Life as a Junior in Sastra

The course curriculum for first year is very relevant because it is mostly from 11th and 12th. Some new topics such as Civil and Mechanical engineering gives a fresh perspective about a lot of things and are also tested at a very good level. So, both understanding and scoring marks are sorted in the first year. Though not yet exposed, I come to understand from my faculties that learning these would somehow help me in my core subjects and make my life easier on the course of the 4 years. The syllabus is perfect, but the contents seem a bit voluminous for a 50 mark CIA.It is very difficult to complete the portions due to the less time frame. So, it would be better if some of the portions is reduced so that it is easier to prepare in the short span of time.

Since I am in the first year, I am not very well versed with respect to the internship opportunities so provided by the college. Along with this, I think we can opt for individual internships if required.

Being in the first year, I am not very sure about the placements but word from my seniors sounds like all are getting placed. They are eligible for placement from the 7th semester onwards. I have not planned anything about after getting the degree as of now, but if I manage to get a good offer from campus placements, I would definitely keep them in my considerations.

The year wise fees is split into 2 semester fees of 85000 along with a cost of 18000/25000(based on your room preference) hostel fees. Most importantly, the fees for all B.Tech courses is the same for the first years. Other than this, pertaining to the maintanence of the hostel, there are a few breakage fee splits at the end of each semester.

The overall campus experience is fun if you manage to find a very good set of friends to hangout with. Both the semesters consists of a lot of events which are namely, Utsav, Carpediem, Fuera which are intra college culturals taking place in the odd sem and Daksh, Colosseum, Kuruksastra which are inter college culturals taking place in the evening sem. The recruitments to the organising clubs are very professional with interviews of eligible candidates. The infrastructure is very well managed and maintained. Sports and extracurriculars are supported but only upon student's will. The library is very helpful to get hold of good resourceful books for preparation and are of wide range. Other than these event clubs, there are other clubs which consists of fun people and vibe. Student Life is extremely good because the no ragging policy being strictly followed helps in a peaceful life. More importantly, the seniors treat juniors like their own siblings and guide them through.

The hostel facilities are reasonable considering the nominal fees charged. There are 2 types of rooms - 3 in 1 and single room which consists of a cupboard, a chair and a table. Housekeeping facilities clean the room 2 days a week and regularly clean the common bathrooms for each floor. The mess meal is below par and very difficult to eat. The menu seems to be very exciting the first time, but only when you taste it, you'll get to know of the true state. Link will be provided to your mail for hostel registration and registrations for your choice of room is based on availability. Hostels are very affordable, for 3 in 1 rooms it is around 18000 and for individual 27000. As it is located in the highway, we need to go to either Trichy or Thanjavur for renting a room or PG. Along with this, there is a private hostel behind this hostel.

This was the only college that actually chose me with my marks. Other colleges that considered merit had a lot of competition and I was just short with respect to the marks I scored. While I had options of other college that charged around 3-5 lakhs, this college had a very nominal fees which was an added factor. I applied for SSN, VIT, SNU and SRM. With respect to SSN, I wasn't able to get inside through both TNEA counselling as well as Management quota. Other colleges gave me opportunity to join them, but unfortunately in courses that I was not very interested in. Upon advice and feedback of this college from people, I decided this college would be a good place for completing my engineering degree. Most important thing about Sastra is, it does not conduct any entrance exams for getting admission. It is purely based on your mark in Board exams and JEE(if applicable). These marks were considered and a ranking was provided under All India and TN rankings. While the other colleges weren't providing any intimation about how I got the ranks in their entrances, Sastra gave detailed ranking which was very reassuring to me.

One faculty attends to 60 students. If there are any gaps still felt among the students, it can be filled if he/she expresses the same to his mentor who is one of your faculties and he can help you speak with the concerned faculty and clear your queries. More importantly, the faculties are very interactive and student-friendly and they make sure that everyone gets hold of the concepts well. Comings to examinations, there are 3 Continuous Internal Assessments (CIA) and one final end semester examination. The most useful thing about the CIAs is, among the 3 exams held, only the best 2 are considered for overall grading. This also means that if you performed well in the first 2, you can opt not to write the 3rd CIA. This is the most helpful thing for scoring well. The curriculum of the first year is common to all departments which helps in understanding the basics of all the courses. Along with some subjects giving recap of 11th and 12th standard syllabus, some new subjects also are there.

The curfew time for hostel is at 9:30 for boys and 6:30 PM for girls. The night life is mostly confined to the respective hostels. After a tiresome long day in classes, students can hangout in any of the 3 canteens present inside the campus or go to the FREE gym or play any sports in the grounds. The most famous hangout spot is Krishna Canteen(KC) and other spots include the verandah outside the library and also stone bench around the library.