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| Monday, July 14, 2008
Winners are choosers
Personal aptitude, placement prospects, proximity and parental
advice guide their choice as candidates with higher cut-offs
decide at the engineering counselling
The vast majority of the 1.15 lakh students vying for engineering
college seats will have to juggle their preferred colleges and
courses, forcing compromises as they watch their first choices
being taken by those with higher cut-offs.
For a lucky few, however, the choices are unlimited. The 1580
toppers who attended Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions counselling
on the first two days all scored cut-offs higher than 197.5.
Most of them were able to get their first choice of course and
college.
After weeks and months of advice from family, friends, teachers,
educational consultants, and the media, these students finally
made their own decisions as they sat in front of the terminals
at their counselling session. An analysis of their choices and
the reasons behind them throws up some interesting trends.
Undoubtedly, Electronics and Communication Engineering was the
favourite subject among these toppers. Not only did approximately
35 per cent of students select the subject on the first two
days, many of them also stuck to their subject choice even when
seats started getting filled up at the top government colleges.
“My first choice was my course. I wanted ECE, so I took
it in St. Joseph’s College of Engineering,” says
R. Aishwarya of Chennai, who arrived on Saturday afternoon,
after ECE vacancies had vanished from the Anna University department
institutions. She, like many others, preferred ECE to Computer
Science and Information Technology. “It has better scope,
because I can get jobs with both hardware and software, and
even electronics companies,” she says.
Of course, Computer Science had its own aficionados, who accounted
for about 19 per cent of the seats allotted in the first two
days. “I already know I want a job in the software sector,
so why should I take ECE? That is for those who cannot make
up their minds. I would prefer to be better trained for software,
by taking the Computer Science stream,” says Amutha Prabha
of Tirunelveli, who opted for the course at PSG College of Technology.
Another 11 per cent selected Information Technology.
Most students who chose Mechanical Engineering – about
11 per cent – in the first couple of days were also sure
of their choice, though they may seem to be running against
the tide. “I am interested in mechanics and it will always
have good prospects,” said J. Pradeep of Erode.
The advantage for Mechanical Engineering students is that seats
are still available at top colleges even for those with a slightly
lower ranking. For example, Pradeep was one of the first to
take the subject, and got admission into College of Engineering,
Guindy, even though his ranking was only 180.
The rationale behind these toppers’ choices seem to be
based on the four Ps: personal aptitude, placement prospects,
proximity and parental advice. Sriram Krishnan of Tiruvarur
falls into the first category.
“I’ve always
wanted to do aeronautical engineering. I want to get an M.E.
and then a Ph.D in the same subject,” he says, happy that
he got the course of his choice at the Madras Institute of Technology.
Many students are also familiar with the placement records of
colleges and the potential careers linked with different courses.
“I know ECE has good prospects in several careers,”
says M. Sharmila, listing out the opportunities she expects
to exploit in four years’ time.
Anna University authorities say location seems to be playing
a greater role in the choices this year, as colleges away from
Chennai improve their reputation. “PSG was the top choice
for many in the Coimbatore region, and there were several students
from Madurai, especially girls, who chose Thiagarajar so that
they could study from home... In fact, one of the few students
who chose self-financing colleges on the first day was a girl
who said she would not be allowed to study unless she could
stay close to her home in Tirunelveli,” said an official
involved in the admissions.
With hundreds of anxious parents and relatives milling around
at the counselling centre, it is clear that their advice is
important to candidates. In fact, top ranker Asha Ganesan, who
scored the maximum cut-off of 200 says she is doing an engineering
degree purely to satisfy her parents. “I want to go into
the IFS after my B.E.,” she says.
Courtesy: The Hindu - Education Plus
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