Comparing School of Engineering CUSAT and Jamia Millia Islamia is not suitable as both the colleges are well established and are holding their culture and curriculum really very well. So, choosing either of them would not be easy.
But, as far as I know, Jamia Millia Islamia was established 100 years ago and is better than SOE CUSAT.
Jamia Millia Islamia will offer you a productive and competitive environment. You will also get to do lots of extracurricular activities and will get to learn from highly efficient teaching staff in JMI.
In CUSAT, you might be taught by recently graduated teachers. This will not only affect the teaching methodology but a good exposure as well.
CUSAT is nicely harnessed and handled by various Political parties for their own benefit. You can see a few strikes now and then among students and parties. But it should not be your concern as you are going to study there and grow productively.
CUSAT has a very strict and necessary rule when it comes to placements. It doesn’t matter which branch you are in, you have to follow the rule irrespective of your subjects, stream, or branch.
The basic rule in CUSAT, in SOE, or CUCEK is that for placements, you must have an 8 GPA or a minimum percentage of 75 percentile. The GPA, however, does not guarantee you a placement from any company but it allows you to apply to any of the companies visiting the campus.
7.5 GPA or near about 70 percentile is also a good percentile. However, it’s not wise to approach your studies with a grade-oriented attitude. Try to secure good grades, but learn along the way too.
I know a little about these courses as a few of my friends are currently pursuing them. Here are some of the information regarding SOE and CUCEK in CUSAT.
If you have a better option than CUSAT then you should look for that option but if this is the only good option, then go for it.
You should choose NIT Jamshedpur for Mechanical Engineering. It has an impeccable Mechanical faculty. The professors have years of experience in the field. The placements are more competitive at NITs. NIT Jamshedpur placement highlights for 2021 show around 96% of Mechanical students got placed with an average CTC of INR 7.3 LPA. Vedanta Ltd, Tata Steel, Royal Enfield, etc. are some of the major recruiters for the branch.
One of my friends is from CUSAT SOE. I can provide his experience during his first year at the CUSAT hostel.
In case you do not get a hostel then you can try outside hostels which are located nearby to the college.
It depends upon a lot of parameters. If you wish to enjoy it, definitely go for MEC. It might not be such a good choice as far as infrastructure is concerned, but it does excel in the aspects which matter the most, the prime aspect being, a secure future.
If you have a look at the placement statistics, they would show you the return on investment you would get in MEC. Being a small college unlike SOE, the students get to know most of the people in college. As far as teaching and placements are concerned, MEC is far better than SOE.
Categories |
CUSAT |
MEC |
Course Fee |
3.53 lakh |
1.05-1.54 lakh |
Placement Percentage |
75-80% |
90% |
Highest CTC |
15 LPA |
20 LPA |
Average CTC |
5-6 LPA |
8 LPA |
Recruiting Companies |
Infosys, L&T, IBM, TCS, etc. |
Amazon, Flipkart, Deloitte, TCS, etc. |
If you go by the outside world, people might even call it a ‘school’, but unless you experience it yourself, you will never know the uniqueness. It all depends upon you. If you want to balance your studies as well as have fun MEC would be best for you.
But, at the end of the day, it’s you, not the college. As both the institutes have an equal status in their own unique ways.
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.
SOE CUSAT doesn’t have major drawbacks. In past, there have been strikes and complaints about hygiene-related issues. Students face problems because of political activities at times. In terms of academics, it's difficult to get good marks in internals.
These are the common problems for CUSAT. These problems don’t create any major issues and the institute trying to overcome these drawbacks.
CUSAT SOE is a better option than GEC Kannur/NSS Palakkad, the notable differences are not below:
Placement Stats:
Particulars |
Statistics (2023) |
Highest package |
INR 25 LPA |
Average package |
INR 4.9 LPA |
I couldn’t get admission at NIT Calicut and ended up pursuing my B.Tech from SOE, CUSAT. I have many friends who are studying at NIT Calicut currently and on the basis of the gathered information, here is a comparison of life at SOE, CUSAT and NIT Calicut-
Thus, without a doubt, I would say that NIT Calicut should be your first preference for a B.Tech as it is better than SOE, CUSAT on different parameters.