A Note on Various Branches in IIT - Your very first step

  Hi folks!! Firstly congrats on just clearing one of the toughest exams of India. Now before you equate IIT = Placements...please read this.

 Well, firstly IIT is and was never about PLACEMENTS. IIT's are always about "knowledge". The knowledge and insight to subject that you get here is priceless!! This knowledge is going to be your modus operandi for anything you do after your 4yrs. This knowledge is what you must have thirst for.

 I saw that almost 75% of you were interested in getting CSE branch. Its ok that many of you may be having in coding or computers...that's not an issue. But truly speaking, your choices were driven by hefty pay packages given to CSE grads. Like the average package for a CSE student here is 24lpa. Isn't it intimidating?

  If you carry on your 4 yrs with this attitude, then sorry but you cannot go anywhere with this. Even students getting hefty packages have done very very hard work to achieve that.

  No branch is bad or good. Placements are just a very small part of them. Moreover, doing a job (provided your financial condition is not that bad) after your graduation is a waste of your potential.   Irrespective of any branch you are from, you will get equal opportunities. Each year, students from each branch go for masters in some of the world's best colleges - MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Purdue, Cornell, etc. Of course, you can also go there, provided you change your former attitude.
Take example of Biotech - Out of a batch of 48-50 students, 3-4 of your batch mates will definitely be going for higher studies in ivy league colleges , as they go each year.(MIT, Stanford, Cornell etc.). And this story is of every branch, be it CSE, Mechanical, Electrical, Biotech, Civil, Design etc.

  The best attitude would be - be thirsty for knowledge from your 1st day. Question everything? Why is this? How is this? Reach to the root of everything to get a better understanding. Next, after your base is complete, try to advance your knowledge by reading foreign author books and research papers of your favorite topic.

Lastly, never study for marks - always for knowledge. Marks will automatically be reflected in your answer sheet. I know i am speaking like "3 idiot" movie, but believe me, i am a 9 pointer till now with this methodology only. And its never about pointers...these can and will never define your true knowledge. Give your best...and rest will be assured.


               "Your life is too short to play small with your potential" ~ Robin Sharma

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Details about Minor courses..and some FAQ's about them!!

Hi folks!! Hope your midsems went fine. Till now you have probably got a feel of what its like to give exams and score a CPI in IIT.

Many of you must be confused about what are minor courses and how are the helpful? While there must be some of you who do not know anything about them. So this post is to help you to guide through your confusions so that you can clarify your doubts.

What is exactly a minor course?

 A minor course gives you an extra course per semester (till 7th sem). In your bachelor's degree, it will be mentioned as - " Bachelor of Technology in XXX(your department)XXX with an specialization in XXX(your minor course)XXX". These have efficently designed course structures which provides you an insight and some fundamental concepts of the branch in which you have taken your minor.

Is there any criteria for getting desired minor?

Yes...basically only for CSE minor. For it, you need at least a cpi of 8.4+. While other minor courses are easy to get.

What is the course structure and routine?

For course structure go to intranet>>sections>>academic>>minor course structure and syllabi

You will be having classes for minor from 12 to 1 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Each sem's minor course will be of 6 credits (in maths minor, 5th sem is of 8 credits), so they also add up quite efficiently to your cpi.

Which minor is best for me?

Note that you cannot take an audit course in minor. If you have interest in any particular stream, the do choose that minor. Otherwise general trend is that  - 

CSE minor: Mostly students form all branches who have interest in coding can take it.

EE minor: Generally mechanical students prefer EE minor.

Design Minor: Truly speaking, an efficient way to improve your grades as minimum grade you can get is 9. So either students who want to improve their grades or machanical students interested design.

Maths and other Minor: Quite an interesting deal if you really love maths.Generally take by mixed students. 

 Is minor helpful in placements?

Now comes the big question!! You see, minor course concept was started in year 2010. So our now graduating seniors are the first breed of with minor courses. So this time, companies didn't know that what is the significance of minor. So the situation still remains dubious over the question.

Can i drop the minor course ?

No doubt minor course load will be heavy as it is actually one extra course per sem. But here is the sunshine - you can drop a minor course in any sem you want to. Now this has some consequences - 

1. You can drop a minor course only before its last date, which is around 2nd week after midsems. So say if you like your 3nd sem minor course and wish to continue, but when you come to 4th sem and you find it pretty hard to continue, the you can drop it in the fourth sem also. Basically you can drop it in any sem before the last date.

2. If you wish to drop it, then there wont be any mention of specialization in minor field or courses in the degree....even if you drop it in you last sem!!

3. Suppose your cpi gets effected due to your minor grades for 2 sems, and you wish to drop it now in 3rd sem, then the damage done by the minor grades in your previous sems will NOT revert back.

Hope the above info has cleared many of your doubts. If  you want to get more info on this topic, then do comment under this post.

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