BITS streams demystified again!

Last year I wrote a post on understanding various disciplines (say streams) at BITS-Pilani and how one can decide his preferences on streams. And now here I am back with the another post on the same lines. The content of this post is mostly same as previous one except few changes related to cut-offs. The below note is an extract from my previous post. It has some changes related to BITSAT-08 cut-offs and little guess-work on expected cut-offs. This post will be useful for studs who arent able to decide on what kind of courses them should take. So let’s start demystifying the preference order.

BITS is a kinda a place where apart from the regular academics you learn a lot from the extra curricular. The flexibilities offered at BITS are innumerable. From no attendance to attending unregistered classes, bunking classes to attending surprise tests, one-night ghoting, 2am fried Maggi...no doubt i still miss those golden days a lot :(. I can assure the prospective students that they will have very fond memories with BITS once they pass-out.

Few of the notable flexibilities pertaining to academics is the option of having DUAL degree. This enables student to pursue engineering in 2 different areas. For eg. few of my friends have dual degrees in various areas like Mechanical + Computer Science, Mathematics + EEE, Economics + Computer Science. There is also an option to completely switch from one stream to other stream say from Mechanical to EEE or Chemical to Instrumentation. You have another option of continuing the undergraduate course and convert it into a post-graduate degree like B.E (Hons.) EEE to M.E (Hons.) Embedded Systems. Apart from this we have the compulsary and optional Internship programs at the end of second year and in fourth year. All these flexibilities allow the students to design their career paths as per their needs and interests. All these features have made BITS one of the most sought after colleges for engineering in India. Students who pass-out from BITS also have very bright chances to get into top notch colleges for higher studies in India and abroad.

Many students might have already gone through the cut-offs for various branches at BITS (both Pilani and Goa). Let us once have a look at the cut-offs for various disciplines. The following details are also given in the BITS website.

"The cut-off BITSAT scores for admissions to I Semester 2008-09 to different programmes are given below. This is given here for information on the request of many candidates."

Degree programme at Pilani Campus	Cut-off BITSAT-2008 score
B.E.(Hons.): Chemical	309
B.E.(Hons.): Civil	304
B.E.(Hons.): Electrical & Electronics	339
B.E.(Hons.): Mechanical	324
B.Pharm.(Hons.)	241
B.E.(Hons.): Computer Science	349
B.E.(Hons.): Electronics & Instrumentation	331
M.Sc.(Hons.): Biological Sciences	263
M.Sc.(Hons.): Chemistry	282
M.Sc.(Hons.): Economics	289
M.Sc.(Hons.): Mathematics	287
M.Sc.(Hons.): Physics	288
M.Sc.(Tech.): General Studies	302
M.Sc.(Tech.): Engineering Technology	283
M.Sc.(Tech.): Finance	276
M.Sc.(Tech.): Information Systems	287

Degree programme at Goa Campus	cut-off BITSAT-2008 score
B.E.(Hons.): Chemical	281
B.E.(Hons.): Electrical and Electronics	304
B.E.(Hons.): Mechanical	290
B.E.(Hons.): Computer Science	313
B.E.(Hons.): Electronics & Instrumentation	295
M.Sc.(Hons.): Biological Sciences	248
M.Sc.(Hons.): Chemistry	265
M.Sc.(Hons.): Economics	271
M.Sc.(Hons.): Mathematics	270
M.Sc.(Hons.): Physics	272
M.Sc.(Tech.): Information Systems	272

