Why choose IT-BHU over new IITs?

Another year, another IIT-JEE, another batch of IITians. The results for the combined Joint Entrance Exam of the Indian Institutes of Technology for the year 2011 will be out on the 25^th of May. Successful candidates are provided with their AIR (All India Rank) which will be used to get them their desired branch and/or institute. This is done using a process called ‘counselling’ which in this context is far from how simple it sounds!

Candidates higher up the merit list (AIR1-2000) have the luxury to choose their desired course at a desired IIT. IIT Bombay or IIT Kanpur or IIT Delhi? As you can see, life is not too bad. However for rank holders below AIR 2000 getting selected in IITJEE brings in a month full of feelings of anxiety and depression. The joy of cracking the supposedly toughest examination at its level is nowhere to be seen as these students and their parents are lost in the one big question:

COLLEGE or BRANCH?

Do I take up a ‘better’ IIT and any non-core branch? Do I join IT-BHU with a core branch? Do I join the new IITs? Even after a month full of discussion with all sorts of people ranging from the newspaperwala to corporate heads, the answers are unclear as ever and the student remains clueless as to how to fill up that counselling sheet.

Now coming to the aim of my article. Anyone with an AIR below 2000 who is confused between joining IT-BHU or new IITs should know better after reading below. I’ve tried my best to remove all doubts and apprehensions regarding IT-BHU.

Newly IITJEE qualified students do not like the sound of IT-BHU because according to them it is not an IIT and while preparing for JEE we all dreamt of being IITians one day. Well, being IITJEE qualified makes you no less than people who study in IITs (some with a worse rank) and you have every right to call yourself an IITian. However, let me assure you that IT-BHU is certain to be converted into an IIT in the next two months.

Check this: http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Institute%20of%20Technology%20Bill%202010.pdf

and this: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-24/india/29182519_1_iit-status-institutions-of-national-importance-new-institutes

These are official pages where it is clear that the conversion of IT-BHU to IIT(BHU), Varanasi is one of the aims of the IT act amendment bill which was passed by Lok Sabha on 23rd March, 2011 and is certain to be passed by Rajya Sabha in the first week of July, 2011.

So don’t worry, the problem of being an IITian is solved. Infact we already write Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi in our CVs etc.

The campus of IT-BHU is incomparable to new IITs which do not even have a campus of their own and are running on temporary buildings borrowed from other institutions. The campus of BHU is legendary. The main campus is spread over 1300 acres which is bigger than any IIT except IIT Kharagpur. The sports facilities are amazing as there is 1 cricket field, 2 soccer fields, and 1 hockey field apart from swimming pool, tennis, badminton, volleyball, squash, and basketball courts. There’s a separate complex devoted to athletics too. Now these totally belong to IT-BHU however there are several more sports and recreation facilities that belong to BHU and you can easily use them. In the new IITs you will have to rub shoulder with students of the institute which owns the campus and it has been heard that IIT students are ragged by these students which is shameful and surely something you don’t want to face.

The University has “within the same campus” three pioneering Institutes, viz. the Institute of Technology, the Institute of Medical Sciences and the Institute of Agricultural Sciences and fifteen Faculties. Only in IT-BHU you will have the opportunity to interact with students (girls) of IMS (medical) and other faculties like law arts which are in the campus itself-you won’t get this in any other IIT.

IT Hostels are old just like those of Kanpur, Kharagpur so if you want a new beautiful hostel you should go and join private colleges like SRM, Manipal etc. Here each hostel has a common room equipped with two TT tables, A TV with tatasky connection. Each hostel has volleyball and badminton courts inside the hostel itself and you can use them round the clock. Apart from that there are LAN and internet facilities and you will just have to buy some wires to set them up. Internet usage has no download limit; though sites like orkut, facebook are 'officially' banned students access them through proxy servers. Yes, the rooms are small for two people but go to IIT Delhi hostels and you will find the same size rooms. IITs are not about the size of the rooms but about the quality of people who live in those rooms! The hostel life here and the hostel mates is something you will never forget and always cherish in your life.

The academic pressure at IT-BHU is far less compared to IITs. In IITs the professors are arrogant and really strict disciplinarians and you have to mug for hours if you want a decent grade. Here in IT-BHU professors are lenient and the academic load is easy. So in the end you will get a good grade to show to the companies offering you jobs with a little effort only. Moreover, if you are serious about CAT/GRE preparations then you would have plenty of time to prepare for them while being in IT-BHU.

The reduced academic load allows participation in Institute Gymkhana activities, mainly managed by the students, which encourage artistic and creative talents in dramatics, elocution, music and visual arts. Gymkhana has various active clubs, viz. HAM, Audio, Photography, Automobile and Aero-modelling, Cine, Computer, Astronomy, etc. Students actively take part in managing three national level events every year, viz. All India Cultural Festival “KASHI-YATRA”, All India Sports Competition “SPARDHA”, and All India Exhibition of Engineering and Technology Models “TECHNEX”.

Again placements of IT-BHU are incomparable to new IITs. Placements are mainly dependant on the alumni which your college has. If some ex-student from your college is at a high post in Microsoft then there is a good chance that Microsoft will come to campus for recruitment. Since new IITs have NO alumni’s there placements won’t be as good as IT-BHU. IT-BHU is a really old college and there are plenty of its students currently at high posts in companies. The average package at IT-BHU for electrical and electronics is around 7 lacs per annum while for computer science it is 9-10 lacs per annum. And it is obvious that everyone gets placed. Same goes for internships.

All in all the new IITs will never be able to provide you with the experience that IT-BHU will. And you will soon call it IIT-BHU.

While criticising one IIT or another, the stark reality that people somehow tend to forget is that they did not do exceptionally well in IITJEE. So you have yourself to blame that you are not studying Computer Science at IIT Bombay or IIT Kanpur. The smart thing to do at this moment would be to accept this fact and realise that IT-BHU is the best option this rank of yours. I hope I have made my case clear.