An Amazing experience

SDCH ranks among one of the best dental colleges in all of India. Getting to learn there is something I think I got lucky with. I have already made great friends and there are opportunities waiting for me to get to know more people, hopefully. It has been a wonderful experience so far. But I've only started college. I look forward to the years ahead and am sure it will be the best I could have ever had.The teaching, the faculty, the campus it is all beautiful and enjoyable. I would suggest this college anytime.

The Entrance into SDCH is purely on a merit basis. I had appeared for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and scored a good rank. It got me to SDCH. I did have to go through any further tests or interviews. There was only the counselling session before the admissions. The entrance exams were very competitive and exhausting. I had to train well for them. I always wanted to be a Doctor and that is how I attended the entrance exam in the first place.

SDCH has a really good faculty. It has top-class lab facilities and classrooms. The classes themselves were a whole new experience for me. The curriculum is very demanding and tough. I have practicals every day. It is very important. I love these sessions and most of the time score well in practicals. Theory classes are all really long. The hospital itself is huge and advanced. It has 150 beds for patients so we get live teaching in general medicine and surgery. I don't know about any research initiatives in the college. We haven't been to the electives, it comes only in the final years.

Internship is mandatory for every student in their final year of studies. We work in the hospital itself as assigned for an entire year. I have heard from my senior students that it is a great experience for us before we step out as doctors. I cannot do it for another as I have only started here but look forward to it. The stipend provided is 1500 rupees and If we take leave during any month, the will be a cut in the amount. They say the internship is one of the best parts of college life because it is then that we will be learning things more than all the 4 years put together.

Placements are very rare in SDCH. The only kind existing is the appointing of students in the hospital itself. Every year, the top-ranking students, who have excelled in their academics are given a job by the college. Mostly, it is the MDS students who are taken in but some BDS students have also got in.

The programs in the college are organised by the management itself. Instead of several separate events, we have just one grand event in a year. Its called 'Jaltarang', the annual collegiate fest. It normally lasts four to five days and students get to participate in all sort of programs. There are sports events, music and dance and even managerial events. It' s all organised on a very large scale. I enjoyed it very much.

SDCH is an affordable medical institution in comparison with other similar medical college. For an year, I pay about 2.15 lacs as the tution fees. We have seperate fees for hostel and mess. It comes to a total of 1.30 lacs per year. In all the fee expenses for the course will be almost 19 lacs. It is really a great sum for such quality medical education. I think it is worth it. Plus SDCH does not extract any hidden fee or donation from us.

SDCH is dedicated to providing its patients with the best medical facilities possible. As part of it, great deal of focus is given to the development of the experiences and knowledge of both students and teachers. Student and teacher-exchange programs are undertaken with this aim. The college also helps students to secure any possible scholarships they can. No, it doesn't make arrangements for loans in any way.

I love the sports facilities of the college the best. We have every kind of court games and the best part about the activities in college is swimming. The college has an Olympic standard indoor swimming pool and a welI maintained Health Club. I personally enjoy these all. Because it is all very nice, i suppose the college does invest a lot into keeping its students healthy and active.

I do live in a hostel and it is not so bad. I do like it here. Per semester the hostel fees amounts up to 65000/-. The food provided is really cool. Students and teachers have a choice to decide the hostel menu. It keeps changing as per the demands made. There is a nutritious diet every day. We are also given free wi-fi in the hostel rooms. It is hygienic and clean and also we have a TV facility and all in the common room. We get single or double sharing rooms. PGs are also available outside the campus but I don't know about the rates and all there.

Although students do not always get to interact, many doctors who are alumni of SDCH does come to take guest lectures and classes. They explain to us about the latest technologies and the improved medical practices around the world.

The total marks given to us depends not only on written examinations but the practicals, attendance, the project works submitted and all that. So although the exams are not really very stressful for me, I have to keep up my practical skills. It is fairly easy for me to do that because I love the subject. The examinations are of trimester kind, that is, once in every three months. We have lots to study even in that short period but we do fairly well considering the situations.

The teachers are all highly- qualified and dedicated. We have a live teaching method at the hospital and it really helps in learning all the new topics. They insist on the practical learning because we are going to be doctors. At SDCH, we get chances to meet really qualified and experienced doctors who come in for guest lectures or practicals. I really believe the college has the best faculty among the medical colleges in India and I actually consider myself lucky to get such teachers. Also, they all set us good examples that I personally feel like following in their footsteps in the medical profession. They are really supportive and especially so because we just moved over to an all new atmosphere from our school life. They try to explain everything to us in ways that we can keep up, even though things are far different from how we learned in school.