Degree programme at Hyderabad Campus	cut-off BITSAT-2008 score
B.E.(Hons.): Chemical	280
B.E.(Hons.): Civil	285
B.E.(Hons.): Electrical and Electronics	299
B.E.(Hons.): Mechanical	291
B.E.(Hons.): Computer Science	306
B.E.(Hons.): Electronics & Communication	306
B.Pharm.(Hons.)	230
M.Sc.(Hons.): Biological Sciences	248
M.Sc.(Hons.): Chemistry	264
M.Sc.(Hons.): Economics	266
M.Sc.(Hons.): Mathematics	268
M.Sc.(Hons.): Physics	267
M.Sc.(Tech.): Information Systems	272

http://www.bitsadmission.com/admn/fd/cutoffscores.htm
Since the Hyderabad campus has opened the gates for the students from this academic year (2008-09), the cut-offs are going to come down a little more. What could be the expected cut-offs?? To understand this lets do some maths now! Nearly one-lakh candidates registered for BITSAT-2007 and 68,466 candidates had registered for BITSAT-2006. As per the statistics available with the BITS, inBITSAT-2006 only 155 candidates could score above 400 while 1,241 candidates scored more than 350. Candidates with scores above 300 were 4,715 while candidates with scores 250 and above were 11,696. Though the candidates eligible were quite good in number, some would have missed the pre-requisite of a candidate obtaining a minimum of aggregate 80 per cent marks in physics, chemistry and mathematics subjects in the Intermediate examination, with at least 60 per cent marks in each of the Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics subjects. Now in 2007 the cut-off was around 275 (Lets consider only A-group and B-group streams) for Pilani and 271 for Goa. With 600 seats getting added (Hyderabad campus) I am expecting the cut off to come down to 255 - 260. But with 6 new IITs starting this year (tentative), another 700 seats will be available to grab ! That means the BITSAT cut-off can reduce further to around 245 - 250. But the cut-offs for popular streams like EEE, Computer Science, E&I, Mechanical might not come down. The general feedback says that BITSAT-08 exam was tougher than last year.

My guessing (which never went correct in exams) was good and last year cut-offs was indeed in the range of 240-250. The cut-off for a seat in Pilani campus was 241, for Goa campus it was 248 and for Hyderabad campus was 230. The top 3 streams (EEE, CSE, E&I) had cut-offs of 300+ indicating that there wasn't much change for the sought after streams. Coming to the B-group streams (MSc courses), the cut-offs were above 250. Thus if we look at obtaining a dual degree then scoring 250+ would have ensured atleast one of the B-group streams and later on the student could have taken one of the A-group streams as Dual degree.

The most important factor which could dampen students' spirits is the latest buzzword "Recession". The concerns are genuine as the placements at reputed engineering colleges in India weren't great this year. Many of them could not even get the placement offers for 50% of their student strength. Hence many would not prefer to invest in costly education. But let me remind you that this investment would get you laurels and success throughout your life. You never know if this recession would continue after 4 years. The signs of recovery are already showing and the economy would revive slowly. The cut-offs could thus continue at the same range that is 240-250 for admission this year. Pilani would lead with higher cut-offs followed by Goa and then Hyderabad.

Now let us assume that a student X got around 310 marks and now has to give in the preferences of the various courses. The first foremost thing he should take care about is his career goals. Questions like career goals, ambitions, interests in specific fields etc. should be taken into consideration while deciding the preferences. But the general scenario is that the student coming out of 12th standard do not have much knowledge about the courses, and even if they have the knowledge then they cant decide on their areas of interest. So this student X is of similar type who does not have any specific interests in any field but has inclination to be in the most popular branches (EEE, E&I, CSC etc.). So here go his preferences:

