A GUIDE TO YOUR FUTURE

This is a very brief document which can help you know of the popular opportunities suiting your interests, all compactly fit into just a few pages for your easy reference all throughout your life.

Making the right choice

You may possess many skills you are good at. You may have several seemingly conflicting interests. You may be proficient in more than one language. Yet you might find yourself in a tight spot while making a choice regarding your higher education or career. It is strongly recommended to think along the following steps to make an effective choice. (All the best!)

• Know yourself – know your interests and your personality

• Search and find all the options open to you – collect all the associated details.(You may start with this guide!)

• Collect a few options that are open to you and fits your interest – Look for their

scope, the future they can offer you.

• List out your skills, talents, strengths and even weaknesses to narrow down to a single one out of the collection. (This could be hard, but do it!)

CAUTION: Stop comparing yourself with someone else. Your skills, interests, strengths, weaknesses and choices are yours alone!

Career Guidance and Counselling

You can approach professionals who offer career guidance and counselling.

These professionals remain updated about all the trending opportunities in both higher education and career.

They can also help you assess which available opportunities suit your skills, interests, qualifications etc.

Each individual is unique and possesses unique set of qualities and skills. Career guidance and counselling aims at helping these

aspirants (mainly students) find educational or employment opportunities that match their skills, which will help them reach the success they dream of.

There are many more helpful services offered by career guidance units and professional counsellors.(You can even contact the career guidance unit of LMCST)

Planning your future

One of the key things for success is proper planning. You need to make your choices and plan your future early. For this you may need to know all the options available to you for higher education or jobs well ahead. You can use this guide as an initial reference (but not the only reference) to know of some of the popular options.

While constructing your plan and evaluating options, try to look at the following basic points.

Scope – whether the choice will offer you better future

Eligibility – skills and qualifications required to get the opportunity

Time – time you will take to complete the course or reach a position of your dreams

Moment – The time at which you need to apply (also how to apply)

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

If you are a school student, the first biggest choice you may probably be making in your life would be which course and college you are going to join. College education is the most crucial parameter that shapes your professional life and career.

The broad areas in which you can pursue college education are listed below

Engineering & Technology Medicine & Health Care Science & Maths Computers & IT Arts Media, Films & Journalism Law, Politics & Humanities

Management Fashion Designing Architecture and Interior

Designing Aviation, Travel &

HospitalityENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY & ARCHITECTURE

Engineering is essentially involves application of science and maths to design and build machines/engines/other things which can enhance life or solves problems. The main branches of study in engineering in India are:

Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering

Concerned with development of aircraft & spacecraft

Chemical Engineering

Applies physics, chemistry, microbiology and biochemistry, together with applied mathematics and economics to produce, transform, transport, and properly use chemicals, materials and energy.

Civil Engineering

Deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings.

Computer Science and Engineering

Deals with software (their theory and development), hardware, programming and applied mathematics.

Electrical & Electronics Engineering

Deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. The focus is more on power generation and transmission, control systems, signal processing etc

Electronics and Communication Engineering

Though similar to electrical engineering, the focus is more on design of electronic circuits, devices, microprocessors, microcontrollers and other systems

Mechanical Engineering

Applies engineering, physics, and materials-science principles to design, analyze, manufacture, and maintain mechanical systems.

The best colleges in India to undergo engineering education are the IITs and NITs.

Architecture:

Architecture is not exactly a branch of engineering. However, due to its cloase association with civil engineering, bachelor's in architecture (B.Arch) is generally offered in engineering colleges. However, other advance topics like urban planning are generally offered only by a few institutes which specialize in planning and architecture. Some such important institutions are:

School of Planning and Architecture

Center for Environment Planning and Architecture

Chandigarh College of Architecture

J J College of Architecture

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)

These are world class institutions for excellence in engineering education supported by MHRD, Govt of India. They offer BTech and Dual Degree courses in engineering, applied sciences, earth sciences and humanities. Admission is through Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) which is a two phase examination (main and advanced) conducted on separate days. Admission to humanities courses is through a separate exam called HSEE.

National Institutes of Technology (NITs)

Nearly every state has these institutions of national importance for engineering education. Admission is through JEE. Offers mainly B.Tech and B.Arch degrees.

Schools of Planning and Architecture are excellent central govt. institutions for architecture and urban planning courses.

In the state of Kerala, there are several state government funded as well as self-financing colleges in the engineering education sector.

Most of these colleges are now affiliated to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University – popularly known by the name Kerala Technological University (KTU).

