I can enlighten you about the schedule of first shift students at VIT Pune.

Morning classes start at 8am. Those who aren’t lucky enough to have a vehicle of their own, reach the campus by climbing the famous VIT slope. Walking to the college becomes especially tough during the rainy season as one has to walk in the opposite direction to pouring rain.

Some professors are very particular about time, and close the doors at sharp 8 am. After 2-3 lectures of an hour each, one gets an hour-long break. During this time, one eats at either of the two canteens or Poona Bakery. The break is followed by more lecture/lab sessions. After this, either one is free, or some more lectures commence after another break. 

Not all days are the same. Sometimes one gets free after 3 hours, while other times, classes and labs may even stretch to 8 hours. One usually gets free by 3pm. Saturday is a holiday for SE, TE and BE. Freshers have to attend general proficiency courses for 2 hours on Saturdays. GP includes Photography, Chess, Guitar, Violin, Yoga, Aerobics and other interesting hobbies. No leaves are awarded before exams, but the syllabus is quite manageable. 

This is the basic routine of first shift B.Tech students at VIT Pune. You’ll face a fair share of challenges, but in the end, you’ll be left with everlasting memories. 

NIT Rourkela is not the best NIT in the country but is one of the best. It enjoys good rankings and hence despite average on-campus placements, it has plentiful opportunities in off-campus placements. 

NIT Rourkela is one of the 31 NITs in India that enjoys the status of being the Institute of National Importance under the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007. The institute was ranked 16 amongst Top Engineering Colleges by NIRF in 2023 and 37th under the overall category.

Here is the list of other NIT Rourkela Rankings

NIT Rourkela has the largest campus spread across 750 acres among all the NITs. It’s the second largest campus after IIT KGP in India. So, yes it’s definitely one of the best NITs in the country.

I have friends in both institutes and from what I have heard, the IIIT Delhi faculty is quite arrogant and has no interest in teaching. The professors at IIT Delhi were very approachable during internships and expressed their willingness to work with the students and help them find their thought processes. On the other hand, IIIT Delhi professors would mock you if you were unable to answer a particular question.

A friend shared an incident at IIT Delhi when one of the professors committed an unintentional mistake and retook his interview to apologize. Your Ph.D. depends a lot on the kind of professors you work under and I will never recommend you to do a Ph.D. under such arrogant professors 

IIIT Delhi has a decent gender ratio in comparison to other engineering colleges. The girl-to-boy ratio at IIIT-Delhi in the recent batches was

• B.Tech. 2012-2016 ~ 40%
• B.Tech. 2013-2017 ~ 25-30%
• B.Tech. 2014-2018 ~ 10%

The ratio is not expected to improve as the cut-offs are decreased each year. The gender ratio is not an important aspect to be considered during admission. It’s better to focus on important factors like faculty, infrastructure, placements, course curriculum, etc.

IIIT Delhi has no gender bias and females are represented at all levels. If there are not enough female members in the Student Council, more female members are nominated and invited to join the council. Many clubs even award special prizes for the best female coder in most of its biweekly contests. So irrespective of your gender, you will experience a very progressive environment at IIIT Delhi.

My brother shared his branch change experience which wasn’t as difficult as people claim it to be. You did require more than average efforts and were challenging but not impossible. He was able to manage it by completing his assignments regularly and being focused in class. Your goal has to be to get a high CPI by being consistent with your studies.

At IIT Kanpur, you can either have a fun-filled college life experience or you can excel in academics, the choice is yours. It’s all about priorities. I know many nerds who worked day and night and eventually got CPI 10 after their first year. It’s all about your priorities. Basically, a 9+ CPI is not that difficult to achieve and a 10 requires some extra effort.

However, uncertainties always happen, and depending solely on branch change is not a wise decision.

The reputation of SVNIT has comparatively declined over the years. 

The same is evident from these facts-

1. The NIRF rankings of SVNIT have seen a sharp decline over the years. From the 16th rank in 2016, SVNIT has dropped down to 65th rank in 2023 from among top Engineering Colleges in India.
2. In recent years, a case of corruption in the bus tendering system in SVNIT came to light. A Professor from the Civil department was suspended in this matter.
3. There were also talks of a Promotion Scam, i.e. instead of deserving Professors, other undeserving ones with strong connections were given promotions. The Professors went on a two day strike because of this scam.

Though plenty of improvements have been made in the college infrastructure, I tried to shed light on some of the unfortunate incidents from the past. 

There are plenty other reasons for the declining state of SVNIT, and the administration should take appropriate actions to re-establish the reputation of this institution. 

Here are a few hangout places outside of the SVNIT campus, other than malls-

• The Fish Aquarium at Pal Hazira Road- The aquarium has a large variety of fascinating aquatic life. It is set up like the inside of a real ship, so its architecture is really unique. One of the many attractions is the fishes that have a Neon coloured glow. 

• Neera Vechaan Kendra- Neera is sweet and cool palm nectar. It can be consumed early in the morning only, but refrigeration makes the sale possible till 2 pm. The distribution center for it is located in Chowk Bazaar area.

• Dotiwala's bakery, Ghod Dod Road- This bakery was established by the Dutch upon their arrival in India. It is well known for its butter biscuits, cakes, pastries, confectioneries and puffs. You must visit the place soon.

• Narmad Library, Athwa- It is the largest library in Gujarat, and is located very close to the campus. 

• You must also visit one of the textile mills or textile trade centers to see for yourself what gives Surat an important position in the global maps. If you get the permission, do visit one of the diamondaries as well.

These are some of the places which you can visit in Surat on weekends, and experience something new.