I have a few friends who graduated from Thapar University and according to them, there is no such or major difference between COE, CAG, and CML. As well as in terms of placements and job opportunities there can be no difference found. COE includes both the software as well as the hardware aspects of a system. If you are interested in job opportunities in the gaming industry or graphics-related industry then you should definitely go for it. Your job opportunities will not be affected by your branch. 

These subjects were introduced to give students options as per their interest further in COE. From the 4th semester onwards you are given the option to choose between any of the three.

If you are passionate about science and research work then you can opt for biotechnology as it provides several career scopes. The biotechnology specialty is the most notable in terms of revenue and employment. 

• The biotechnology program at Thapar University helps the student get recognized as a leader assigned to perfection in biology.
• The interdisciplinary technical education, research, discovery and contribution adequately towards sustainable growth and development help students to move towards perfection. 
• The program provides the state of art infrastructure and professional environment that enables students and faculty to make a vital contribution in Biotechnology and allied professions. 
• One cannot find better research opportunities in any other University or College. 

The table shows a brief overview of the institution:

If the student wants to get good research and publication opportunities as well as a good placement opportunity then opt for biotechnology. Overall Thapar University is a potential choice.

One of my friends had the same options a few years back and chose Mechanical at PEC. Here are the reasons why.

• The batch size of Thapar is huge. There are almost 500 seats in the Computer Branch.
• The closing cutoff is lower for Thapar University.
• Chandigarh will offer more exposure in comparison to Patiala. You will have more opportunities to prepare for higher studies like M.Tech or MBA.
• PEC is quite reputed among students. It is even considered better than some NITs.
• PEC has a better placement record as compared to Thapar.

Here are the recent placement highlights of the institutes.

Hope this helps you in making the decision.

One of my friends had recently joined Thapar University and here are some of the facts about it that make it stand out among others.

• One of the best streams to pursue at Thapar University is CSE. 
• The placements at Thapar are really good and most of the CSE students get placed.
• Some teachers are not very good with their teaching methods. One of the best professors at Thapar is Mannek sir, he is a mechanics teacher.
• One of the best things you will encounter while studying at Thapar University is the senior mentors. They are like siblings and help you with everything.
• The infrastructure is not very well developed yet, there are few buildings with air conditioning but unfortunately not all buildings.
• There is various student societies present which you can also join.

If you are getting your desired branch then only you should join this institute as you also have to pay a hefty amount of fees.

According to one of my friend's opinions, if you belong to the state Punjab and have completed your studies till class 12 there then you can take a chance for a counseling round. 

But if not there are very less chances with a JEE Mains rank of 47,000 and it seems difficult mostly to the students belonging to the general category. 

The recent cut-off has been indicated below that can give you a reference regarding the JEE Mains rank:

From the above table you can clearly get an idea regarding the level of difficulty that a general candidate faces. 

Work hard and score a good percentile score to get admission to one of the leading universities in the country.

One of my friends from school attends Thapar University. Here is his insight regarding the class timing at the institute.

• Since you are from the first year this is vaguely how your week will be academic. The total hours in the first semester per week is nearly 27 hours.
• Your Mondays will be normal, most likely to end at 3 noon and begin at 8 in the morning. 
• Your Tuesdays will be short. You will most probably have classes from morning 8 to noon 1. 
• Your Wednesdays will be busy with classes from 8 in the morning to 5 in the evening. 
• On Thursdays, you will have classes from 9 in the morning to 4-5 in the evening. Your 
• Fridays will be short. Most likely to end before noon 1.
• Between all this, you will have an hour lunchtime which will be either from 12 to 1 or 1 to 2. Saturdays and Sundays are off. Most of the common tests especially Maths are conducted on Saturdays.

Try to enjoy the first semester as it is one of the least credit semesters. Manage your time properly. You will be given a week off before Mid Terms and the end semester to study.

Do attend labs as they are easy and you will get free attendance. Try to maintain a good relationship with TAs. If they are on your side, you are most likely to score well.