Engineering Entrance Examinations

The admissions to all the engineering and architecture courses across all universities and colleges in India are generally through entrance examinations. Though a few deemed universities are exceptions, the scores in these entrance examinations help get admission to a course and institution of your interests. Some of the popular engineering entrance exams are listed below:

Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admissions to IITs, NITs and a few other excellent institutions

BITSAT – admissions to Birla Institutes of Technology and Science (BITS)

VITEEE – Admission to Vellore Institute of Technology

KIITEE –Admission to Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology.

KEAM – Admissions to engineering and architecture colleges of Kerala.

CUSAT-CAT – Admission to UG programs of Cochin University of Science and Technology.

Eligibility:

In order to appear for the entrance and also to get admission to a good engineering course, an aspirant must master the subjects of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry (in the order of importance). Generally a minimum of 50% marks in these subjects is insisted during admission.

MEDICINE & HEALTH CAREThe major courses/degrees offered in the area of medicine and healthcare in India after school are listed below.

Major Degrees

M.B.B.S (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery)

B.D.S (Bachelor of Dental Surgery)

B.A.M.S (Bachelor of Ayurvedic and Siddha Medicine)

B.H.M. (Bachelor of Homeopathy Medicine)

B.Pharma (Bachelor of Pharmacy)

B.Sc Nursing

B.P.T (Physiotherapy)

M.B.B.S takes an average of 4.5 years for completion while B.D.S, B.Pharma and B.A.M.S require 4 years. B.P.T, B.H.M.S and BSc Nursing can be completed in just 3 years.

Some of the popular medical institutions are:

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)

Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC)

JIPMER Puducherry

Christian Medical College (CMC)

Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC)

Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC)

Madras Medical College

Kasturba Medical College

Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute

There are many more excellent institutions spread across India. However, looking within the state, the popular medical colleges are

Top Medical Colleges in Kerala (Govt)

Government Medical College, Ernakulam

Government Medical College, Kottayam

Government Medical College, Kozhikode,

Government Medical College, Malapuram

Government Medical College, Painav, Idukki

Government Medical College, Thrissur

Government Medical College, Yakkara, Palakkad

Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram

T D Medical College, Alleppey (Allappuzha)

All the above are government medical colleges. There are many other good self-financing medical colleges in the state.

Entrance Examinations

The admissions to almost all medical colleges (M.B.B.S and B.D.S) in the country are through National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The admission to medical colleges in Kerala may be either through NEET or KEAM.

Colleges for BDS, Nursing and others

Some of the top dental science in the country institutions are

Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences Delhi

Manipal College of Dental Sciences Manipal

Govt. Dental College & Hospital Mumbai

Nair Hospital Dental Colleges Mumbai

Government Dental College & Research Institute

Dr. R. Ahmed Dental College and Hospital Kolkata

There are few specific colleges for B.D.S in Kerala too.

Sree Anjaneya Institute of Dental Sciences

K.M.C.T. Dental College and Hospital

Amrita School Of Dentistry

Mar Baselios Dental College

P.M.S. College of Dental Science

Royal Dental College, Palakka

Government Dental Colleges Tvm, Calicut, Kottayam, Allepey, Thrissur etc

Nursing Schools/College

Most of the institutions listed for M.B.B.S degree also offer good courses in Nursing. However, a few other important institutions are listed below.

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University

Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University

Army College of Nursing, Jalandhar

Govt College of Nursing, Hyderabad

St. John’s Nursing College, Bangalore

In Kerala

In Kerala as well there are a few institutions dedicated to nursing courses. Apart from the Government Colleges of Nursing in Kannur, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kollam, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram, there are many more self-financing nursing schools.

Kerala has an international reputation for the world class nurses produced by it annually. The major bulk of them find excellent work opportunities outside the state and the country.

The admissions to nursing courses are institution specific and are not ensured by any common entrance examination tests. However, many of these institutions conduct their own entrance tests to shortlist

applications (like AIMS, Armed Forces etc). In Kerala, aspirants meeting the eligibility criteria can directly apply to be part of the centralized allotment process under the purview of CEE. The allotment is for nursing and other paramedical courses.

Eligibility:In order to appear for the entrance and also to get admission to a good medical/paramedical course, an aspirant must master the subjects of Biology, Physics and Chemistry (in the order of importance). Generally a minimum of 50% marks in these subjects is insisted during admission.

SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS

For youngsters who wish to delve into pure science or mathematics education there are many options available today than in the past. The top creamy layer of these institutions for science and mathematics are a set of world class institutions funded directly by Govt. of India. Some of them are:

Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore

Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs)

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER)

Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA)

Institute of Mathematical Sciences

Indian Statistical Institutes (ISI)

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)

There are several other government supported and self-financing colleges for education in science and mathematics. The admissions to the courses are generally institution specific and based on the marks of qualifying examination (12th std).

