IIT or MIT: What Should I Pick

The passion for studying science, an aptitude for research and the ability to work in a team, are the foremost qualities that foreign universities look for while recruiting students. Contrary to these, IITs solely focus on the ranking secured in the entrance tests by the students. This objective assessment is often not an accurate measure of an individual’s capability and interest.

There is no doubt that the IITs have some of the best minds of the country, but the vital question is, do the students love what they study. To start with, the coaching institutes which primarily prepares one for the IIT exam emphasize on time management and strategic problem solving. For example, it is advised to “let go” of a difficult problem rather than take up the challenge of solving it so as to save time. Secondly, institutes often lay stress on ignoring school education and concentrating more on IIT preparation which compromises the necessity of proper education. On the other hand, interest and passion for a subject are the qualities foreign universities swear by.

The field that you get to study solely depends on your JEE rank. Thus a person who has no interest in civil engineering might be forced to study it owing to his rank. There is no option to change your subject in case you develop an inclination for some other field. And even if you have the option, the process is very tedious. Foreign education is pretty flexible. While admitting they look at the alignment of skill set and interests of a student. In short, they value an individual. They lay a lot more emphasis on counseling students to make the right choice.

Education is definitely more expensive abroad than in India but one ought to pay for quality. Foreign universities boast of a robust infrastructure including modern teaching facilities, modern labs, good quality hostels, food, etc., which their Indian counterparts generally lack. The faculty is motivated to excel and be role models. Unlike faculty in the IITs, they are given incentives like good pay and also resources to provide quality teaching. The student teacher ratio is much more balanced in foreign institutes enabling teachers to give individual attention.

Foreign institutes look to make an individual “life ready” rather than “job ready”. They encourage interactions among peers, participation in clubs and extra co-curricular activities, travelling for internships and teamwork. Regular Alumni meets are organized which are mutually beneficial for present and ex- students. They want to produce leaders for tomorrow and realize social skills are of equal importance. At the IITs, mundane competition is a priority. The spark is often lost when students are busy balancing creativity and exam preparation. Also, the sex ratio is quiet skewed in the IITs.

The trend in IITs is to pursue an MBA from a premier institute after an engineering degree. This not only is a waste of the engineering degree, but also a waste of time and effort of four years pursuing a course in which a student was never really interested in. On the contrary, it is observed that after a foreign degree, students often are keen on further specializing in their chosen fields and also get into academics.

We only urge you to consider all the choices available to you before you make one of the most important decisions in your life