BIT Mesra - Just below the IITs

The administration is pretty slow in dealing with things. Trying to get any new thing implemented is very difficult. Lack of a student constitution and body at present makes the situation more difficult. Though things are changing albeit slowly, BIT, though still old and prestigious, needs a dramatic overhaul to catch up with the world's best institutions.

I wrote the AIEEE. My AIR was in the 9 thousands, and I wanted to pursue mechanical engineering. My rank entailed BIT as the best college that I could join. Admission process involved listing choices online using the Central Counselling Board website.

Some companies came to the college, like Hero, Tega, Tata Motors, TATA Steel.Our last semester has no theory or lab courses - we have to go on an internship or we can pursue a research project.

Almost 100% placements for eligible students.Average package varies greatly between departments.Core placements offer 5-7 LPA. Placements for coding profiles offer an average of about 10 LPA pretty easily.Other wise, mass recruiters make sure almost everyone has a job.

We have one technical fest - Pantheon in the monsoon semester. The cultural fest 'Bitotsav' is a gala during early spring. It lasts over 5 days, has some of the best fun in store for students, with some of the best bands like Farhan Live, Jal, Kailasa, Saleem-Suleiman, as well some rock bands like Parikrama, Lagori have performed. The bar is constantly being raised.

The current fee structure is almost Rs. 1.5 lakhs per semester, which makes BIT one of the costlier colleges in India.

SBI's local on-campus branch offers loans to students. Scholarships are provided to students on the basis of rank in JEE Mains (AIEEE), and performance in semesters, on means-cum-merit basis.

Gender ratio is around 1:8. Classroom mix will depend on branch and stream. Labs are pretty decent in most departments. The rest are upgrading the infra. Biotech, CS, Pharma, ECE departments have some of the best labs in the country. The college has a phethora of clubs and societies. Has one of the best FSAE and BAJA teams (automotive) and RoboCON teams. Cultural clubs for literature, dance, dramatics and quizzing etc are present. BIT has won the overall Springfest trophy at IIT-Kharagpur in the past, and reached podium almost every year, hence cultural activities are top notch. Hostel Parties depends on your friend's circle. Special dinners are organised once or twice in a semester. There's also a hostel night towards the end of the academic year.

Single accomodations are provided second year onwards. Hostels are decent, clean. Common room has TT, LCD television. Open areas have volleyball/badminton courts. Mess food is decent, and one of the best, when compared to mess food quality in India. 4 meals a day, average bill of about Rs. 3, 500.

Alumni is well-established. Many have BITOSA (BIT Old Student's Association), though a bit dormant in the past, is spreading its wings, and regularly organises Student-Alumni meet, Global and Innovation Conclaves. Many alumni have their own start-ups which MSMEs, while some have also made it big. Some of the best known alumni are Deven Sharma, Ganesh Natarajan, S. N. Agarwal, Arup Roy Chowdhury, Piyush Sharma.

The structure depends on the department. My department (Mechanical Engg.) was pretty chilled out in that sense. Exams are twice a semester (mid-sems and end-sems) with a couple of quizzes or assignments in between. 75% attendance is mandatory, which is quite old-school. Some departments like ECE can have hectic schedules and lots of extra classes, but overall the atmosphere isn't that hectic either, leaving you plenty of time to pursue other things you want.

Faculty is decently alright. Though some departments have very good teachers, average teaching standard is like that of most tier-2 engineering colleges. However, the standard is inching up slowly.