COMPUTERS & IT

Computers are finding applications in all other fields. Nowadays, it is impossible to do any job without

basic computer skills. Apart from these there are many specific areas in computers and computing technology for higher studies and employment.

Softwares and Programming

As you may know majority of engineers in India are pursuing jobs directly or indirectly related to software development, testing and troubleshooting. Students with a degree in Computer Science Engineering degree have a subtle advantage of others. However, there are other courses like Bachelor's/Master's in Computer Applications (BCA or MCA) which also train students specifically for this industry. Students also learn about hardware and networking in BCA/MCA.

Information Technology:

There are other diploma or engineering degree courses in Information Technology (IT). There are several insitutes of national importance which are dedicated specifically to Information technology like

Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)

Computer skills are also being imparted some government and private institutions. Some popular ones are CDAC, NIIT, CDIT etc.

COLLEGES IN AND AROUND THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

COLLEGE BRANCH LAST RANK

Collge Of Engineering, Trivandrum

AE & I 1854

CE 970

CSE 95 EEE 1161 ECE 280

IE 5024 ME 252 CE 4093

Government Engineering

College, Barton Hill,

Thiruvananthapuram

EEE 3661

ECE 3267

IT 9162

ME 1638

BT 6776

Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram

CSE 4050 ECE 5212 MEAu 6368 ME 3513 MEPro 8127 CE 11929

Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram

CSE 14876

EEE 17799 ME 10955

CE 17574

Marian Engg. College, Kazhakuttom.

CSE 26435

EEE 26479

ECE 30854

ME 19364

AE & I 11031

LBS Institute of Technology for Women, Thiruvananthapuram

CE 5214

CSE 9627ECE 6508IT 16627CE 26119

Lourdes CSE 43283

Matha College of Science and Technology

EEE 53835

ECE 51374 ME 38303

BT 26312 CE 20608

Mohandas College of Engineering and Technology

CSE 34785 EEE 36966 ECE 39159 ME 28909

CE 39225 ACE College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram

ECE 54893 EEE 50728 ME 45255

AE & I – Applied Electronics and InstrumentationCE – Civil EngineeringCSE - Computer Science EngineeringEEE - Electrical and Electronics EngineeringECE - Electronics and Communication EngineeringME - Mechanical EngineeringMEAu – Automobile EngineeringBT – BiotechnologyAE – Aeronautical EngineeringIT – Information TechnologyIE – Industrial EngineeringMEPro – Mechanical Production Engineering

MEDICAL COLLLEGES TRIVANDRUM

1. CSI Medical College2. Gokulam Medical College3. Govt. Medical College,

Thiruvananthapuram

4. S.R MEDICAL COLLEGE & RESEARCH CENTER

5. SUT Acadamy Of Medical Science Vattapara

6. Azeezia Institute of Medical Science, Meyanoor

ARTS & SCIENCE COLLEGES

1. Government Arts College 2. Mar Ivanios College3. University Of Kerala 4. Government College For

Women 5. Sree Narayana College

Chempazhanthy6. St Xavier College Thumba7. University College8. Sri Swathi Thirunal College Of

