Two of my close friends are studying at NIT Surathkal and MNNIT Allahabad respectively and often I hear them comparing their colleges based on some aspects.
Ultimately, the choice is yours!
Nowadays, engineering aspirants give more importance to the brand and tag of the college rather than the academic ambiance they offer. Like sheep in a herd, they flock to colleagues that have higher rankings and give them a tag to boast about in the process, They forget that for education, the tag does not matter.
IIITs are the most neglected institutes in this process. IIITs like Jabalpur, Allahabad, Kancheepuram, and Gwalior have been set up by MHRD that focus primarily on studies in the IT sector, unlike NITs that cater to various branches of engineering. IIITs thus have a CS-oriented culture, curriculum, and opportunities. This may not be the case for NITs that have many branches.
Although NIT Raipur is older than IIIT Jabalpur, it's not at par with IIIT Jabalpur at least in terms of its Computer Science education. IIIT Jabalpur has much better placements for the CSE department than the IT branch of NIT Raipur. Moreover, IIIT Jabalpur has collaboration with Universities in Japan, unlike NIT Raipur.
Here is a brief comparative analysis of both institutes
Particulars |
NIT Raipur |
HBTU |
Fees |
INR 1.41 Lakhs (BTech 1st Year Fees) |
INR 1.59 Lakhs (BTech 1st Year Fees) |
Highest CTC |
- |
INR 82 LPA |
Average CTC |
INR 10.1 LPA |
INR 21.63 LPA |
Top Recruiters |
Wipro, Capgemini, Infosys, Adobe, Aditya Birla Group etc. |
EXL, Flipkart, Jio, JSW, Samsung, TCS, Cred, Cummins, etc. |
So, IIIT Jabalpur would be a better option.
The placement situation at UIET has steadily improved as the alumni do great work. Although placement depends a lot on your efforts. You will get to learn a lot from your seniors at the institute. Networking with seniors also helps in placements. The colleges encourage open-source culture and endorse python. There are many communities on campus that you can join to brush up on your skills.
Here are the UIET Chandigarh 2021 placements highlights.
Particulars | Placement Statistics |
Average Package | INR. 6.45 LPA |
Highest Package | INR. 31 LPA |
Top Paying Recruiters | Google and Amazon |
Considering all the above-mentioned topics, we can say there are no shortages of placements and you need not worry about it.
IT at IIITA has several advantages over CS at the NITs. I will be explaining these advantages in detail for you-
At IITs/NITs, the first 2 semesters have a common curriculum for all branches. For the rest of the semesters, the core courses are accompanied with some useless courses.
Take NITK for example. From the 3rd sem, B.Tech CS students at NITK are taught additional courses like Chemistry, Engineering Science, Manufacturing Process, Humanities, etc.
IT at IIITA has the same core courses in its curriculum, without any additional ones. You’ll get many electives in 6th and 7th sem, and more projects to work on.
Some courses from the curriculum are- Electronic Devices & Circuits, Circuit Analysis and Synthesis, Data Structures, Digital Electronics, Computer Organization and Architecture, Theory of Computation, Object Oriented Methodologies, etc. B.Tech IT at IIITA has more hardware-related topics than B.Tech CS at IITs/NITs.
Due to these reasons, IT at IIIT Allahabad is much better than CS at all NITs.
If you are originally from Kerala, then you will certainly be going to get admission to IT at CUSAT in SOE.
If you are not from Kerala, then also you can get admission at the mentioned rank as per the admission records and data of last year. A friend of mine who scored 2091 was able to secure a seat in IT at CUSAT and he was the rank closer for that branch.
Admission through NRI Quota
Supposing you do not get into SOE for IT based on your rank, there is actually another way to secure your admission. You must have heard of the NRI quota admissions at various universities. You shall be eligible to apply through it. The tuition fees every semester of students coming through the NRI quota is slighter higher as compared to the rest of the students. The pre-requisite here is obviously an NRI seat is vacant when you apply. As far as I am aware, all the 9 NRI seats were occupied in NRI general counseling.
Once the general spot counseling is finished, the NRI quota counseling starts and if there’s a seat vacant, there are high chances of you securing that admission. I also know of some candidates who tried their luck at the spot rounds.
You might also want to go through the official website and brochure of CUSAT & SOE for details on the NRI quota and admission.
One of my friends was doubtful whether the hindi-speaking culture of MNNIT will have any impact on her English communication skills. If you are doubtful regarding the same, I would say you need not worry uselessly.
Students from MNNIT clear CAT with good scores. This wouldn’t have been possible without clearing the CAT verbal paper. Students converse in Hindi on campus simply because most of them belong to North India. This won’t have any negative effect on your English proficiency. Also, the professors deliver lectures in English. Other than that, to keep enhancing your English skills, you can join the English Literature group of MNNIT.
As far as your options are concerned, MNNIT is known for its top notch education in CSE. It is one of the best colleges in India for a CSE program. Also, the placements offered at MNNIT are quite impressive, especially for its CSE branch.
According to me, you should choose CSE at MNNIT over IT at NIT Surathkal.