1. B.E (Hons.) Computer Science - Pilani
2. B.E (Hons.) EEE - Pilani
3. B.E (Hons.) E&I - Pilani
4. B.E (Hons.) Mechanical - Pilani
5. MSc (Hons.) Mathematics - Pilani
6. Msc (Hons.) Economics - Pilani
7. Msc (Hons.) Physics - Pilani
8. Msc (Hons.) Chemistry - Pilani
9. Msc (Hons.) Biology - Pilani
10. Msc (Tech.) Information Systems - Pilani
11. B.E (Hons.) Computer Science - Goa
12. B.E (Hons.) EEE - Goa
13. B.E (Hons.) E&I - Goa
14. B.E (Hons.) Computer Science - Hyderabad
15. B.E (Hons.) ECE - Hyderabad
16. B.E (Hons.) EEE - Hyderabad
17. MSc (Hons.) Mathematics - Goa
18. Msc (Hons.) Economics - Goa
19. Msc (Hons.) Physics - Goa
20. Msc (Hons.) Chemistry - Goa
21. Msc (Hons.) Biology - Goa
22. B.E (Hons.) Mechanical - Goa
23. MSc (Hons.) Mathematics - Hyderabad
24. Msc (Hons.) Economics - Hyderabad
25. Msc (Hons.) Physics - Hyderabad
26. Msc (Hons.) Chemistry - Hyderabad
27. Msc (Hons.) Biology - Hyderabad
28. B.E (Hons.) Mechanical - Hyderabad
29. B.E (Hons.) Chemical - Pilani
30. B.E (Hons.) Civil - Pilani
31. Msc (Tech.) Information Systems - Goa
32. Msc (Tech.) Information Systems - Hyderabad
33. B.E (Hons.) Chemical - Goa
34. B.E (Hons.) Civil - Goa
35. B.E (Hons.) Chemical - Hyderabad
36. B.E (Hons.) Civil - Hyderabad
37. B.Pharm (Hons.) - Pilani
38. B.Pharm (Hons.) - Hyderabad
39. MSc (Tech.) Finance - Pilani
40. MSc (Tech.) Engineering Technology - Pilani
41. MSc (Tech.) General Studies - Pilani

Here goes the explanation for the above preference:

• Higher preference for MSc courses (call it as B-group courses) of pilani because student X BITSAT score falls into that category exactly. Also getting a dual degree in few of the disciplines like Computer science , EEE or E&I is not difficult if you score good marks (we call it as CGPA - Cumulative Grade Point Average in BITS) in exams. In fact the marks (latest marks I could get) required to get dual degrees are:
• EEE - 7.5+
• Computer Science - 7.6+
• E&I - 7.2+
• Mechanical - 7+

Note: CGPA of 10 is equivalent to 100%

• These scores are applicable to students of B-group only. If a student wants to take dual within A-group (the B.E (Hons.) courses) then the scores can go as high as 9.2+. Likewise if a student wants to take a transfer to another A-group course, the score required is high (around 9.3+). Thus getting a dual degree using B-group is easier compared to other available options. An average student who studies regularly can easily get above 8.5 in BITS, atleast in first year as few of the subjects are foundation subjects. The only drawback is he needs to spend 5 years to complete the courses instead of 4 years. But I never consider this as a drawback because a dual degree student has the option to take internship of either 6 months (1 semester) or 12 months (2 semester). These internship are done in reputed organisations and many of them even get employed in those companies !! Thus effectively you are actually studying for 4 years + 1 year of real project work in various companies. Not a bad deal !!
• Hyderabad though a new college can have an edge over Goa in terms of placement and other resources because of its geographic location. There have also been rumours that hyderabad campus will have world class faculty.

One important point to be discussed is now - what if two students have same marks? This has been explained in the BITS admission website:

"As explained earlier, a candidate who has appeared in BITSAT-2008 will be eligible for admission only if he/she gets the required minimum marks in the Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics or Biology subjects of 12^th examination as per the eligibility criteria described already. All candidates who have appeared in BITSAT-2008 and are interested in admission will be required to submit Admission application with 12^th marks and preferences to different degree programmes offered, on or before 30^th June 2008, as detailed later in this brochure.

The merit position of such eligible candidates (i.e., those who have appeared in BITSAT-2008 and have submitted the application for admission in the prescribed form(s) with 12^th marks, preferences and the required fees) will be prepared on the basis of their scores in BITSAT-2008. There will be two separate merit lists prepared for admission. One for all the programmes except the B.Pharm.(Hons.) and M.Sc.(Hons.) Biological Sciences, the other only for B.Pharm.(Hons.) and M.Sc.(Hons.) Biological Sciences. The cases of bracketing, if any, will be dealt with as described below.

