Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University - [SMVDU], Katra

Few of my friends attend SMVDU, so I can give you a brief idea about the institute. SMVDU is surrounded by hills, greenery and is situated away from the hubbub of the city. The university provides a good internet facility, good faculty, good infrastructure, etc.

The university has different clubs for theatre, music, literature, photography, code, and robotics. Every department of the university organizes its own college fests.

The fests are:

• Titiksha: This is a technical college fest for the B.Tech students.
• Artha: This fest is for the students who are pursuing MSC in Economics.

There are other fests as well like the cultural fest Resurgence and the Sports fest Sarang.

To know more about the institutes, you can visit the official websites.

I had a friend who was a student of CUSAT. He scored 181 marks in JEE Main and was allotted north-east NITs and SMVDU. Power Engineering at Jadavpur was also offered to him with his WB JEE Exam. But he wanted to get into CUSAT in Safety & Fire Engineering at SOE.

• Reason for selection: If I talk about SMVDU, you would end up competing with students from various reputed colleges. The syllabus of CUSAT is much better in terms of completion. 
• Location factor: Since the location of CUSAT is in Kerala, you would be surrounded amidst the peace and you would have so much to explore as well! 
• Campus placement: If you end up doing your B.Tech from the first campus (SOE) leaving behind the Civil Department- it is safe to say that you would get placed. If you manage to get to the Safety & Fire Engineering (IT/CSE), you would earn a good package too. 

Back when my friend had passed out in 2018, students from Safety & Fire Engineering were placed in some great companies like- Maruti, ONGC, GAIL, Reliance, Maharatna, etc. For campus placements, you'd witness reputed companies around you. Plus, any placement offered by CSE, ECE, IT, or Mechanical departments is much better than SMVDU's.

Read the following points before taking any decision - 

1. CUSAT is in Kerala and you would witness a sort of South-Indian union among the Kerala masses along with special reservations for Keralites almost everywhere.
2. Do not let the language barrier get to you and instead of feeling low, learn it and work on your communication skills.
3. College strikes would happen often because of SFI and other parties. 
4. Your interaction would be confided to Keralites, U.P, or Bihar students.
5. The culture and traditions that are followed in Kerala are entirely different from the North. 

If you are getting SOE, then prefer it over SMVDU. Apart from that, Kerala is a very beautiful place that you should enjoy thoroughly.