Let me share with you some important details about these courses/institutes-
That being said, I feel you are at a very early stage of narrowing down your goals and aspirations to this extent. Enter your UG with an open mind, and an aim for self-discovery. Right now, you have a picture in mind of doing an MBA. But I don’t think you have a proper idea of the different specializations in this degree.
You should have made a clear decision by the end of your 3rd year. Before that, pursue internships and discover your field of interest. Right now, look for the institute that will offer you the best technical education and the best future prospects.
Honestly, there isn't any major difference between CSE and IT branches as both are related to computers. The job opportunities are almost similar. So, you should prioritize college over branch in your case. NIT Surathkal is much better than MNNIT Allahabad and this can be further understood through the points below
Location: NIT Surathkal has an advantage over NIT Allahabad due to its location near Bangalore, the IT hub of India. Most Bangalore-based companies firstly visit NITK Surathkal. Last year major companies like Microsoft, DE Shaw, Uber, Amazon, Oracle and visited the campus last year.
Coding Culture: Recently 23 students from NIT Surathkal were selected for Google Summer of Code (GSOC) which is 4th Highest in the World. It has secured 13th Rank in the ICPC Asia Contest which is the highest ranked of all NITs. NIT Surathkal is the only single NIT that became a finalist in the ACM ICPC World Contest.
Academics: Every year students win International awards proving that their academics are better than MNNIT Allahabad.
Campus Life: The campus life of NITK Surathkal is also better than NIT Allahabad as NITK Surathkal has a private beach with a lush green campus of 300 acres and its fest Incident is the largest Cultural event in South India
Placements: Refer to the table below for comparison of placement statistics
Particulars |
NIT Surathkal |
MNNIT Allahabad |
Total No. of Eligible Students |
1608 |
1391 |
No. of Students placed |
1385 |
1100 |
Highest CTC |
INR 45 LPA |
INR 1.18 CPA |
Average CTC |
INR 13.12 LPA |
INR 11.22 LPA |
Top Recruiters |
Microsoft, DE Shaw, Uber, Amazon, Oracle. |
Adobe, Country Delight, D.E. Shaw, Cognizant, Ericsson, Maruti Suzuki, etc |
In all, NIT Surathkal seems to be a much better option than MNNIT Allahabad after considering various factors.
MAIT is ranked as the 3rd Best College in Delhi by India Today and ranks within 200 nationally. Whereas, JIIT holds a national rank of 115 by the NIRF. The departments of IT at MAIT and JIIT have a total of 180 and 60 seats respectively and charge a 4-year tuition fee of 4.63 lakhs and 10 lakhs respectively.
Admission and Cut-off:
Both the colleges admit students based on their JEE Main scores.
The general cut-off for MAIT in-state students is 65,157 and out-of-state students are 37,689.
The closing rank for IT at JIIT is 59,407.
Faculty and curriculum:
MAIT provides an extensive course structure with excellent faculty and conducts regular workshops and industrial visits, whereas JIIT provides an updated, and relevant course curriculum and faculties are Ph.D. holders from IITs and foreign universities.
Placements:
Students securing a rank within 2000 in the GGSIPU college Btech examination are favored for on-campus job placements at MAIT.
The placement record of the IT department in JIIT is one of the best, and the college is associated with mass recruiters like Jaypee Software and Jaypee Technology. The placement details of the universities are as follows.
University |
Minimum Package offered |
Maximum Package offered |
% placed in 2020 |
% received internships in 2020 |
MAIT |
3.5 LPA |
17 LPA |
60 |
80 |
JIIT |
3.5 LPA |
28 LPA |
80 |
90 |
Some of the top recruiters at the institutes are Amazon, ZS, Paytm, AAI, TCS, Grofers, and Morgan Stanley.
Infrastructure:
MAIT has excellent infrastructure with air-conditioned labs and classrooms. All the labs have up-to-date computers. There are seven blocks dedicated to engineering and four canteens all over the campus. Proper hygiene is maintained on the campus, and the university offers various sports facilities like badminton, tennis, cricket, football, and volleyball.
On top of having air-conditioned smart classrooms and labs, JIIT provides cafeterias and also has separate swimming pools for both men and women.
Both the universities are at the same level when it comes to facilities and student satisfaction; however, deciding which college to pursue a degree depends on the student’s comfort and affordability.
Being a central university and highly popular national university of importance, IIEST Shibpur not only attracts the best faculty from across the country but also receives funding from the central government on a yearly basis which helps the university maintain its infrastructure, upgrade to the latest trends in the world and better their services. IEM is a private university with a NIRF ranking of 191 in 2020.
Particulars |
IIEST Shibpur |
IEM Kolkata |
Number of Companies |
90+ |
50+ |
Average CTC offered |
6.5 LPA |
5 LPA |
Highest CTC offered |
39.12 LPA |
10 LPA |
Placement Rate |
88% |
75% |
Hence, if students have a good JEE score and are eligible to get into IIEST, it would be advisable to do so instead of choosing a private institution such as IEM- based on the factors mentioned above.