When the score of two candidates are the same, first their scores obtained in Mathematics (if he/she has taken Mathematics in BITSAT) or Biology (if he/she has taken Biology in BITSAT) will be considered for separating them. If the scores obtained in Mathematics/Biology are equal, then their scores in Physics in BITSAT will be considered for separating them. If the scores obtained in Physics are also equal, then their scores in Chemistry in BITSAT will be considered for separating them. If still there is a tie, their PCM (if he/she has taken Mathematics in BITSAT) or PCB (if he/she has taken Biology in BITSAT) total marks in 12^th examination will be considered for their separation."

http://www.bitsadmission.com/admn/brochures/BITSAT2008br.htm

Lastly the disclaimer part :). This list is based solely on my judgement and info from few of my friends who are studying in BITS currently and also few ex-Bitsians. The list does not reflect the course content quality or other issues. All these disciplines are taught by very good and experienced faculty in all the campuses. Students who have interest in specific streams like Civil, Chemical, Mechanical etc should give higher preference to those disciplines. I request you to discuss with your relatives, teachers and friends before filling up your preference order. Also go through the admission details and other important information on BITS website before submitting your preferences. Please do not rely solely on the college rankings given by various magazines as they can be very misleading. one last thing, BITS is on par with IITs and better than many NITs. So while deciding college and stream, give first preference to your interests/career/branch than which college to join. Feel free to shoot your queries :).

Updated news:

1. Check out this new video of BITS- Pilani:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=631141890851150255

2. For the students who wanted to know what is special of BITS and its culture, check

this link –

http://www.livemint.com/2008/06/12000116/India8217s-Best-Colleges.html

3. This attachement (.pdf file) gives the ranking for top 30 private engineering institutes. Please dont rely solely on rankings for college selection.

http://www.livemint.com/2008/06/12000116/76EAFEC3-3A7C-494C-A923-EFC04A6490B0ArtVPF.pdf

Checklist for freshers !

When i was packing my bags to set off for Pilani. I did not know that there was a super market in the campus itself. I took a trunk full of various items only to realise later that all these were very much available at campus itself. I am listing down here few items which should/can be carried along with you.

1. All documents, certificates, memos etc
2. Winter clothing like sweaters, thermals, gloves, socks etc. Temperature goes down to around 0 degrees in winter. In our times it went till -2 degrees !!
3. Computers will be necessary only from second year onwards.
4. Any specific sports gear/ musical instrument/ books which you are fond of.

I can recollect only these as of now. Shall update whenever I find new things. I suggest you guys to post any more items in comments which you feel should be taken care of before leaving.

CS / IS in BITS

B.E(Hons.) CS stands for Computer Science and IS for MSc(Tech.) Information Systems. These two disciplines are popular streams taken by students who have interests in computers, computer applications and software technologies. I am posting here a note written by one of the alums of BITS-Pilani. Some of the info might not be applicable to the coming batches as they (BITS administration) have given more flexibility to C-group courses. Also the course structure might have been be modified recently. Here are the views:

I completed my B.E. (in computer science) from BITS Pilani in 2000. Campus recruitment for the IS guys was almost the same as the B.E. Computer Science people. But there is a difference between B.E. C.S. and M.Sc IS. There was almost no "hardware" course in IS. e.g.:

- Digital electronics, microprocessors

- Computer Architecture/Organization.

The IS guys studied "software engineering", while the CS guys did not. Plus, during the first two years, the emphasis on "basic engineering" was not that strong in I.S. As far as elective courses go, (apart from the hardware related courses) the IS guys can take all the courses that the CS guys can take. Few years back IS was not considered to be a good option to choose but, as I mentioned at the start, it has now become one of the most popular streams and most companies coming for recruitment did not treat them on par with other disciplines.(Especially when they were looking for software knowledge.)The I.S. guys also went to very good universities for their M.S.

Finally, it's not easy to get I.S. in Pilani. (Since the recruitment is almost identical to C.S., this branch was highly desirable. It was almost, C.S./ EEE, then I.S.).

Target BITS !!

