Buddy Program Evaluation: Fill & Download for Free

In consulting, you should assume that every single interaction you have with any member of the firm during or before recruiting is somewhat evaluative.Not in the usual sense of the word - your buddies will not fill out an evaluation form after each interaction - but each interaction with a candidate can be a potential data point for a recruiting process.Corollary - if you behave like a fool during preparation or ask stupid questions, your application is pretty much over.

Staying on campus (Laird Hall) is definitely more convenient, but bear in mind that vacancies are highly limited and in all likelihood have been filled by now. However, a few points to consider - the kitchen on each floor, while well equipped, is shared by more than 20 people. It tends to get somewhat crowded during the meal times, and with a diverse student crowd, it gets kind of messy.I stayed off campus because I was late to apply for on-campus residence. After two years of staying off-campus, I'm glad I did so. My friends who stayed on campus were not as frequent in venturing into the town as my friends who stayed off-campus. Ste-Anne is a quiet-yet-charming little town that has a gorgeous lakefront and, although limited, nice options to dine and hang out with friends.But here too, it all depends on finding the right place, which can be tricky if you're a foreign student and are not able to physically check out the places beforehand. If so, I suggest using the The Buddy Program to find a "Buddy" who can help you find off campus accommodation. Else, I recommend staying on-campus for the initial period of your stay, evaluating it and then moving out if you feel it's better.

Depends on which year the student is in. I graduated this year and can probably let out a few details..then again, it varies by a student's branch (CS vs EC) and also the "type" of a student (coder, gamer, geek, jock to name a few) and whatever I type below will apply to a very small fraction of that group.In a student's free time (if it exists for a non zero amount of time, over some random weekend, after subtracting any nerdy activity by over enthusiastic freshmen as well), he/she usually spends it on the internet or hanging out at one of the tens of cool places within 5-6 km from the campus - Dominos, Man-Pasand, Delhi 39, Inorbit Mall (for the kids with some spare cash unless they go to McDonalds there) to name a few. The following is mostly from the acad/career perspective since we already got the usual social stuff down.First year:Wake up early (6-ish) for PT/Yoga (in some year eventually, if not now, they won't let you graduate without this! and FYI, the attendance rules get harder once you gain seniority)The rest of the day is usually spent in classes/labs and the evenings - coding for assignments, struggling to get your programs through the internal SPOJ style evaluation portal, within the deadline. If there's any time left, you take a break from being an awesome programmer to study for other courses/other assignments. The whole year is pretty much classes, followed by assignments, deadlines, midsems and endsems. You get some breathing space occasionally for a few days. It's otherwise hectic though.If you're a jock and not on the genius end of it, there will be a tradeoff between your semester grades vs evening sports (usually soccer, basketball).At the end of the year, You start seeing group patterns in students - the coders, the geeks, the "bonds" - not too geeky, but very efficient with deadlines, get high GPAs, and still maintain a social life, the gamers/CS (Counter Strike) or FIFA addicts and of course, the average people who keep trying to fit in somewhere.The first few days (until the freshers party) also include interaction sessions with your seniors and they get to know you (really well!). This is when you find mentors to help you out in the future - Counter Strike teammates, intern referrals at places like Google/Fb when you hit your 3rd year, TAs, soccer team buddies, or maybe even a few crushes.These sessions can go south sometimes, but I guess they were always brought under control later - it's usually a positive and funny experience to look forward to.Second year:A "Neutral" year so to speak - usual coursework, assignments, but everyone's used to it. People planning for a masters/PhD after their undergrad usually get into a honors program and start working their a** off on research, with a faint hope of publishing papers in top conferences before they graduate.I see that the number of authors is slowly increasing now, and there are paper authors as early in their 3rd year now - which is awesome.A little bit more free time compared to the first year because you're free from that pesky programming evaluation portal. Life continues at an equally dull pace - classes, labs, assignments, deadlines, midsems, endsems, honors projects (including the second half of your summer vacation, depending on your advisor).Third year:Finally the freedom to choose your own courses since you're done with all the "compulsory" courses. You can truly live life in this year...(nah..just kidding.)Pick your courses and endure the load, in addition to one or more of the following, depending on what you can handle:Prepare for the GRE and TOEFL if you're planning to go for Masters abroad after you graduate.Prepare for the CAT if you're planning to end up in an IIM after you graduate.Do a TAship/RAship either because you're passionate about teaching/research. Nevertheless, extra cash is sweet!Working on your research and/or paper if you're a dual degree/Honors student.The big companies are coming at the end of the semester to take interns - wouldn't it be awesome if you got an intern offer at Google/Facebook/etc? Start preparing for them as well.If you're human, you could probably manage 3 out of the above 5 simultaneously (still considering you hang out with friends, have a social life, take part in activities, etc). The lazy/content ones usually do nothing and chill - whatever works for them. Most of them with a decent gpa try the third activity. Almost everyone tries the fifth one, just to get an experience.I've seen people doing all 5 of the above as well, in addition to randomly showing up at other coding events or tech events off campus..but that's rare and do it at your own risk!Summer at the end of 3rd year: Finalize all your B.Tech Projects, Honors projects, finish all your Internships (If you're lucky, get all your Pre Placement Offers), Finish preparation for all those other exams (CAT/GRE/TOEFL/GMAT/ABC/DEF/GHI/JKL/.../placements etc). Chill out if there's any time left.Fourth year - 1st semester:You begin to notice you've done almost all the required courses to graduate. You can probably skip a few courses now (if you took the complete load in previous semesters). You begin to optimize your preparation time for your exams and placements at the end of this semester by dividing whatever's left into the current and the next(final) semesters, making the course load comparative lower for now. You put yourself on cruise control for your acads and focus on all the other important stuff.Mechanically sit through your exams, placements, send all your application letters and just pray to God that this intense phase ends as soon as possible. Most of your time in this semester is spent worrying about your future instead of doing anything productive. Darn placements!!Fourth year - 2nd semester: (Semester 8 - your final semester in the campus!)You can finally breathe. You have a job offer in hand (and some lucky people even end up liking their offer- sometimes even international ones).You have a lot of spare cash from TAships and/or RAships and/or Internships, sometimes even have admits from other schools (based on your previous applications). Finally you have everything you need for your next steps.You realize you can chill now, before starting off again a few months later in a new avatar. You splurge everyday...suddenly the mess food looks even more revolting than it actually is. Your wake up time gets shifted by a couple of hours. You mechanically sit through the classes, finish whatever's left for you to graduate (including that annoying PT/Yoga sessions you skipped in the 1st year). Finish watching all the movies and tv shows you somehow missed earlier. Take a few pictures, attend the farewell ceremony and say goodbye to your friends. Meet them for a day or two a few months later at the convocation.If you're a dual degree student, you have a lot more time in the campus (about 1-2 years more) ;)Life is not always about books though..people still manage to take time out to do really cool stuff like Photography, Swimming next door at the stadium, Badminton coaching at the nearby Gopichand academy, Organize felicity(our annual tech and cultural fest), Trekking, get elite ranks in coding contests. It depends on each individual on what they're willing to try.That ladies and gentlemen, is life (of some students) at IIIT-H.