Private colleges woo bright minds from schools

Chaitanya G, head of Marketing, SRM Group of Institutions, says, “We organise various competitions including quizzes for school students, wherein they get an opportunity to visit our campus. Instead of a direct promotion, these are indirect ways of allowing prospective students get to know about us. We also have the Open House programme, in which all facilities are open to visitors who will be taken on a campus tour in small groups of 20 to 25 guided by an SRM Ambassador.”

SSN College of Engineering has an initiative to attract bright students from the rural areas. They have 25 seats earmarked for students for exceptional schools from the rural areas. “We reach out to various schools in the rural areas in the state. These kids need to top the class and we give them free scholarship, which also includes accommodation and tuition fees. We also have walk-in-walkout scheme under which 25 seats are offered to toppers of various state boards with full scholarship,” says Assistant Director-Marketing at SSN Institutions. 

Hindustan College of Arts & Science has been organising Knowledge Hunt for five years where students from Class 9 to 12 are invited to participate in several competitions. “They are organised by several departments and students get to attend speeches and exhibitions. This helps us get the data base of the students and if we see a spark in them, we offer them scholarships,” says Dr Susan Marthandan, Director, HCAS. 

However, career advisors believe that when in school, especially in Class 12, students are so consumed in their studies that they do not get an opportunity to explore their career options. “The schools should provide the students with 360-degree perspective when it comes to making their career choices. Not all the students would want to become an engineer, or doctor or accountant. There are several opportunities available and the students must be made aware of them right from Class 10,” says Nedunchezhian D, a career counsellor.