The board examination results are announced releasing the anxiety and tension of the students who appeared in the exam, but has opened another generally less discussed question, “How to choose the right college”. The general tendency of the students is to select the most reputed or higher ranked college over others. It is obviously a practical and easy way to select the right college but there are other avenues which are ignored when a student just focuses only on the rank or reputation. This article discusses some important factors that should be considered before finalizing college.
The first thing any students needs to do is do some background work online or social networking websites and shortlist the target college list based on the rank and reputation of the colleges. Since most of the colleges take admission on a merit basis, be practical in creating this list so that you don’t end up with a situation where none of the shortlisted colleges is giving you admission.
Once the desired college list is ready, scrutinize each college on the following parameters.
Rank and reputation of a college
Rank and reputation are always on the top priority, as people, industries and your future employers will prefer the graduates from reputed institutes over others. However, there might be instances where a particular course or stream is no having much reputation. Always analyze the rank and reputation for the course for which you are seeking admission.
Faculties and their reputations
Faculties and their reputation are as important as the college’s reputation; after-all it is their experience and knowledge which is going to develop you. Performing a quick google search about the faculties’ background and their achievement would help you in getting this information.
Culture and co-curricular activities
Social and Emotional Quotient (SQ and EQ) are essential apart from your Intelligence quotient (IQ) in today’s world. The culture of the college and its interest in exposing the students to the real-world play a crucial role in developing these skills.
The following are some of the examples of good culture college.
- Colleges organizing national level symposia and events regularly
- Colleges organizing frequent visits or talks with relevant industries
- Colleges encouraging a student to take projects in the industry of their choice
- Colleges encouraging students to volunteer in leading or managing the events at the campus
- Colleges encouraging extracurricular skills (sports, arts) apart from the regular studies
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Placement cells
Most of the institutes have independent placement cells, which helps students getting jobs after graduation. Try to gather as much information as you can from the internet or from recent pass outs about the capabilities and efficiency of these placement cells. This information might be the deciding factor when the dilemma of choosing better or best.
Number of placements in the last few years; analyses the trend if it is increasing or decreasing
- Number of companies coming for the on-campus interview
- Number of aluminides of the college working in the industry you want to work
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Fees
This is a more personal decision and the student and his family members are the best judges on how much they can spend on their education. A healthy family discussion on the value addition of spending higher money on top-ranked private college v/s saving that money to take additional certification through correspondence courses is always helpful to the student.
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If these points are kept in mind before selecting the college, you would not get bad surprises after joining the college.
Best of luck and happy learning.
