CUSAT is a university that had colleges under it in the past. Now it only has colleges or schools to be exact. Which are under the main university campus. 

Following are the various schools affiliated with CUSAT University.

• SOE: It stands for School of Engineering and deals with UG engineering courses.
• Old SOE: It deals with Grad and Ph.D. courses. It also comprises various departments for MCA.
• SLS: It stands for School of Legal Studies and deals with the law courses.
• SMS: It stands for School of Management Studies and deals with business-related courses.
• Kunjali Marakkar School of Marine Engineering: It deals with marine engineering courses.

The above-mentioned schools constitute the main campus. This is not the entire CUSAT, there is another campus for the university. 

Lakeside Campus:

• The Lakeside campus is around 12 km from the main campus. It is set in Cochin city on the estuarine waterfront. 
• It consists of the School of Ocean Science and Technology, School of Industrial Fisheries, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Chemical Oceanography, Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, Department of Marine Geology and Geophysics, and Department of Physical Oceanography. 
• The School of Marine Sciences has a library that is regarded as one of the largest marine science libraries in Asia and a research vessel for coastal water studies.
• The school has academic interactions with other universities and research institutes in India and abroad.

Apart from this, there is also CUCEK in Kuttanad, also known as the Pulincunnoo campus. So, if you get selected into civil engineering, then you will be studying in SOE which is inside the main campus.

NITs are generally much better than Cochin Institute Of Science & Technology (CUSAT) as they receive higher funding, seminar, workshops, facilities and have reputed international Scientists. They include -

• Funding in the institution

The funding is straight from the government and therefore tends out to be more advanced in terms of technology and curriculum. All facilities are provided in order to make it a global course.

• International Collaborations

The NIT across the nation are actively engaged in seminars/workshops that allow its candidates to have a great exposure towards good & eminent scientists across the globe.

CUSAT can compete with NOT only on the grounds of the Physics department as it is the only department that fulfils the criterion of good faculty and advanced projects in a general sense. The major areas to look up to are :

• They try to interact with institutions like NCL, NIIST, Inter University Accelerator Centre New Delhi, IWATE University Japan.
• There are almost 205 PhDs and approximately 1100 publications in international/ national journals.
• Five Indian patents have also been filed within the department.

CUSAT gives you good opportunities but when it comes to choice between CUSAT & NIT ; surely the latter will be more preferable.

I had a friend who was a student of CUSAT. He scored 181 marks in JEE Main and was allotted north-east NITs and SMVDU. Power Engineering at Jadavpur was also offered to him with his WB JEE Exam. But he wanted to get into CUSAT in Safety & Fire Engineering at SOE.

• Reason for selection: If I talk about SMVDU, you would end up competing with students from various reputed colleges. The syllabus of CUSAT is much better in terms of completion. 
• Location factor: Since the location of CUSAT is in Kerala, you would be surrounded amidst the peace and you would have so much to explore as well! 
• Campus placement: If you end up doing your B.Tech from the first campus (SOE) leaving behind the Civil Department- it is safe to say that you would get placed. If you manage to get to the Safety & Fire Engineering (IT/CSE), you would earn a good package too. 

Back when my friend had passed out in 2018, students from Safety & Fire Engineering were placed in some great companies like- Maruti, ONGC, GAIL, Reliance, Maharatna, etc. For campus placements, you'd witness reputed companies around you. Plus, any placement offered by CSE, ECE, IT, or Mechanical departments is much better than SMVDU's.

Read the following points before taking any decision - 

1. CUSAT is in Kerala and you would witness a sort of South-Indian union among the Kerala masses along with special reservations for Keralites almost everywhere.
2. Do not let the language barrier get to you and instead of feeling low, learn it and work on your communication skills.
3. College strikes would happen often because of SFI and other parties. 
4. Your interaction would be confided to Keralites, U.P, or Bihar students.
5. The culture and traditions that are followed in Kerala are entirely different from the North. 

If you are getting SOE, then prefer it over SMVDU. Apart from that, Kerala is a very beautiful place that you should enjoy thoroughly.

Amrita University has ranked 4th among the top engineering colleges by NIRF in 2020. Cochin University of Science and Technology has ranked 89th among the top engineering colleges by NIRF in 2020 and has been marked as an ‘A’ graded institution by NAAC.

