Blog:College Survival 101

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Academic Success

• Safe CGPA:

Please, please maintain at least a safe CGPA ( 8+ for non-CSE, 7.5+ for CSE ) throughout your college life. No matter which profession you later switch to, this will always be judged. The best time to get a high CGPA is, you guessed it right, your first year... Another point to remember your 2nd and 3rd years have the most important topics of your subject, so try not to doze off in class.

• Academic tips:

1. Keep an alarm for almost everything – From waking up at 8 to a very strict TnP (Training and placement cell) deadline, it is better to have an alarm than go for attendance condonation but try not to make your roommate want to murder you. On that note, don't skip breakfast/lunch for your crazy daily schedule, our lovely canteens (Main, mini, micro, nano) have your back. Practice a fast walking speed to ace that "Woke up at 7:55, had breakfast and now I'm in class" level.
   
2. Short notes – If you have plans to work on your subject itself or are confused about what to do in life, start by making short notes on your subjects. These not only help your college exams but also other career examinations and interviews in future.
   Trying to follow a study schedule and have 8+ hours of sleep will be almost every NITCian's dream. Places with AC like CCC, and Study Room can help you beat the heat at least while trying to complete portions.
   
3. Enjoy some evening time on campus with your friends - Don't worry almost NOBODY gets time to study daily after all the classes and labs. The evening time needs to be utilised to relax a little. It's a GREAT thing if you can set aside some time every day to revise what was taught in class.
   
4. Last min prep advice –
   

a) Get short notes from Bhujjis(smart kids)

b) Go through previous papers

c) Finish easier portions

d) Rather than reading the problems, try solving them by hand

e) Hoard lots of food for exam nights

f) Your friends are the best teachers on the eve of the exam

g) God bless YouTube videos & Google

Are you the quiet kind that doesn't get noticed much and trying to change that? The solution is simple - Bring a water bottle to class. Your valuable service will be appreciated throughout the class and you are the saviour to all sleepy heads trying to stay awake. Who knew becoming an Aquarius in class would get you friends? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Placements (Focus on coding, projects, internships)

• Do internships every sem break -
  Try to intern at a company ( or startup ) or projects under professors of IITs, NITs ( our profs do some cool research work too! ) or a training programme in PSUs like BSNL, NTPC, etc. IITs have paid internship programmes during summer whose submission deadlines are pretty early so keep an eye out for that. If you missed that, you can always personally mail profs who work on your interested area. (Mind you, in some unlucky cases it takes 100 emails to get a position) Orrrrr.... hit up the relatives/family friends you have in different companies/institutes and ask them about this. ( Internships for which you have to pay aren't preferred )

• Do projects -
  Try online courses and projects. These are always a boost to your resume. When it comes to certain cases like Machine learning, it's better to start with a project and refer to theory side by side. (You HAVE to do the project on your own, not just to add a certification to your resume)

• Coding is a necessity -
  Whether you are in a core branch or CSE for B.tech, you need to know basic coding i.e. C++. Even core companies look for this so be safe and learn basic DSA and C++. If this interests you further, go on ahead with web dev or cloud computing, machine learning & AI or learning languages like Python/Java. You can also take up projects on your core subject with extensions to ML.
  (Beginner-friendly sites: Geekforgeeks, Hackerrank, Codechef, really any site is fine as long as you work. If you get stuck at any point there's always Google.)

• Basic knowledge of software -
  Get a basic knowledge of essential software like Excel, Photoshop, video editing etc. These skills will help you out in the long run.

• Have a co-curricular -
  Joining a club can really help you out in this aspect. Having some hobbies (other than eating and sleeping ofc) that you like will help you out in the HR round. Other than that work on your general awareness and interview skills. The usual advice, try reading the newspaper daily ( Bonus tip - the newspaper reading room in the library has the best AC on campus)

Career Development

• Tips(Internships, projects, aptitude tests):
  

1. Start with a rough resume - Prepare a rough resume in your first year and keep updating it throughout the years. This will help you immensely when it comes to placement processes.
2. Aptitude tests - Most companies have an aptitude section so it is wise to be reasonably good at them. Many sites provide you with free aptitude tests, one of the popular ones being - https://www.indiabix.com/
   
3. Placement experiences - Go through the placement experiences of your seniors ( usually put up by departmental associations ) to get a rough idea of company profiles. Prepare for the commonly asked interview questions and most importantly projects on your resume when you get shortlisted.
   
   Lastly, on a fun note, get blessed by our Rajpath crows to get a placement. It's true, some people vouch for it ;)

• Career choices (MBA, GATE/ESE, MS):
  It's normal to feel confused about what to do after college, but most of you will figure out what you want ( or what you don't want ) by 3rd year. If you are still confused, try different things just go ahead with the best opportunity you get and hope it's for the best. Some of the popular choices are given below. These are some of the important points for a beginner, go on to further research these later on.

