How to Choose the Best Engineering College?
As college admissions are round the corner, students will need to enrol in the colleges. The stress about selecting the right college will be sky-high. Usually, the duration of an engineering course is four years. So, students and their families look forward to investing in a right engineering college. Not every institution or every choice works for everyone. But according to your desired stream and preferences, you can land the right college for yourself. So here are some important pointers to help ease your college hunt.
1. The selection of an Engineering stream
Before thinking about the right college selection, students need to select the engineering stream of their choice. Engineering aspirants should be well-versed with their interests and desires while selecting a stream. Ideally, according to the chosen streams, the college hunt can be very smooth.
2. Categorizing the colleges
Once the results are out, you will need to check if you are eligible for the chosen stream or not. So beforehand, select three more streams apart from the first that you chose. Then you need to look out for the best colleges in the streams you’re eligible for. Make a list of colleges by dividing them into best, good and average. Just check out their websites and what all you further need to get into these colleges.
3. List out the important criteria
Then there are many important factors that make a particular college right for you. Below are the following which you should consider and note about all the colleges.
Type of Degree
Location
Distance from home
Government or private
Cost (All expenses included)
Financial aid or scholarships
Campus resources (labs, libraries, Wi-Fi access)
Placement and internships
Accreditation
Class size
Quality/reputation/classes
Student body (gender, diversity, community)
Social life (dance/music/sports clubs, college spirit, organizations)
Qualification of faculty and past performance of the department
4. Set your priorities right
After making a list of the important pointers, now you need to prioritize them. List the pros and cons of the institutions you’re considering. After ranking the colleges as per your priorities and eligibility, now you have a list that can give you a rough idea. This will make the decision-making so easy for you.
5. Check the eligibility for scholarships
The college fee is usually high and sometimes it’s a typical thing for families to afford that. So always keep a check on the scholarships and the eligibility as well.
6. Campus Check
Once the list of colleges shortens up, try to go and check out the campus. Or you can go through their YouTube videos and gallery to get an idea about the students and campus. Connect with the college alumni on LinkedIn. Have a word with the students, professors and other people at the institution for a better understanding. For an engineering degree, you are going to spend four years at that campus. So, a vibe check and ground reality are very important. And once you are sure about the place, you will surely make a wise choice at the end.
7. Be stream conscious, not brand conscious
People usually get mistaken with a college’s rating and reviews. Ideally, the focus should be on stream-specific college. Sometimes a college has a good rating for a particular college but doesn’t do well in another stream. So rather than whining about the brand, focus on the course/stream.
8. Lastly, scores
To get into the top-notch colleges, one needs to score really high marks in the entrance exams. Although most of the colleges accept national level entrance scores, some colleges still conduct their own entrance exam.
