Comparing School of Engineering CUSAT and Jamia Millia Islamia is not suitable as both the colleges are well established and are holding their culture and curriculum really very well. So, choosing either of them would not be easy.

But, as far as I know, Jamia Millia Islamia was established 100 years ago and is better than SOE CUSAT.

Jamia Millia Islamia will offer you a productive and competitive environment. You will also get to do lots of extracurricular activities and will get to learn from highly efficient teaching staff in JMI.

In CUSAT, you might be taught by recently graduated teachers. This will not only affect the teaching methodology but a good exposure as well.

CUSAT is nicely harnessed and handled by various Political parties for their own benefit. You can see a few strikes now and then among students and parties. But it should not be your concern as you are going to study there and grow productively.

CUSAT has a very strict and necessary rule when it comes to placements. It doesn’t matter which branch you are in, you have to follow the rule irrespective of your subjects, stream, or branch.

The basic rule in CUSAT, in SOE, or CUCEK is that for placements, you must have an 8 GPA or a minimum percentage of 75 percentile. The GPA, however, does not guarantee you a placement from any company but it allows you to apply to any of the companies visiting the campus.

7.5 GPA or near about 70 percentile is also a good percentile. However, it’s not wise to approach your studies with a grade-oriented attitude. Try to secure good grades, but learn along the way too.

One of my friends is from CUSAT SOE. I can provide his experience during his first year at the CUSAT hostel.

• For getting a hostel at CUSAT, you will need to fill an application form available on the website and submit it in the office.
• Earlier the hostels were allocated on the basis of seniority and your distance from the home. But now, you will be given a hostel on the basis of your CAT score and usually, first-year students are allocated first.
• You should make sure that you have submitted your application form before the start of your semesters.
• Although the CAT score is given the first preference, there are other factors like distance from your home state and your performance in academics.

In case you do not get a hostel then you can try outside hostels which are located nearby to the college.

Your chances are pretty slim of getting to the main campus. But then you can always take a shot and go sit for the spot rounds that take place. Make sure you don’t miss that.

My friend get into the Mechanical branch even when he had a rank of 8000. It was even before the NRI quota was introduced. But as you may understand, this was just an exception in the odds. The competition gets tougher and tougher each year and with your rank, I am really worried you may not end up getting it.

But yes, a silver lining for you would be that you may stand a chance at their second campus and that too, for the IT branch. You have certain possibilities here.

GEC and NSS Palakkad come under KTU whereas CUSAT SOE is a university. NSS is a government-aided college and GEC is a government college, the facilities and the faculty are at similar levels.

As KTU is a newly established university, here are some insights you need to have a look at.

• One of my friends currently studies in NSS and because KTU is newly formed, the ordinance is not fully framed.
• Most of the teachers and students of NSS and GEC are against the norms of the university. Hence, you must be prepared to be amidst recurring clashes.
• Because of this instability, the pass percentage in all the colleges including NSS and GEC which are under KTU seems to decrease every year.

Now, in comparison to CUSAT SOE, here are some differences you must know.

• CUSAT SOE is affiliated with its own university as compared to GEC and NSS. It has a better ranking than KTU and its affiliated colleges.
• At CUSAT you can grab better placement opportunities at core companies as compared to GEC and NSS if you are not in the IT sector.
• CUSAT SOE has a huge advantage of being situated in a prime location of Kochi.
• The city is known as the financial and industrial capital of Kerala.

Overall, CUSAT SOE has an upper hand over the other two colleges of KTU. As KTU faces various instabilities due to unestablished ordinances, it hinders the performance of students. If you need to choose between GEC and NSS, NSS Palakkad is better with well-qualified teachers.

SOE CUSAT doesn’t have major drawbacks. In past, there have been strikes and complaints about hygiene-related issues. Students face problems because of political activities at times. In terms of academics, it's difficult to get good marks in internals. 

These are the common problems for CUSAT. These problems don’t create any major issues and the institute trying to overcome these drawbacks.