Pondicherry University - A Haven or Home? For students

The fact that this is not just a Master's program in English but also Comparative literature is what attracted me. This is not a combination available in other universities. This curriculum helps you gain a more nuanced view of the world and helps in research aspects very much. There are many job opportunities with this course. There could be more professional exam oriented coaching sessions provided by the university in the curriculum instead of just the usual subjects. The exam timings are usually perfect with apt time for preparation.

The students become eligible for campus placements after their second semester. That is when recruiter officers approach students for their interest and interviews. Amazon is one of the main recruiters. The average package is 5lpa starting. 40% get placed. My plans are to pursue a PhD after my master's.

The tuition fee for the Master's program in PU, rounds up to 12000 in the first semester. The odd semester fee is always a bit higher than the even semester. The entirety of admission fee, caution fee and other deposits are included in this. The Hostel fee for the girls comes out to be nearly 19000 in the first semester. It also includes the deposits and mess fees. There is no special reduction of fees for SC students. There is reimbursement in other forms.

There are several fests held in the university by different departments. Like Vanicom, Aakansha, PUFF. They are usually held in the months of March and April. The library is one of the best in the country. With a wide variety of ranges. The accessibility is also very easy. The classrooms are a bit old but very spacious and comfortable. There are adequate benches and seating. There are smartboards in every classroom. There is a very lively sports scene in the campus, with a special basketball court, cricket pitch, football ground, badminton center, and other grounds for athletes to practice. There are several events and tournaments that take place too.

Hostels are newly constructed mostly. They have good infrastructure and durability. The hostel I stay in is very big almost housing a 1000 students. There are 3 students per room, and the rooms are spacious. There is WiFi inside the hostel and water supply is also good. The mess is the only place which could use major improvement. The food quality is really bad. There is no cleanliness and there is no adequate staff. The food will always get over before the posted timings. Food is of very poor quality and most students opt to eat outside the campus mostly. The process of registering is very easy as you approach the main hostel office with a single registration form given from the respective department with the HOD's signature and you'll be allotted a room after the payment of the fee. Which is through and online portal called SAMS. It's a bit pricey considering other universities but it's worth it for the money apart from the food .

I applied to the University of Hyderabad for the same course and did get admission but pulled out because the distance from my house and the university was too far. Pondicherry was a better option, geographically. Since I only applied to 2 universities and got accepted in both, I did not get rejected from anywhere else. The main admission process is Common University Entrance Test or CUET. This score is used for the admission criterion, with cut offs for different categories. There is another method of entering, which is through Spot Admission, after all the slots with the original merit list have been filled.

Currently the student to faculty ratio is almost 1:75. Which is not that unusual for a central university with vast departments. The english department faculty are okay at being approachable, highly educated and capable teachers. Their language is excellent and have an incredible work ethic. The best faculty in the department should go to the HOD. He is an amazing teacher who deals with Subaltern Literature, which is beyond amazing. The way he can engage a class is astounding. There are not any teacher that I dislike in the department. All of them are unique in their own way and needed accordingly. There are 3 internal exams and one external exam every semester for each hardcore subject. They're determined and set by the concerned faculty and difficultly levels depend on them. If students fail to clear the exam, they can retake them in the next semester as an arrear exam. The curriculum was recently revised, and all the subjects are extremely important.

There wasn't any interview as the admission was through CUET scores. The admission was completed through online payment of fees through SAMS portal which is common for all students. It's the portal which also shows our records and results

There are specific gyms for girls and boys nearby their hostels. There is no special curfew in the campus. There is complete freedom. There are no timings for the hostels. You may come and go as you please but there is a time log for the students to enter. The main hangout spots include the Tea Shop inside the university hostels nowadays. There are other spots too, by the stadiums and campuses.