1. MBA - Requires preparation for CAT, try some coaching centre in 3rd yr or do self-preparation. The most popular ones are TIME and Career Launcher. Club Mathematica usually partners with TIME, to conduct a scholarship test, which will offer you a discount on the TIME coaching. TIME Kozhikode provides a coaching centre that is available right near our college. The next stage will be WAT or interview, in which they ask your subjects and general awareness so beware! Taken in 4th yr, 1 yr validity.

1. GATE/ESE - These tests help you to get a job in PSUs or join M.Tech, so be good at your core subjects, preparing short notes from 1st year helps you a lot. The exam can be taken in the 3rd and 4th years (3 years validity). Usually, students opt for self preparations with question papers bought online. Online coaching is available too.
   Popular sites - ACE, MadeEasy.

1. MS - If you are looking for an MS or a research-oriented career, start by working under some professor and try to publish a conference paper. These will aid your application process. Recommendation letters are all the more important for you, so choose your professor wisely. You also need a good GRE score (if you are aiming at US universities) or TOEFL (in countries like Germany, and Australia) so start preparing early for them. Apply for international academic exchange programs like DAAD early on to get those top-notch recommendations. Coaching services (if required) like Byjus help you with the whole process.
   

• LinkedIn profile: Start a LinkedIn profile and work on it, this help you a lot in your professional career later on.
  

• Online part-time work: Try to earn your own pocket money with easy part-time opportunities for creative writing, social media marketing etc available on Internshala. The skillset is useful and the money could keep you financially stable.
  
  

College Life and Socializing

• Enjoy college life to the fullest:
  Yess, this sounds cliche but it is so very true. Try to explore things and get out of your comfort zone. It's not all about marks and labs, you NEED to have a life out of it. The best way to do this? Socialise :) Oh also, make sure you take advantage of Tathva and Ragam. With the right gang, it will be your best night in college. And seriously do take pictures of you in class and everyday life, you will be missing these when you look back.

• Join a club, association, committee, or sports:
  Technical clubs like RIG, Unwired, Aero Unwired, FOSSCELL, AI club, and IEEE definitely gives a shine to your resume and you will learn quite a lot if you are an active part of these. Departmental associations give you academic and managerial experience. Non-technical clubs like Club Mathematica, ISTE, IPF, LnD, DnD, ICA, MC, Enquire, Adventure, NSS, AV, HVG, IEDC, Forestry Club, Magazine Committee gives you an edge in terms of communicative skills and event coordination. And during Tathva and Ragam there are various cultural teams and organizing committees, try to join and have some fun. Last but not least, there's our institutional body SGC. Being an active part of any of these will be time-consuming so do balance out your attendance, assignment deadlines and grades. While it's a good experience if you get into a club, you will be absolutely fine otherwise with a lot of time to focus on yourself.

• Campus Resources and Essentials:
  Make good use of college resources. Our college spends a lot on both online and offline resources. We get institutional access to many paid software and student packs. Make sure to try out most of them. We'll try to put out a list of access provided by the campus.
  
  

Food and Leisure

• Great food places to try: When you go back to offline sem, uphold our legacy and try out in Kattangal:
  

1) Wez Cafe

2) Waffle House

3) Decosta, Cafe Plus

4) Burger Lounge

5) Monarch Cafe

6) assi House

7) Bakehouse

8) Broast

9) Steam House

10) Maggi & chaat places

And on behalf of us say Hi to the Coops chettan, Amul aunty, milma uncle, Micro uncle and uncle in MC.

• If you are looking for places to eat in Kozhikode, there are so many:
  

1)Sixth Avenue

2)Downtown

3)Paragon

4)Berry bomb
The list goes on. Try Hi-Lite, and Focus malls too. (Most of these are expensive compared to mini, so do the math)

• Places to visit in Kozhikode: Not much honestly, all the food places and a lot of beaches look amazing when you go with friends. Do visit some of these beautiful beaches, it's worth the bus ride.

Common rookie mistakes to avoid

• Losing your college ID card/grade card/library book
• Messing with the hostel wardens
• Forgetting to give the mess card asap
• Forgetting to put your phone on silent in class
• Forgetting your umbrella
• Leaving your food unattended in mini (crows duh).

While there are so many more things we wish we could be on campus with you guys and tell, we are sure you will figure it out yourselves. Remember we seniors got your back if you ever need us and we'll be happy to help you. So keep calm and enjoy your college days! :'))
DISCLAIMER: This piece of content was not made by me.

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