Here I go with another post, which will let you know about the preparation few of the BITS students took to get admission into BITS. I request all the students who got admission confirmation for BITS to posts their strategies so that the high school students will benefit from them. You can post u r strats as comments or mail it to careeradvocate@gmail.com. I shall add it to this post. The following writeup was sent to me by one of the bitsians:

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Name: Yogesh Mantri
Discipline: B.E(Hons.) Chemical Engineering, Pilani
Batch: 2007

It is every engineer’s dream to study at prestigious colleges like BITS, IIT’s in India. So for me the inspiration of going to these institutes came from my cousin who went through all the competitive exams and is very successful person today. Today I am proud to be a BITSIAN.

The second thing was constant motivation from my father who always helped me in difficult situations and I got across all the hurdles between me and BITS.

The third thing was my consistent preparation to realize my dream which started right from 9th standard onwards with a foundation course in science and maths and then getting into the top coaching institute in Hyderabad to start preparing for the competitive exams like BITSAT, IITJEE etc.

The main principle which was taught to me was giving importance to concepts rather than running after shortcut methods and techniques which really helped me a lot in preparing for these competitive exams as I have seen many of friends who went after these shortcuts didn’t fare well.

Apart from all these was my consistent study and regular practice that made my path to these exams easier. Also important was following standard textbooks and notes on the advice of seniors. It also helped to be in constant touch with seniors and sharing there experiences in these exams. Also important was solving of previous year question papers and other model papers to get tuned to the examination style.

And that’s a brief account of my preparation for BITSAT and other competitive exams.
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Blog poll results !

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Date - 08-07-2008
Question - Should there be reservations for admission in BITS?
Voters - 51
Results - A whopping 94% said "NO", 2% said "YES" and 4% said "Can't say"
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Date - 21-07-2008
Question – What should be the criteria to choose the college?
Voters - 40
Results – Almost all the options got equal share of votes. So I guess people a need a

right mix of all the attributes. 32% said “Placements”, 18% said “Higher Studies”, 29%

said “Brand name”, 21% said “Education quality”
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BITS - GOA !!!

Many students requested me to give some feedback/review on BITS-GOA. But I could not help them much as I was from Pilani campus. Thanks to one of my friends at GOA campus; he wrote a nice write-up on life at BITS - GOA. So people, here is the review of the GOA campus from the alumnus itself.

######################################################################################
Discipline: Computer Science
Company: Cisco Systems

The first impression as you walk through the gate of BITS-Pilani Goa campus is of sheer amazement at the beauty infront of you. The campus buildings, the faculty quarters, the greenery and the beautiful zuari river house some of the best talent India has to offer. The campus is around 180 acres, not too big but has most of the things a college student would want. Since the campus is very new, the hostel facilities are very good. Each student has an independent room, unlike most of the colleges where in your junior years you would have to share rooms with many of your batchmates. The entire campus is networked and DC++ hubs are the lifeline of most of the students. Tremendous amount of data(highest share being 32.xx TB) is available for entertainment, education, gaming,etc. The shopping complex caters to all the things on-capmus students require while the Monginis bakery, Nescafe and Juice stalls provide all the junkfood and beverages one would want.

The Mess is a hugely debatable topic, but really it isnt a mess as such. There are two caterers, and they do a decent job in preventing you from starving to death. Any college student will tell you that you should forget home food and not compare the mess food to the former. You learn to adjust, skip a meal or two from time to time and get on with better things that a college like BITS has to offer.

The best part of being a BITSian apart from the huge 'tag name' is that attendance is not compulsary unlike almost all colleges in India. This allows for a very carefree and nocturnal life for those who bunk most of the classes. Gaming is one of the biggest hobbies of the students in Goa. Being a gaming addict myself, I can assert that the level of gaming at bits-goa is amazing and the passion shown by the gamers is mind-blowing. Around 8-12 hours in a day fly away by playing Counter strike, DotA, WoW, FIFA, etc. For those who don't game, there is always something new in DC++ that you can watch. Sitcoms and movies form a major time-pass for many students.

We have a very talented rock band which performs in most of the cultural festivals and rock nights. The Dance club is also very active through out the semester. Those with a passion for art will find the Arts n Decoration Club a huge opportunity to further hone their skills. Many other clubs exist to keep students with a liking for various things busy. Thus, as far as extra-curricular activities go, there is just too much to keep the students busy.

