College or course? Which comes first?

The Plus-Two results are out. There is no Common Entrance Test for admission to professional colleges in Tamil Nadu. The issue of applications for the engineering colleges has begun and decks will be cleared in due course for the admission through the Single Window counselling system. Except for the top rung of students who will get their interviews/counselling on the first couple of days, the others, especially beyond the first week, may face a dilemma — which colle ge to choose? Should a student look for a course or a college first? These are natural questions that will agitate the minds of both students and their parents this season.
Over the years, The Hindu EducationPlus has conducted a pre-counselling guidance programme for Plus-Two students in the four southern States. In Tamil Nadu, it has already been held in Coimbatore and Madurai, and there will be a two-day fair in Chennai on May 24 and 25. It is also in progress in Karnataka and will be held in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh too.
In these programmes, panels of experts will guide the students on the broad issues of choosing courses and colleges, as also pointing new avenues and opportunities that have arisen in recent times. Based on the views of the various expert panels, EducationPlus attempts to offer some tips on the choice of colleges.
Students and parents alike must first decide where the student wants to study — should be in the State capital, or other major centres? In the case of Tamil Nadu for instance, Chennai may be a first choice for many. But the State government has now split the Anna University into three — to cover the regions in and around Chennai, Coimbatore and Tiruchi. In addition to the roughly 250 engineering colleges in the State, many more are expected to be open for admissions in the academic year — including six government colleges. Once a decision on where to study has been taken, the choice of the college also narrows down to that extent.
Though the question of should you choose the course or the college first remains open-ended, academics and education counsellors feel that the college must come first. The argument runs that if you take a Computer Science or Electronics and Electrical Engineering course in an unknown institution, which may not even be fully equipped for the programme, what can you learn?
Experts suggest the following procedure for the choice of colleges:
• Based on your marks and the probable ranking, you can look for the colleges that are likely to be open at the time of your counselling.
• Make your enquiries about the colleges that are likely to figure in your choice. This can be from friends who are studying there, relatives who live there, or even teachers who know about them.
• Go to the AICTE website and look for details about the college and the facilities it offers.
• Another site to visit may be the NAAC, which offers accreditation to both an institution or the courses it offers. This gives you information about the level of accreditation of the college or at least some of the courses it offers.
• If the college is anywhere close by, it may be worthwhile visiting the campus to see for yourself the facilities it offers. The physical infrastructure has a bearing on the quality of education - classrooms, laboratories, library, recreation, etc.
• Take a detailed look at the institution’s website also to know about the faculty. These days, it has become difficult for colleges to secure good lecturers and professors. So their standard also assumes significance. In many colleges, those passing out of the college are absorbed as teachers and asked to register for their research so that they can qualify to teach.
If this basic homework is done, the choice becomes easier.
Experts attach more importance to the institution not just because of the quality of education, but also for the edge it can provide in placement. Reputed companies may be choosy and selective about campus placement programmes, and even in direct recruitment, a student passing out of a well-known college stands at an advantage.