio, etc. For each college looked up, match it up against the criteria list and check which ones meet the most criteria.

Shortlist and Rank Colleges: With shortlisting criteria for colleges set down, start looking up colleges. It is always a good idea to refer to the national ranking lists for the top engineering colleges in the country. During this process, more shortlisting criteria will be added such as entrance examination scores required, cut-offs, placements, etc. Here, one good practice is to have backup specializations in case the applicant does not make it to the first specialization. Look up colleges and match the criteria for each specialization. With a list of colleges, prepare rankings, for easy reference and also make it easy to apply to colleges later.

Understand Priorities: Everyone is brand conscious today, including in education. Try not to look only at the brand value of a college but it should also not be completely ignored. Enrolling into a lower-ranked college will be just as disastrous as taking admission into a college just for the glamour of it. The IITs and the NITs are a dream for many engineering aspirants. However, these colleges are highly competitive and many of the cities these colleges are in are riddled with depression and high suicide rates. There are many more colleges on an equal footing that must be considered in case of rejection from the highest-ranking colleges.

Engineering Examinations: The top B.Tech colleges in Kerala and across India accept both national, state, and university level entrance tests. The most popular tests accepted at most universities are the JEE Main and JEE Advanced. These are national-level tests that witness thousands of applicants every year. Competition is, without a doubt, high and the cut-offs change year to year. Prepare for the tests that are accepted at the shortlisted colleges in the previous steps. Refer to school-level books to clear up the basics of Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics for the examination. Take care to clear not just the overall cut-off but also the section cut-offs for the tests. With the test results in hand, the next step is counseling and taking admission.

Scholarships and Financial Aid: All eligible colleges and universities offer several scholarships and financial aid. These scholarships are funded by central, state, and also private organizations. Depending on merit or need basis students can avail full or partial financial aid. To understand all available schemes, one must contact the college admissions office. Alternatively, individuals can refer to the official websites as well. Applications are online and require the chosen student to keep up their examination aggregate scores to continue receiving the funds.

Campus Tours: Before proceeding to the final step in the admissions process and choosing the right college for engineering, students can take campus tours. Students can contact their chosen colleges if they are allowed to take up campus tours. While there, take note of the traffic, hostels, library, facilities like wifi, laundry, etc. If possible talk to senior students present on the campus and also teachers to get any doubts cleared up. If any college or institute is able to induce instant comfort then it could be the right college choice.

Counseling: Once the entrance examination has concluded and results are out, merit lists are released. Post this, all applicants go through a counseling session. In the counseling session, students are assigned seats in colleges as per their choices dictated in the application form along with other details like grades and category too. The counseling round usually takes place at the university campuses but due to covid, the process took place online. Students need to take all necessary documents for admission and submit them along with the admission fee to secure a seat at the specialization and college of choice.

Engineering is a cut-throat educational field to get into and also survive and earn a degree. India has many highly ranked colleges that have an entrance test-based admissions process. Choosing between these colleges requires much groundwork to be done alongside preparing for the entrance tests. Taking a little bit of time and shortlisting colleges as per the guidelines given above will definitely set the student up for success.