CHENNAI: : General counselling for mainstream students seeking admission to engineering colleges under the Single Window System (SWS) will begin on Saturday morning. The toppers will vie for popular courses in leading colleges in simultaneous counselling to be held in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi.

The exercise is expected to continue for three weeks.

Over 40,000 seats — more than 50 per cent of them in computer Science, Electronics and Communication Engineering and Information Technology — will be available this year. This includes all the seats in Anna University's constituent colleges, government and aided colleges, besides the government quota seats in 230 unaided institutions. Colleges said they surrendered more seats to the single window pool in the last two days.

As the SWS opens, The Hindu asked academics, education administrators, analysts and authorities involved in the admission process what the students should look for. Based on their analysis of the current scenario, the following are some of the pointers for the students and their parents.

The unanimous view was: "Go for the college first." They want students to opt for the best colleges before looking at the courses available, because where they graduate from is often more important for job placements.

If a course of the student's choice is available in the same rung of colleges, say, in the `A' grade, he or she can opt for that particular branch. But lower down the ranks, if the choice is between a "traditional branch" in an `A' grade college and a "popular course" in a `B' grade institution, the experts advise the students to opt for the former. How does one get to choose the college? There are enough indices. Anna University has put on the Web the recent results and college-wise performance of students in various semesters. That should provide a clue on the faculty and students. The placement record of various engineering colleges is also available. This, analysts say, should indicate how the industry rates the institution.

While choosing a college, students and their parents should also look out for the infrastructure and other facilities. "What is the use of taking computer science or electronics and communication engineering if the computer laboratories in a particular college are below standard? The AICTE slashed the number of seats in many colleges offering these branches and information technology. Of course, some colleges got back the seats. But this is also a pointer," reasons Salem-based analyst Jayaprakash Gandhi. It is not just equipment, but the kind of faculty that enables students to perform above their potential.

He has a special word for rural students: "Do not get swayed by reports. Choose the best college in your own region because "adjustment problems" can wreak havoc in the first year or two. Many toppers in Plus-Two fail in the first semester of medical or engineering courses because they cannot adjust to the new environment. They should choose colleges that offer special training in soft skills. For those from the Tamil medium, there are many institutions that conduct special English classes. That enhances the self-confidence of students, says Mr. Gandhi.

Industry sources say the students, and more so their parents, should not opt for just the computer-related branches. "If you look at placement records with colleges and industry organisations, you can see leading software companies recruiting even chemical, mechanical and civil engineers. The mania for IT and computer science is related to high starting salaries. But there are other considerations too. The manufacturing sector, which is doing well now, looks to engineers from the conventional courses such as mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical and even textiles. There are new courses, including food processing, that have a bright future. Construction and infrastructure hold the key to future growth, which means design and civil works could dominate the show," says a functionary of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

One word from the academics: "Keep in mind specialisation at a later stage; mere graduation may not suffice in future." This is one reason for some students, more so their parents, shying away from medicine, as MBBS alone will not take them very far, and getting into a post-graduate course may be well neigh impossible.

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