Chitkara University, Rajpura B.Tech Review By Nikhil Sharma

My experience as a fresher in the University was studded with a lot of emotions. More than emotions it was also an excitement because I was about to meet new people. None of my school friend accompanied me to this college and I came to this college after a passage of time. After the board exams, had to appear for the entrance exams and then the admission counseling and all this took 4 months as board exams got over in March and Chitkara University starts its session from August. All the days like the friendship day, chocolate day, rose day and all falls in the first week of August and we celebrated all those days and those were the time when acquaintances became friends. One I had friends at the university the grass started looking greener and life became brighter. Normality restored in life only after the end of first semester as we were not termed as juniors anymore and we were able to showcase our ideologies among the seniors. Once I settled in the life became so good that the idea of going home after the exams looked vague.

If one thinks that private universities award certificates or degrees just like that than Chitkara definitely is not one of those universities. University is strict as attendance is required and one has to perform well to be in recognition for participating in college events. If you study well, you will see things falling for you but if you ignore which quite a few students did, you will have to pay the price. One has to pass all 8 semester exams to get the degree and maintain good CGPA was an uphill task because onus was not just on theory but practical too had huge impact on our scores.

If one knows the definition of best then let me tell them that the faculty were nowhere close to it. They were decent though because along with strictness they would show compassion towards the students because those who were not serious were advised to pack their bags and go home. If one has to learn sarcasm then the faculty of Chitkara can definitely be the best teacher for that. They would stand and fight for the ones who were bright but were equally harsh on those who themselves didn’t study and also distracted others from their studies.

I hope everyone remember the saying that "If Winter comes, can spring be far behind?" Placements were part and parcel as university’s placement cell was on their toes because getting students placed has always been their top priority. For the ones who have worked hard and maintained good CGPA had campus placements easily. Among big names TCS, Infosys, Accenture, and Oracle were all there. Placement percentage was fairly low but it was all because of the students as the ones who haven't had good academics were not recommended and them being able to impress the interviewers was next to impossible.

Hostel is the only option for outsiders as the university is located in the middle of nowhere. Some people tried to outsmart by staying at PGs in Patiala but soon shifted to hostel as everyday traveling can be tiresome. Hostel had the best of rooms and best of facilities that can impress the mom’s that their kids don’t have to feel sorry for home made food. Rooms can be secondary as primary it’s the food and food at the hostel was top-notch. Variety in food and every Sunday we would have deluxe meals that included Italian, Mexican, and Chinese alternately.

The university was quite big and surrounded by farm lands. If there were farms besides the university, from inside too it was an Orchard because the greenery was in abundance at the campus. There were plenty of plants and trees and that made the sports ground look like an international football ground. Apart from playground, the university has a food court which is supposedly the busiest area of the college. Hostels were inside the campus and so were daily need shops like a chemist shop, a provision store, and a coffee shop. The university has around 50 buses of their own and they operated on daily basis and students going home can have bus lined up for them almost daily to locations like Chandigarh, Kharad, Ludhiana, Ambala, and Karnal.

Experiences were different from when I was a fresher to when I became a senior. The first year was a bit nervy but the next three years were jostle with happiness and laughter. There were a lot of things that I relished upon during my time at the University. The canteens and food courts welcomed us; walk through the corridors and selfies at our hangout zones of the campus made my campus life to long for the rest of my life.