The Indian Institute of Technology in Powai, Mumbai is one of the premier institutions of learning in the country. It was named the top university in the country in 2014 and is one of the most difficult to get into.
IIT, the nation’s best
As an educational institution that attracts some of the brightest minds of the country, it was interesting to see what a recent survey of freshers revealed. The survey, meant to understand IIT’s demographic better showed that the average IITian has changed over time:
Life before IIT
Apparently studying for IIT is all-consuming. About 40% hopefuls would spend up to seven hours a day training for the all important JEE (joint entrance exam) while 30% studied for about 12 hours a day. About 96% of freshmen said that they took coaching with nearly half paying about 2.5 lakh for that coaching.
26% of the successful aspirants said that they had taken coaching to deal with the pressure of being an IIT aspirant.
The religious IITian
The survey revealed that as many as 60% of the students do not believe in religious practices and only 30% follow rituals “somewhat”. More than half are either atheist (18%) or agnostic (35%).
The IITian on social networks
The average IIT student has a smartphone on which about one and a half hours are consumed each day on social networks. Hardly any of the respondents were not on Facebook; the percentage of non-FB users declined from 37.7% to just 6% halfway into the semester.
Why IIT B
Almost all the respondents who were surveyed said that this was their first choice because of the campus life and the institute’s location in Mumbai. This was in spite of the fact that 74% of the respondents had no IITians in their families.
The personal lives of the IITs
Just about 24% of students were from rural areas; the rest grew up in cities. However, personal life? Not so much apparently.
95% of the respondents said that they were virgins and only 30% were in a relationship. Clearly when you’re cramming for JEE you don’t have time for anything else.
After IIT –B
50% of respondents said that they had in a sense shot their bolt studying for the JEE and didn’t feel much like putting in academic effort now that they were ‘in’.
While they expect between Rs 10 and 25 lakh pay packages when they pass out, a significant proportion don’t know what they would be doing afterwards. In fact a significant portion said that they have no clue as to what they would be doing with life after IIT.
Author – Reena Daruwalla
