Over the past 3 to 4 years, constantly AIR 1 has chosen IIT Bombay over IISc. In the top 50 ranks, almost 25 have chosen IIT Bombay. And the rest distributed between IISc and the other IITs. Newspapers say that the Mecca for Technical education in india is IIT Bombay(they also point out that before 10 yrs it was IIT Kanpur and before that it was IIT Kharagpur). Whatever may be the reason behind this trend, it certainly makes us feel that IIT Bombay is on par or better than IISc. But the truth seems to be quite different from what we hear.
The first and the most popular reason why people choose IIT Bombay, is nothing but what people call "life" and "lifestyle". Life at IITB is fantastic is what they say. "In IITB we can enjoy a lot " is what u hear from most who chose IITB. Just to give a real incident : People discussing outside the Exam hall in IISc, "hey, life at IISc is boring yaar. See no one is coming outside. IITB is not like that. We can enjoy a lot."(source : vaibhav, my classmate). However as this very reason conflicts with the purpose of coming to IIT(gaining knowledge), the genuineness of this reason is in question.
The second reason is the food factor. Food, i have to agree, is very good here in IIT Bombay. The third reason and one of the most unknown reasons is probably the most important contributing factor too. There are many many MSc students in the top 100 ranks. Such students do not have the choice of going to IISc and other IITs as they have an anti-MSc policy that imposes strict constraints on them. But IITB does not impose any such restrictions, and with IISc rejecting them, they come here right away.
With the three main contributing factors, along with the fact that 60 out of the top 100 JEE students opting for IITB, really makes IITB the mecca of technical education in india. Does that mean IITB does not deserve that title? Well, we cannot say so.
With top students selected in GATE and JEE coming here to IITB, most of the professors are attracted to this institute. An evident fact that is proven by the faculty strength in CS dept of IITB, 45. The highest number in any CS dept in India. This powerful combination of students and faculty can result in good quality of research. So this vicious cycle continues and i can say for sure that for the next 10 years atleast, this institute will be on the top. Though IISc is clearly the most sought after institute, it seems like it needs to offer something more than just quality education to be the top institution in the country. :)
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