Questions Asked On VJTI, Mumbai

NIT Goa, VJTI Mumbai, and COEP Mumbai are well-known engineering colleges. The choice depends upon you. The following are the points to be considered.

• If you are Mumbai-based, VJTI is the best choice. The college has played a crucial role in setting up IITs and RECs in India. It has a decent infrastructure.
• If you are Pune-based, COEP is the best choice. It has the best infrastructure with a big campus and excellent placements.
• If you want to have an NIT tag under your belt NIT Goa is the best choice.

All these colleges are at a similar level. So, you should choose according to your convenience. If you don’t live at any of these locations then your preference order should be COEP/ VJTI > NIT Goa. VJIT has a great placement record. The average CTC offered by the institute is 7 LPA. 

Between KJ Somaiya and VJTI, the latter is definitely better. Whether or not you should take a year drop that depends on you and how important is this year to you. 

Comparison:

If you compare KJ Somaiya and VJTI, in terms of placement and higher education you will see that the best students from KJ Somaiya do get similar opportunities as VJTI students. One of my friends attended VJTI and got placed in a company that was one of the best to visit KJ Somaiya too. So, he has 4-6 colleagues from KJ Somaiya. 

As long as brand value goes, after 5 years of the compilation of your course, no one will care where are you from VJTI or KJ Somaiya. 

People will care if you are from IIT though because IIT brand-name sticks. 

A word of advice, dropping a year to join VJTI may not be worth it. If you are going to drop a year, try to get into an IIT or IIIT.

Having to know some people from both these institutions, I can say that both of these colleges are specialized in two different fields. Let me share some facts about both these colleges I gathered by interacting with them.

• VJTI is one of the prominent engineering colleges and NITIE is prominent among the top B-schools of India. 
• NITIE is recognized for its extensive alumni and professional professors who are experts in their fields. 
• Project Management at NITIE, in terms of studies, is the best among the B-schools in the country.
• From Project Management at VJTI, 18% of the students are placed in prominent companies.
• NITIE is known for its high management extension.
• The placement and faculty of VJTI are not up to the mark when compared to NITIE.

Hence, there is no comparison between VJTI and NITIE. But one of my friends has recommended NITIE as in many aspects it manages to be better than VJTI. 

Before 2017, the MTech Mechanical department saw only 40%-50% placements with PPOs which were places of internships for students as well; as part of the MTech project. MTech Mechanical in CAD CAM saw 10-15 placements in 2017; most of the students did get internships with Siemens, Fiat Chrysler, and Cummins.

The department has good labs, over 27 faculty members, and 85 seats with a distribution of 18-25 each for the 4 MTech specializations.

The table below highlights the placement facts of the mechanical engineering department for MTech in 2018-19

Placement Statistics

• The computer science department at VJTI had a higher placement rate in comparison to the Mechanical Department.
• In 2019; Ambuja Cement, Bank of America, Barclays were major recruiters with an average package of INR 6 LPA.
• In 2019, the average on and off Campus placement rate for MTech students, in general, was 62.23 %; with an average package of INR 5.30 LPA.

The latest data of 2020 placements has not been made available yet. There has been a 20% improvement in the placement rate of MTech students from 2017 into 2019. The BTech level still has a much higher placement rate of about 85%-97%. Students are free to decide through the placement data shared above.

I have quite a few friends at VJIT Mumbai, so I can speak for the institute. After IITs, it is quite reputed among students. People from outside of Maharashtra may not be aware of VJIT but inside the state being a student of VJIT is a matter of pride. 

If we make a comparison of engineering colleges nationwide, it will be IITs from tier-1, followed by few NITs, and after that colleges such as VJIT for the following tier. 

VJIT is an old institute with a huge brand value. Many reputed MNCs visit the campus for the placement drive. It is less recognized but ‘underrated’ is probably is the wrong word to describe it. 

The following factors are the reasons who most people are not familiar with the institute. 

• It is a state college, that limits its appeal to a great extent. Students, parents, and media all alike give far more important to national colleges/institutions by default.
• As students outside of the state of the institute do not know about the college, they do not apply and thus the diversity is heavily skewed.

So, VJIT may not have national recognition but it is quite reputed inside Maharashtra.

Manipal University is ranked 45th, and VJTI is ranked 75th for engineering in India by the NIRF. Both colleges have a wide range of programs. Manipal offers courses in B.Tech, M.Tech, M.Arch, M.Sc, MCA, and Ph.D. programs. VJTI offers courses in B.Tech, M.Tech, MCA, Ph.D., PG Diploma, and After 10th Diploma programs.

Eligibility Criteria

VJTI College:

• Candidates need a minimum of 50% aggregate in their 12th for UG programs and 50% aggregate in the Bachelor's degree for graduate programs.
• Candidates need to sit for the MHCET exam to be eligible for a seat in VJTI.
• Candidates need to register themselves for GATE to take admission to MTech program.
• No management quota seats are available for this college.

Manipal University:

• Candidates need to sit for the MET exam for a seat in BTech and MCA programs.
• Candidates need to register themselves for GATE to take admission to MTech program.
• 50% aggregate is needed in a Bachelor's degree for graduate studies.

Infrastructure

VJTI College:

• The infrastructure of VJTI is below-average, although most of the necessary facilities are available.
• Wi-Fi is not available; hostels are provided on the basis of merit.
• The classrooms are in the process of renovation, and the library is well maintained and has a vast collection of books, journals, and papers.

Manipal University:

• Manipal is excellent in terms of infrastructure.
• Wi-Fi is available on the entire campus, and also in the hostels.
• The university has a massive sports ground covering almost 15,000 sq feet.
• Medical facilities are available 24/7 in the Kasturba Medical College of Manipal.

Placements

VJTI College:

• The institute has a placement record of more than 90% each year.
• Reputed companies like Microsoft, Udaan, Amazon, Samsung, Morgan Stanley, Goldsman Sach, and Rakuten come for recruitment.
• The average package is around 7-8 LPA, the highest package being 38 LPA and the lowest being 4 LPA.

Manipal University:

• Manipal promises a 100% placement and more than 90% of students received placements in 2020.
• Students need a 7 point CGPA for getting placements. Mass recruiters like Amazon, Deloitte, and Wipro visit the college.
• The maximum salary package offered is 50 LPA, and the minimum is 3.5 LPA.

Although VJTI and Manipal are on the same level when it comes to placements and teaching quality, students, especially the ones who want to opt for housing, must keep in mind the facilities each college offers to its students while choosing their college of higher education. It is important for students to research the availability of basic necessities so that they can have a good college experience.