I am currently an under-grad student of Anna University. I am in Computer Science and Engg from College of Engineering, Guindy (MAIN CAMPUS)
Whats so great (or not) in this college?
This is the kind of information that you will not get outside. We’ll take it one by one.
THE FACULTY
The faculty will range from the absolute morons to exceptional geniuses. In your 4 years you will come across some wonderful professors many of whom will change your life forever. This is not an exaggeration! They will teach you to think outside the box, to apply what you have learnt, they will help you if you want to know some more about a subject AND even if you are interested in something that is non-academical, your professors will give you whole-hearted support. By the end of the semester, you would have put these people up on a pedestal and with good reason too! If you are generally reticent and don’t interact a lot with your classmates or your faculty, you will anyway put these profs on a pedestal because of their teaching. And if you are more active in class and you try to interact more with the faculty they will become a life-long friend, guiding light and a mentor.
That’s one side of the coin. On the other end of the spectrum, you have the lowest of the low, the scum that feeds on the bottom of a pond, the most stupid lackadaisical moronic nitwits you will ever meet in your entire life. You will never believe that profs as bad as this are allowed to teach. They will not turn up for classes, they will grade you based on your handwriting or on your gender. Sometimes you can get a distinction just becuz you are a girl and sometimes you can fail becuz of that one reason. I will not say that this effects your grade becuz it doesn’t.... it is simply your whole GRADE!! Watch out for these ppl, you will nvr learn anything under them, you have to learn by yourself and not get discouraged if your efforts are not gettin proper recognition. You may be the topper in your class and know more about the suject that anyone else, but you will still get a lower grade than half of the class (who won’t know even 0.01 of what you know)
To summarize, it’s just a gamble, you will see the worst of the worst and the best of the best. How your college experience will be depends a lot on the profs you get and the profs you get will be like playing russian roulette - it’s all abt your luck. No matter whom you get, make it your point to get it your best shot. At least you will learn something even if your grades are not good. AND if you have really been trying hard and doing well, they will find it hard to give you a lower grade than ’average’. In the end, the experience of being under good profs (even if you find yourself under only one good prof) are more that enuff to counterbalance being under a bad prof a hundred timea over. They are THAT good!
A word of caution, don’t expect to be spoon-fed they will treat you like a colleague and be quite informal with you, you have to make the best of it. That will not be a problem becuz even IF you are a laid-back person, just being under these profs will motiveate you to think laterally and come up with innovative ways of solving the probs.
THE FACILITIES
The facilities are great. The college will not spare any expense in that issue. You will be in contact with state-of-the-art stuff. Sometimes, when you go to another department for a lab session, you will find that they will give you the worst stuff. Equipments that don’t work or are faulty. This is to be expected. You will definitely find outdated, faulty equipment but in general, the facilities are very good.
THE STUDENTS
No matter what ppl say about quotas and reservations, the students are top class. Definitely, there are ppl who have got in when their marks are not up to the standard. But out of a class of 50, 30 will be merit students and the remaining will be quota cases. I will tell you this, out of those 30, 10 will be geniuses in the true sense of the word. The kind of people that are 1 in a thousand. I mean that. The cream of Anna are the cream of the country. They are exceptional people and just rubbing shoulders with them is enough to motivate you. These 30 students will be top class - really brilliant , hard-working and dedicated. Because of them, regardless of how you got in, you will find yourself pushing harder. A very competitive environment, you will learn to give it your best becuz if you give it anything less that all you’ve got, you cannot survive in this college. It is about learning to swim or drowning.
One small word of advice, generally the students are not very helpful, you have to go out and get what you want. Some students will be willing to help you with your academics and other probs but in general, it’s very competitive and everyone is watching his/her own back.
THE ADMINISTRATION
I MUST say a word on this.Be very careful of the bureaucracy. It is fat, sluggish and collapsing under it’s own weight. No one will help you out. They are not bothered about the students at all. They want to do the barest minimum that is expected of them. Definitely, our VC (E.Balagurusamy) is a wonderful person who is really interested in what the students want. And they are very strict about ragging, so to some extent your interests are a priority. But that’s where the buck stops. If you find something that can be improved or you want to make a difference and try and help the students or college in some way, be prepared to wade through a lot of red tape and eventually confronted with a brick wall. The ppl ’in charge’ only want to find ways of making the college seem like heaven while putting in minimum effort. The guys who run the place are just not bothered about students. Period. End of Story.
I think I have said enuff to give you a fair understanding on this college. On a final note, Anna University really is an excellent place to learn, academically you will reach your peak. You can really realize your potential if you so wish. They are very interested in getting students to participate and get a hands-on experience so don’t expect to be confined to books. You will find a whole world of opportunities to test and fine-tune your skills - whatever those skills may be. AU is simply the best.