u/CashHairy2089

Hi,

This is an experience from one of your HITK alumni's. Here's my experience of HITK to those who plan to enroll in HITK in B.Tech courses, especially CSE (Warning: Long post, read at your own risk). I posted the same thing in another subreddit before, when this sub didn't exist, so reposting it here as I'm unable to crosspost this one.

Before I start, know this that I did my B.Tech in CSE at HITK from 2017 to 2021, my final year purely virtual because of COVID. So I'll be saying some things which might help you understand how the college was as a whole during my time, and if anything has changed, do let me know in the comments. I might drown into a big wave of nostalgia so please excuse me:

• If you do get admitted, you'll have a two day induction session at the Heritage school auditorium where, on the first day you get to meet all dept. seniors, and a separate induction ceremony for parents as well. On the second day, I remember every dept having their own venues allocated, with CSE students being assigned the SV auditorium. Not sure if this is still happening.
• First years used to have their sessions in early to mid-August, where they have to wear formals for the first month, after that, wear whatever you want, except shorts. And I've recently heard a colonel checks if you're wearing shoes or not, so do ensure that as well. For second to 4th years, class starts from the first week of July, not sure if this still continues.
• Classes generally ranged from 9 am to 3:10 pm, at max 6 if you had multiple lab sessions. Would suggest you to attend the labs, even if you don't attend classes, and try to ensure 75 percent attendance. But I've seen people give exams even without having 75 percent attendance.
• We used to have two internals per sem, for odd sems during September 1st week and November 3rd/4th week, and for even sems, March 1st week and April 3rd/4th week. Heard that there's 4 surprise tests now per sem. Talk about shithousery.
• There are a lot of clubs in HITK, like Geeks United, GDSC, Resonance, Ghungroo, HFC, Anubhav, etc. Try to get a taste of what the clubs are like by joining them.
• For people looking to learn the basics of Python from a newbie POV, the ACM Student Chapter HITK can be a good solution for you. Try to enroll in your first year as a member, and subsequently become a board member the following year.
• Don't expect to learn your departmental subjects from your freshman year right away, you'll get to learn from your 2nd sem as a prelude, gradually transitioning to your departmental core subjects.
• Ragging in HITK? What's that? Never heard of it. The seniors are very friendly, and are always approachable. Just don't be too cocky towards them. But for hostel people, you may face a teeny tiny bit of ragging.
• I had to pay 4 lakhs as fees for 4 years. Recently heard that the amount has increased.
• Since it's an autonomous college, you'll score well if you study. Just put a decent amount of effort, you'll find you've scored more than you actually thought of.
• Wish the old macha was there, because of the cyclone Amphan, the new macha is opposite to Gate No. 9. Ask any alumni from HITK before 2020 about their macha experience. Of course, do spend some time in macha, while not dedicating the entirety of your time in college there, I would say.
• There are three buildings: CME, CB, and ICT, with each building's 2nd,3rd and 4th floor connected via 'connectors', to ease traveling between buildings. CME consists of ME, CE, EE depts, CB consists of BT, ChE, and some of M.Tech and CSE depts and ICT consists of CSE, ECE, AEIE and IT depts mainly.
• I last visited HITK in July 2024, and was shocked to see the main canteen and the cheap store buildings demolished. That canteen has a huge list of memories, ranging from a plethora of delicious food options to all kinds of gossips, and of course there's the labour's canteen as well. The main canteen's menu used to change every day and especially, the specials, were so good in taste.
• Some of the CSE professors I knew, have left the college, who were actually good profs IMO. A bit unfortunate for the ones who're studying or will enroll.
• Regarding organizing fests, this is the thing I have the majority of complaints about. A scared and shit management, lobbying at the worst level, and failure of seniors to instill any motivation and drive towards their juniors while organizing protests, which counted for unnecessary clashes, and lack of unity all the time. And don't worry, in some cases, it all narrows down to the fucking RR plot guys. They always have a Plan B for foiling everything that is against them. The management doesn't want to take responsibility, as long as it involves blaming other student groups for their "inability" to form the Student Council. I don't know if fests happen now or not, since the last time I witnessed a fest of any sorts was in 2019. We were due to have our signature fests: Dakshh and Eclecia in 2020 as well, but that got cancelled due to COVID-19. I won't mince my words here, but that's what I have witnessed.
• Sports departments are very active in HITK. You get to play cricket, football, basketball, volleyball, archery, which has their designated areas, so definitely take out some time to play sports.
• You'll get a good campus life here, no worries. So, make the best of memories while in campus. If you have good friends, you'll have a memorable 4 years of college.
• CSE now has specialization courses like Data Science, AI/ML, Blockchain/IoT, which wasn't a thing in our time. Talk about reducing your student counts for core subjects like ME,CE,EE, ChE and being a shameless cash-grabber.
• Placements purely depend on how the job market is, so if you think your college isn't helping you, do some self-learning, design some projects by yourself, craft a good resume, and try to apply via LinkedIn or other job portals. No one can stop you from getting a job offer off-campus.
• To the CSE people who have no coding experience, if you're confused about what programming language you should learn first: First I would suggest to try out Python, then slowly start learning C/C++ or Java, but it's totally personal preference. Master one of the above before approaching the next pointer below.
• Once you reach your 2nd year, you will be taught a subject called Data Structures and Algorithms(DSA). Do make sure to study that subject very carefully in order to enhance your problem solving skills. Afterwards, make a LeetCode account (if you want) to sharpen your DSA knowledge by solving problems of all kinds of difficulties.
• If you want a good corporate job, you should have a resume(1 page ONLY). Make sure to put your details, education, skills and projects in a very compact but informative manner. Don't make the template too flashy, a basic template will do. And since you are about to land your first job, make projects that you feel very impactful and relevant to be showcased. Personally, I would say come up with something original of your own, rather than coding the clone apps, since those have been done to death at this point.

In the end, I will say that no matter which college you choose, you need to make the most of your college life in order to progress your career, that's all. To the ones who are in HITK or in other colleges, good luck for your careers, and for the ones who are looking to enroll in HITK or any other college like IEM or Techno or JU, KGEC, WBUT, best of luck for your JEE exams and WBJEE, and do read the above pointers if you're planning for Heritage. I had a good college life, thanks to the professors, friends and seniors I had, and HITK has played a key part in who I am right now.

If I have missed out on anything, please do let me know, I'll try to address those as well. And DM me for any further queries.

Thank you, and have a great rest of your day.