Coming to the education, the library is one of the biggest housing a huge number of books, magazines and papers. The number of professors/lecturers is increasing every year, but there is still a huge requirement of skilled professors. Barring a few profs in every discipline (don't want to take names here), the standard of teaching isn't what one would call superb. But the profs who have come from the Pilani campus are fantastic and a great source of knowledge and inspiration for the students. The entire campus building( the classrooms and labs) is air-conditioned which gives students one more reason to attend classes during the Goan Summer. Many labs are still coming up, with a Cypress sponsored lab for EEE/EnI students the latest addition. The computer lab is huge by any standard, and caters to the needs of various courses with practical knowledge requirements. Since every hostel room has the LAN and Net facility, the labs are used for browsing by the newest batch in the campus(until they bring their comps/lappys).

After BITSAT, the quality of the students coming to BITS has only become better. The young campus has achieved a lot in 4 years, with lots more to come in the future. The first placement year got over last year with Nvidia, CISCO, Oracle, yahoo, Microsoft, etc taking the cream of the crop. Though there is a lot of difference between the Pilani and Goa Campuses, given that it was Goa's first year of placements, it wasn't bad. But with Schlumberger and possibly Google to come for this years placements, its only getting better for those at Goa. The first batch of BITS-Goa also saw almost 50 MS applicants, with 3 getting into Stanford. Only one student has got into IIM-A but its a good start nevertheless.

Apart from on-campus actvities, the beautiful state of Goa has lots of scenic spots to offer. A lot of the Saturday/Sunday of the first and second years of a student goes in visiting the beaches in Goa. The nearest place from ZuariNagar(where BITS-Goa is situated) is vasco where you can always find a lot of BITSians shopping/dining.

College life is always the best four/five years of a students life. BITS-Pilani Goa gives all you need to have fun and build your future. Its how you use it that matters in the end.

ME @ BITS !

ME programs in BITS --

Positive points --
1. Good course structure and excellent placements.
2. Most PG courses are project-based. Gives good hands-on knowledge of the subject, better than just reading theory.
3. One can attend any course, outside prescribed course also. A mechanical student can go and attend computer Science courses informally.
4. Many cultural activities go through out the year on campus. Generally PG students do not go and join clubs and societies, mostly because of heavy study pressure.Still, if one is interested and manages his/her time well there are numerous activities to take part in.
5. Large Library containing technical books, novels, non-fiction, classics, rare books etc.
6. Nice and peaceful surroundings with open roads and lots of trees around. I fell in love with that place.


Negative points --
1. For people who want to study higher education as a stepping stone to PhD, BITS does not really offer good research options. Though there are some good professors under whom you can carry out your research and papers do get published in good numbers round the year. Still, in general, there is a lack of initiative among all. This,in my opinion, is mostly because students joining ME in BITS are more inclined towards getting placements than researching.
2. The food you get in mess is not of very good quality. Every item tastes the same with lot of potatoes in everything. Mess is though managed by students and once in a while some messes provide with good meals too.
3. Pilani being away from a major city, sometimes lack in providing commodities. People either travel to delhi or jaipur to fetch things, for projects, for cultural activities etc.

Plan of Action -

Well, you dont really need any plan of action to get into BITS. All you have to do is have a decent knowledge of your stream of interest.
BITS conduct its entrance test near end of july and end of december, advertisements for which come in all major newspaper dailies. Your final semester result of bachelor's degree should have been declared before this test.
The test comprise of a written test, again testing the candidate in basic discipline courses. Then there is an online test, where in you have to take up four basic subjects from a list.. Maths & physics being compulsory subjects. You can take other two subjects from the list of subjects available that year.
Lastly there is an interview, which like any interview is little unpredictable. Most of the times, the questions asked are relatively basic as per your discipline.

Candidate have to go through all of the above, there are no stages in between, the result comprise of overall score of the candidate over all the round. There is no absolute cut-off, students are taken in on the basis of relative score. Also, because of relative scoring, the number of students-taken varies.