No, it’s not overrated! It definitely lives up to its reputation.
Long Answer:
- IITs vs BITS: As far as academics and faculty is concerned, BITS is at par with the IITs (There might be a slight difference in the pedagogy, but never the less, the curriculum taught is the same). The main area where BITS lacks behind is research. But, this does not mean that BITS is totally lacking in research. Since BITS is slightly younger than the IITs (here, I mean the top 5 IITs), this problem has appeared due to the lack of experience and will eventually fade away as time goes on.
- Masters in Abroad: If one talks about BITS, this is one point that should not be neglected. One of the biggest advantages of the BITSian tag is that it is very helpful for getting masters abroad. To be specific, though I don’t have concrete statistical data to prove it, I’ve heard from my friends in BITS that the average GRE score for a BITSian is around 330/340. This in itself, also shows how well the English speaking culture has been developed in all the campuses of BITS.
- Strong Alumni Network: Personally, this I think is the biggest plus point of being a BITSian. The alumni network is really strong and is spread throughout the world. You name it: UK, US, Germany, France, Singapore, Thailand, Canada, etc., you’ll find BITSians everywhere. Not only this, but also if you ask for help, you’ll always find someone ready to help you!
- Minors: Now I don’t know that a system like this is present in the IITs (I presume it must be), but if one likes a particular field which is not related to his actual branch, he can take a minor in that field. There are plenty of minors like minors in finance, data science, materials science and physics, to name a few. This will help the students who are not interested in their own core branch a lot.
- Practice School: Practice School is a compulsory graduation requirement for all students it consists of Practice School I and Practice School II. Practice School I is internship of 2 months for students at the end of their 2nd year and Practice School II is internship of an entire semester, around 5–5.5 months either in the odd semester or the even semester in the final year. One can imagine that two internships as a part of graduation requirement definitely gives a higher edge to one’s resume.
Now, after these points, I can surely say that BITS Pilani is not overrated and in fact, is one of the premier institutes of India.
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