Both these universities have several advantages and each one of them has evolved in their own ways over the years. Both of them offer good facilities to their students, which is why it can get difficult to choose either one of them. However, in order to get over the dilemma about which one would be perfect for you, go through these points which will eventually help you make the final call.

Admission:

Amrita university- It offers MTech courses in various specializations, such as Cyber Security, Automotive Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, etc.

• Admission to the MTech program is through GATE. For non-GATE qualified candidates, the selection is based on past academic records and personal interviews conducted by the University.

• Students applying for admission to MTech programs should have passed with a minimum of 60% aggregate in BE/BTech/MSc in relevant engineering disciplines.

The course fee for MTech at Amrita University is 3.57 lakhs.

Cochin University of Science and Technology- It offers full-time and per-time MTech courses in various specializations.

• Students should have BE/BTech/BSc degree with 60% aggregate from any recognized university.

• The selection of the programs is through GATE/DAT/JNU Entrance Test.

The total course fee for CUSAT is INR 34,675.

Placement:

Amrita University-

• Some of the top recruiters of the Amrita University students are Amazon, Google, TCS, CTS, Microsoft, and more.

• The highest salary package remains around 30 LPA and the lowest one is 3 LPA-5 LPA.

CUSAT-

• The top recruiters who offer placements to the CUSAT students are HCL, IBM, IBS, ORACLE, MAHINDRA, INFOSYS, and more.

• The highest package is 18 LPA and the average salary package remains around 5 LPA.

Infrastructure:

• Amrita University offers good facilities to the students which include a well-designed library, sports fields along with hostel facilities for both boys and girls.

• CUSAT, similarly provides modern classrooms with all the necessary equipment, alongside a library, sports facilities, and more. Each department is provided with its individual laboratories.

These are some of the major factors that you should be taking into consideration before making a decision about which one you would choose as your future institution.

PES University is a private university and has four campuses, offering various courses under different streams. The university has been recognized by AIU, AICTE, and UGC. The college has been ranked 26th and 43rd for MBA by Times and Outlook respectively.

Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), is a state university and is recognized by AIU, AICTE, UGC. The college is ranked 89th by NIRFunder the category of overall universities.

Admission Procedure:

PES: The college offers 97 courses across 11 streams.

• The fees vary from 1.28 Lakhs to 13.21 Lakhs across various courses.

• The college grants admission to students on the basis of aggregate scores obtained in previous qualifying examinations and PESSAT, the common entrance test conducted by the university.

• The college also accepts scores of national level entrance exams (CAT, JEE, XAT, etc.). The institute also conducts personal interviews for some postgraduate courses.

CUSAT: The university has 21 centers and 31 departments, offering a total of 71 courses.

• The fees vary from Rs 38,500 to 3.23 Lakhs across various courses.

• The minimum eligibility criteria for all courses is having passed their 10+2 examinations/ graduate degree with a minimum of 50%.

• For admissions, the university conducts a common admission test CUSAT, Lateral Entry Test, or Departmental Admission Test. The university also accepts CAT, MAT, and GATE scores.

Infrastructure & Facilities:

PES: The college is built over a large 25-acre campus. It is home to a handy library with a collection of e-journals, coursebooks, and e-books.

• The college has in-campus hostels for both boys and girls. The campus also has various sporting facilities such as cricket, football, and basketball.

• The college has a number of laboratories for different departments and a moot court for law students. A number of other facilities such as cafeterias, a gym, medical facilities, and auditoriums are also available.

CUSAT: The college is built over a 180-acre campus. The campus has a well-equipped library for its students.

• The college has separate hostels for boys and girls, with a total of 1300 beds available.

• The college also provides a café, auditorium, sports facilities, bank, computer lab, and medical facilities.

Placements:

PES:

• In 2019, 56 companies visited the campus which included Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, and EY.

• A total of 861 offers were made to the students.

• The average package offered at the college is 6.8 LPA and the highest package went up to 48 LPA.

CUSAT:

• A total of 105 recruiters come for placements including Amazon, Cisco, Verizon, and Infosys.

• The average package offer was 4.94 LPA, with the highest offered package going up to 18 LPA

Both colleges outshine one another on different fronts. While CUSAT has a more economical fee structure and a much larger campus. PES on the other hand scores better on the parameters of facilities and placements provided by the college. However, CUSAT is ranked much higher than PES in terms of college rankings and makes it a better option. The choice between the two colleges also depends on your preference between a private and a state-run university.