Is St Josephs the best in Bangalore?

I loved the interrelation between IR and Journalism, and I feel like for someone who is going to prepare to become diplomats or for the UPSC exams, this course will really help as it covers a lot of aspects across both the disciplines. The 3 years you put in really pushes you as a student, exploring multiple realms of both the disciplines. Only problem I had was that journalism could be a bit more hands-on, maybe we could have been taught a bit more about broadcast journalism and reporting in the media. Other than that all topics covered are interesting and exams are pretty straightforward.

We have to pay around 30-40K per semester, the additional languages you have chosen (till semester 5) will also add to this as extra fees. Since the course is on Humanities there are no other extra lab charges and such, nor do we have to pay an exam fees. There are scholarships for students from economically backward families available as well, a few of my friends have applied for the same. There are no other compulsory or hidden charges.

The campus is not as alive as I have seen other campuses across Bangalore. There are always stalls lined up selling cute pins, brooches and all that, and even food. There are two major fests, Pratibha and Visages and there is also a Startup Mela annually which is quite fun. The NCC and NSS departments also puts in a lot of effort into training their cadets, and there are also clubs for western music, classical music and dance. Yet, the cultural atmosphere could be more vibrant in my opinion, but it is not boring also.

I only wanted to get into SJU as I had a few friends study here and graduate. This was definitely my dream college other than St Xaviers in Mumbai, where I couldn't go as I did not meet the cut off criteria for marks. For this college, I had to apply online and pay the registration fees and wait for them to announce the interview list on their website. Following the publishing of the list, I was constantly updated through mail about the proceedings. The interview was held in 2 rounds, one was with a professor and one with a Father. Both were pretty basic, and with the latter we had to have a parent or guardian sit with us as the details for the fees would be discussed. There was also entrance exams for other courses related to Social Sciences, Journalism and English and those were also quite straightforward, testing your levels of creativity and command over the language.

The faculty members are helpful; particularly from the Social Sciences and Humanities. The department I am part of, International Relations, Public Policy and Peace Studies, is particularly excellent. The professors provide great opportunities for you to write and publish your work on respectable platforms. The journalism department is also wonderful. I really like Mr Areesh K from the IR department as he is our Class Mentor, and he is very helpful when it comes to mentoring.

I had only had 2 interviews, and they did not require any specific preparation per say. The questions were about yourself and your achievements in school, and why you chose this course. As long as you have a good command over the language, and is comfortable speaking, the intwrviews will be a breeze.

The locality is extremely safe at night or day, yet there is no nightlife "inside" the campus. A road away, there are cafes and restaurants that sell really nice food lined up, from Biriyanis to momos to Kerala food to fried chicken. There are cute cafes too, that sell shakes and fries. Karak Chai is the most famous hangout spot outside of college, and it is a really endearing little shop.