Remarks
Admission to graduate courses to then Presidency College(now University) was through the merit list. A merit list was prepared to take both the marks of an entrance exam and XII board. Standard reservation quota was followed. Students can take the entrance exams for multiple courses. Counselling and orientation took place after the merit list was published. Had applied to Surendranath College Barrackpore, was selected but opted out after being selected in Presidency. Why? Because Presidency is still a huge name in the Bengal region, because of the pride associated with it. Frankly, didn't bother with the course I took. Continued Master in Presidency Univerisity. The presidency had few reserved seats in Master courses for its own Bachelor students. Rest(most) seats in Masters were filled by the same process of Graduate admission(ie, entrance exam cum XII marks).
Course Curriculum Overview
I had a knack for Biology. Tried for Medical entrance, didn't make it. So, took the entrance exams of Zoology and Botany at Presidency College. In Zoology, I was behind in the merit list, didn't make it up to the cut. Ended up with Botany. Student to faculty ratio was 1:2, for 26 students in a batch, the Botany department(now Biological Science) had 13 faculty. Obviously, not all faculty took classes simultaneously in a year. Most of the faculty was old school, chalk-blackboard oriented. It changed dramatically in five years I studied till Masters, as Presidency became University. Teachers retired, new foreign return faculty were recruited. Bachelor exams were difficult. Since bachelor in Presidency was under Univerisity of Calcutta, and marks were hard to get. These two changed after college became deemed university. I was there during the transition of the institute, it might look confusing now.
Fees and Financial Aid
The fee was quite economical. Compare to other institutes, it was surprisingly cheap. Hostel fee for students was too surprisingly cheap. Both fee and hostel fee remained unchanged for many years. No scholarship, no financial assistance, no placements at that time.
Campus Life
The best part of Presidency University for me, at least. Campus, fest, social life. Multiple fests like MILIEU, ISPAT. People from different socio-economic backgrounds. Huge library central library. Each department has its own library too. Books are a non-issue here. Classroom infrastructure changed from moderate to good during the period I studied. Lots of funding came and infrastructure improved. Plenty of opportunities for those interested in sports. Institute has huge ground, Presi Greens. Social, political, every kind of group was there.
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