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Book Review: Engineering Admissions

Posted by Gautam

There is an ages old rite of passage that students of maths and science in India go through after completing their class 12 exams.

They sit for the iconic JEE and other Engineering College exams.

Why do they all sit for the exam? Even when the admission percentage of these colleges are abysmally low?

I remember my own JEE. I did not have even a snowball’s chance in hell of getting through. Now, when I look back on it, I sat for the exam not because I wanted to be an Engineer (I was sure I didn’t want to be one) but because it was the social thing to do. Everyone in my class gave the exam. Finally some 5 students got through from our school batch in the elite IITs.

So when editor of youth magazine JAM, and popular blogger, Rashmi Bansal asked on her blog if people can help her compile a comprehensive guide to Engineering Admissions in India, I was thankful that someone was taking the huge effort to do this finally.

The book is out now and I got a copy from Rashmi and the folks at JAM to review it.

I really didn’t know what to expect. Maybe I was expecting a dry collection of facts, but the book is a huge collection of experiences of anecdotes, advice and experiences about Engineering. Questions like:

“Should I do Engineering?”
“I have a low rank in a good college vs a great rank in the neighborhood institute. Which one do I choose?”
“Which branch should I choose?”
“Which is the best coaching class?”
“How is life at IIT for a girl?”

All these are answered.

All this has been possible thanks to the huge number of people who responded to Rashmi’s blog posts asking for information. I would unhesitatingly call this India’s first “social media” created book.

Engineering colleges from almost all states in India are covered, and peppered with personal feedback from students who are either students there or have graduated from there.

So if you have someone at the critical decision point of class 10 and 11. Give him/her a copy of this book. They’ll thank you.

Posted in books, india, social media