Bethune college from a student's perspective

The syllabus and curriculum mirrors the present real world requirements. Disorders, statistics, questionnaires are all included in the curriculum. Students are taught the basics of interaction with a client. They are taught how to establish rapport with the client and they are also taught the ethical limits of a psychologist. Semester exams are conducted during the month of February and July/August. Students easily get 75+ percent with hard work and consistency because the questions asked in exams are of average difficulty level. Students are asked straightforward and practical questions that test their understanding of the subject.

Students become eligible for placements from semester 5. A few local companies conducted placement drives in our college but they failed to grasp our attention as they were offering salary on the basis of performance and weren't clear about their job profile. TCS was the biggest company that invited students from our college for job opportunities in 2023. The salary package was low ranging from 4 to 5LPA. Most of the students preferred continuing with their studies as they wanted to become counsellors or clinical psychologists because these professions offer a better pay and more perks (independent nature of work, ability to provide better help to people etc).

The tuition fee is very less as this is a government college. We were charged a one time admission fee of 1300Rs and a fee of around 1200Rs per year as tuition, library and laboratory expenses. The institute also provided us with a compulsory Diploma in Computer Applications (duration was 1.5 years) which cost us 1500Rs as well. There were several scholarship schemes provided to the girls by the government of West Bengal, like Kanyashree scholarship. The recipients got an aid of 25000Rs under this scheme. We got placement opportunity in TCS with a package of 4LPA but most of us chose to got for higher studies.

The annual fest is held in the month of December. It is called "Aalap". The fest includes ramp walks, fashion shows, singing, music bands, students from other colleges are also allowed to participate in the celebration. College also organises a sports day which includes events like sprints, hurdle race, badminton etc. The college library offers a variety of course books. Although, it lacks in the area of novels and classic reads. It is an old college so there isn't any technological advancement in the classroom and teaching style. At maximum, the students get a PowerPoint presentation on a laptop. Many cultural events also take place in the college. Various educative sessions are organised during the visit of guest lecturers.

The application form of the course is available on the college website. Eligibility criteria for BA Psychology (honours) was just passing class 12th examinations from a recognised board. There was no entrance test and the merit list was released considering the marks secured in class 12th only. If you have scored above 92% (for general category) you'll surely be able to get admission in the college. The cut off for reserved category candidates is lower. There were only like 8-12 seats available for general category candidates. Once the merit list is released you are required to make an online payment of admission fee via the college portal and then the college provides you with date of document verification. For that you need to visit the campus and get all the required documents (specified by the college) verified. Hence, completing your admission process. The whole process takes about a month of time.

In our department, there were 5 professors (including the HoD) and 25 students in our class (2019-2022 batch). There were 12 post graduate students as well. 4 out of 5 professors have a PhD in Psychology. The HoD has a PhD in Organisational Psychology. All the professors taught decently. The students were also given the opportunity to make PowerPoint presentations and explain various topics to the class. There is also a lab for the practicals. The professors are quite easily approachable but they do not usually respond to texts. Your best bet would be approaching them at the campus itself (during the working hours) if you need them or you can give them a call for urgent matters. They are very strict about attendance and they expect the same attitude from the students' side as well. What I liked the most about the Psychology department is that they provide free of cost therapy to the campus students. So if anything ever bothers you, you can always let them know and receive desired help