I must warn you, studying and living (outside) SRM is equal to spending money in a IVY league school abroad. I have to shamelessly admit that my degree and sustenance in SRM has cost a little over 18 Lakhs INR over the 4 years.
Education : For those who are passionate about Engineering, SRM has wonderful infrastructure and a wise faculty. We launched a satellite for god sake! For those who are here just for the degree (about 70% of the students) you will be given the freedom to explore and grow in horizons you never thought of before.
Living : Abode Valley and Estancia are the staple residences of students in SRM. Hostels are deadly and mind numbing. Once you move out, it is a wonderful experience of getting to live on your own and prepare for your professional life. You attain a sense of independence and with no one to moderate you, you can evolve to become the better or worse, depending on your former upbringing.
Placements: Placements are a sham. If you want to be a support Engineer working 9 hours a day for TCS or Infosys, this is a great place. However, my batch-mates have gotten placement packages of 36 Lakhs + because of their passion and ambition for the CS industry. The best thing to do here, is not be placed. Explore yourself and equip yourself with the best set of skills you can perceive. I am a business consultant for Microsoft Partner Network right now 🙂 Never did placements, attended 16 off campus interviews and cracked everyone of them.
Culture : SRM is a melting pot of cultural amalgamations like no other. If you look around yourself you will find 4 Telugu, 3 Tamil, 1 Malayalee, 2 North Indian (Punjabi, Haryanvi, UPite, Bihari, Gujarati, Maharastrian, Bengali and Misc. NE States) people. So there is representation from every part of India.
Special Mention – Africans : These guys are the best friends you can make. I mean, I have had the time of my life interacting with Africans in SRM. They will be your best friend and they will be your worst enemy. They will give you their life if you give them your friendship. Loyalty in its purest form. + I had a fling with a fine lady as well as a really good guy friend who were from Africa. Wonderful souls.
Food : Quality of food is shit, mainly because I come from Hyd and Kochi, my taste-buds are refined and I cannot accept the bland 2nd grade cooking, by anyone who arrives in Potheri, may it be North Indian or South Indian. I lost around 22 KGs in my 4 years due to lack of good food. But you will survive. That is your duty, as an Indian Engineer. Survive.