A Fresh Take On TECH
The Bridge team went around PSG Tech asking the first years what they thought of the place.
By Aditya Rajendran (B.E ICE, 2014-18)
College – a word that invokes a number of unique reactions from individuals. People who haven’t yet experienced it want to, those experiencing it want out, and those who are done with it, want back in. College is the stepping stone to the next drastically different phase in life.
“A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library.” – Shelby Foote
I must agree with Mr. Foote over here. A university is just a building. A college, on the other hand, is something special. Something created by the presence of students. Something memorable, something unforgettable, something very, very remarkable indeed.
So, how do we find out what the different reactions, feelings, and awfully unique opinions of the freshers are? What better ways could our mind conceive? A survey, of course! We “bombarded” around 300 freshers with questions, ranging from their opinions on Coimbatore, to the temperature of the coffee served in the canteen. So without further ado, let’s do some number-crunching.
What we asked: Why PSG Tech?
What we got: Almost all the respondents agreed that the reputed brand name, the 100% placement statistics, and the excellent alumni were their top reasons for choosing this college.
What we asked: What was your biggest fear before joining college?
What we got: Being the fearless warriors that they are, the majority of the freshers answered “NO FEAR!” with a small fraction of the respondents answering that they thought making friends would be difficult, and an even smaller percentage admitting that they feared the academic work would be strenuous. Ragging isn’t a concern, mind you!
What we asked: How are you adjusting to the hostel life?
What we got: The hostellers are a unique bunch. Most of them admitted that it was “okay”, meaning that the facilities were nothing fancy, but hygienic. However a select few said, and I quote, “Hostel life is the best! It’s incomparable!”
What we asked: Do you think college life is very different from school life? How so and why?
What we got: This one was a landslide. All the students surveyed said that college life was completely different from school life. However, their opinions on how, differ. With some stating that the methods of learning drastically differed, some pointed out that the entire environment differs and they were sure that college would change them for the better.
What we asked: How do you rate the canteen food?
What we got: The majority stated that it was good and ranked it high on the value-for-money scale, with a few foodies stating that they were disappointed with the variety.
What we asked: What do you think about the ’50 minute’ class duration?
What we got: With the studious bunch stating that it was fair and necessary, the majority said that they needed more breaks in between classes.
What we asked: In your opinion, what do you think of the method of teaching and taking notes in college?
What we got: Most of them said that it really helped them understand what was being taught and enabled them to express what they understood in their own words, with a few stating that it would be easier to learn directly from a book.
What we asked: How good was the orientation program?
What we got: The majority expressed their extreme satisfaction with the orientation, saying that the speeches, especially the ones given by the alumni, were truly inspiring and motivational, and let them know exactly what to expect in the next four years of their life.
What we asked: How does Coimbatore compare with other cities?
What we got: Some said they found it very cool and relaxing here, with a few others expressing their woe over there not being as many things to do here as in Chennai and other metros. A few patrons also said, and I quote, “Coimbatore is the best! I absolutely love it here!”
Some obvious results. Several completely unexpected. I’d like to thank ABIRAMI (B.Tech IT, 2014-18), UDHAYALAKSHMI (M.Sc Software Systems, 2014-19) and VAISHALI (M.Sc Theoretical Computer Science, 2014-19) for their help in doing the legwork for this survey.
ADITYA RAJENDRAN (B.E ICE, 2014-18) is a unique individual with interests ranging from physics and electronics to astronomy and English literature. He is an accomplished gamer and also likes to be up to date with recent advances in prototype technologies.
For comments/feedback/suggestions, please write to thebridge@mail.psgtech.ac.in
