Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues College of Engineering M.Tech Review By Alpeshkumar Galani

A school-type college where attendance is strict like hell. The college is located near Bandstand which is one of the most happening areas of Mumbai but the college lacks scope for extra-curricular activities. CGPA is all that counts. If you are just in need of placements you can join this college because otherwise, it’s a jail. The classes have no timings as it can last for 6 to 10 hours. If you want to have the essence of college life please stay away. I at least enjoyed my college life during my graduation or else I would have regretted my entire life. You need a high rank in CET to get into this college as the college has very high standards. The Francis college even though is located in Bandra, I didn’t have a single classmate from Bandra. Imagine the kind of strictness the college has put in place that people actually fear joining this college. All said and done as the placements are the best and so are the studies. You will have a deep knowledge of the branch you have chosen as the college will make sure that you know everything that is there in the books.

The college is stricter and even for PG students the class tests and monthly tests along with prelims are conducted. The college is sincere and makes sure that the syllabus is completed on time. The classes, therefore, are stretched at least 2 times a week. The college is affiliated to MU and the hard work or the sweat that students had to go in the college is appreciated by the University as the college has a knack for producing the toppers for a while now. At the start of the year, you will get the entire schedule of classes and exams. The submissions, the seminars, and the conferences are planned well in advance at Francis college.

I don’t know from where they have hired because if the management is strict the teachers are even stricter. Knew each one of us by names and that’s not all. They also had our report card with them all the time and if we are among the backbenchers, the free period that we had before the semester exams was spent at the college only. The teachers kept running up and down and if we didn’t understand the concept they will teach the same topic twice, thrice perhaps no limit but will make sure either we by heart that without understanding or we understand it. I literally felt like a 10-year-old kid going to a strict tuition teacher for studies while pursuing PG.

For all the hard sweat that we went through, we hardly had to bleed while the campus placements were announced. We were more than ready and were certain that before the final semester, we will have a job in our hands. There were 50+ companies for sure and what I learned was that they have been coming to the college for decades. The names include big shots like TCS, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Atos, Goldman Sachs, HP, HSBC, and MAQ Software, etc. I was worried about the package because after putting in hard yards I couldn’t have settled for anything less than being in the 30% taxpayer bracket. Yes, I got that and so my friends. The average was nearly that and the jail finally smelled like heaven as I hugged my teachers after I got the job and they blessed me to contribute to the best of my ability. The placements at Francis are unquestionable and if not the best, Francis is among the best engineering colleges in Mumbai for placements.

The college doesn’t have a hostel facility. This is a serious issue as many people avoid this college due to not having a hostel facility. Mumbai is costly and the college location is such that you can’t find a PG or flat for less than 20k. This is the bare minimum and the amount is not something that anyone can afford. Still for those who can afford the college surrounding are full of well-furnished flats which are easily available for rent.

The college is small as there are 2 buildings in the campus and is divided by 3 streams each. The buildings have been renovated off late and looks new from the outset. The college has the best labs though small and therefore the students are divided into teams and the practicals are conducted likewise. Academic wise there is every single facility but apart from that, there is no facility like sports or anything at the campus. The canteen was also not so happening and was one of those rare colleges where canteen hardly had any students even during breaks. The infrastructure is equipped from an academic point of view but has nothing other than that.

The class timing was from 11.30 and I have left the college premises at as late as 9 PM. The use of a mobile phone inside the classroom was strictly prohibited. However, if we are late the faculty was kind enough to talk to our parents. I don’t think I have done anything significant at the college other than my studies.