Music 9. All Saints' College10. Emmanuel College Vazhichal

PHARMACY COLLEGES

1. A J College of Pharmacy2. College of Pharmaceutical

Sciences3. Dale View College of

Pharmacy & Research Center4. Ezhuthachan National

Academy Pharmacy College

5. Mar Dioscorus College of Pharmacy

6. Sree Krishna College of Pharmacy & Research Centre

NURSING COLLEGES

1. Ananthapuri College of Nursing, Ananthapuri Hospitals & Research Institute

2. Co-operative College of Nursing, Kakkode

3. CSI College of Nursing, Karakonam

4. Govt. College of Nursing, Thiruvananthapuram

5. KIMS College of Nursing, Anayara

6. Nightingale College of Nursing, Nedumangad

7. NIMS College of Nursing, Neyyattinkara

8. PRS College of Nursing, Killipalam

9. Ruckmoni College of Nursing, Ponnambi

10. Saraswathy College of Nursing, Uchakkada

11. Sivagiri Sree Narayana Medical Mission College of Nursing, Sreenivasapuram

12. Sree Gokulam Nursing College,

Lourdes Matha College of Science & Technology, Lourdes Hills, Kuttichal P.O,

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala - 695 574

Phone: 0472-2853550 | 0472-2851166

E mail: lourdesmathaoffice@gmail.com

ARCHITECTURE COLLEGES

1. College Of Architecture Trivandrum

2. College Of Engineering Trivandrum

3. Marian College Of Architecture And Planning

POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES

1. Central Polytechnic College, Net-tayam Vattiyoorkavu

2. Goverment Polytechnic College, Neyyattinkara

3. Government Polytechnic College, Nedumangad

4. Government Polytechnic College, Attingal

5. Government Womens Polytech-nic College, Kaimanam

ITI COLLEGES

1. ITI - Dhanuvachapuram2. ITI Chackai3. ITI Attingal4. ITI, Aryanad5. ITI Women Kazhakkuttom6. ITI (Women) Parassala

OVERSEAS EDUCATION

Admissions are available to a wide spectrum of courses which are not limited to those available in India. The admissions are generally institution specific and happen during the months of August and January(spring and fall). However, the preparations must commence at least six months earlier so as to get the final application done on time.

It is difficult to generalize here the application or admission procedures as these are institution and country specific. However, it is very important to note that getting admitted to a course abroad in a foreign university as an international student has two

parts- 1. Your selection by the university that you have applied to

2. Getting student visa and approval by the corresponding country for your stay there for the complete duration of the course

Successful accomplishment of both the above parts require you to attempt certain exams in addition to your basic qualifications that meet the criteria for selection to the course you have applied to. The scores in these additional exams (mostly based on linguistic, verbal, quantitative and reasoning abilities) helps the university and the government of the corresponding country to be sure that you follow their language (the medium of instruction of the course) and will be able to lead a comfortable and independent student life.

Though many good universities across the globe and even some countries as a whole have several waivers regarding tuition or other expenses incurred by international students, the cost of education abroad is significantly higher than in India (generally). Hence,

making sure you can bear the expenses is very important. The common ways in which students from India support their education abroad are by:

Securing scholarship from the Government of India, Govern-ment of the country where the university is located, the university itself or other sources

Securing loans from Indian banks

Working part-time within the university (like teaching assist-ants ) or outside.

Required Exams

MCAT ( medicine in USA) LSAT (Law School Admission

Council for students who wish to pursue a career in law in the USA, Australia and Canada.)

GMAT - USA or Canada(Man-agement aspirants)

GRE - USA or Canada(engin-eering and the sciences)

IELTS (UK, U.S, Canada, Aus-tralia and New Zealand)

TOEFL (UK, U.S, Canada, Aus-tralia and New Zealand)

Scholarships

Study anywhere in Europe:

Erasmus Mundus Scholar-ships

GoEuro European Study Abroad Scholarship

Study in Austria:

Austrian Government Schol-arships , Grants.at

Study in Belgium

CIUF-CUD Scholarships in Bel-gium for Developing Coun-tries

VLIR-UOS Scholarships for De-veloping Countries

Study in Switzerland

ETH Zurich Excellence Masters Scholarship Program

Swiss Government Excel-lence Scholarships for Foreign Scholars and Artists

UNIL Master’s Grants in Switzerland for Foreign Stu-dents

Government-funded Australian scholarships for international students

Australia Awards Scholarships (AAS)

University-specific Australian scholarships for international students

Australian National University

Adelaide Scholarships Inter-national (ASI)

Curtin University Interna-tional Research Scholarships

MORE

• Chevening UK Government Scholarships

• Tata Scholarship (Cornell Uni-versity for Indian students)

• Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fel-lowships (for Indian students)

• FullbrightFellowhips

• Erasmus Scholarships

• Royal Society Grants

• Hubert-Humphrey Scholar-ships

• The Mahatma Gandhi Scholar-ship Programme

• Commonwealth Academic Fel-lowships

SCORES

GRE TOP SCORES

• These scores will put you in the top 10% of all test takers

• VERBAL : 163 – 170QUANTIT-ATIVE: 165-170WRITING: 5.0 – 6.0

COMPETITIVE SCORES

• These scores will put you in a highly competitive place in ad-missions (top 25% of all test takers)

• VERBAL: 158 – 162

• QUANTITATIVE: 159-164

WRITING: 4.5

TOEFL ® Score Scales

Total Score 0–120

Reading (0–30) High (22–30) Intermediate (15–21) Low (0–14)

Listening ( 0–30 ) High (22–30) Intermediate (14–21)Low (0–13)

Speaking ( 0–30) Good (26–30) Fair (18–25)Limited (10–17) Weak (0–9)

Writing (0–30) Good (24–30) Fair (17–23) Limited (1–16) Score of zero (0)