I appeared for CLAT last month and have been offered admission at NUJS, Kolkata and unless I get NALSAR in the subsequent lists, looks like I'll be going there. I was hoping to get an idea about the general vibe of the university, the learning environment, the hostels and other infra, location, clubs, etc., and a friend of mine said this would be a good place to ask :))This is my first time posting on LI, please excuse any mistakes in the post. Thank you!
Pros and cons of NUJS (and Kolkata as a city) listed below.
Pros:
- Placements
- Alumni base
- Central location in comparison with other NLUs. Malls, restaurants, cinemas and hotels nearby. Takes 20 minutes to go to the city centre proper, around 20-25 mins to the airport. Also multiple hospitals nearby, which should reassure both you and your parents.
- Kolkata has a very good and very cheap food scene
- In terms of academic atmosphere, the National Library in Kolkata is probably the largest in India. There are also various lectures and seminar at IIM Calcutta, IIFT, Presidency University etc, which you can attend.
- For sports, the Sports Authority of India and the Bengal Tennis Academy are nearby and offer good facilities, though you need to pay to use them.
- One of the treasures of Kolkata are the old colonial clubs: no other city has so many. These are inaccessible to ordinary people, unless you have reciprocal membership through a club like Delhi Gymkhana or Bombay Gykmhana. However, a few clubs give practically free access to students who are very good in sports (during off-peak hours).
- Kolkata is safe for women in comparison with most other cities in India. Yes, it is risky to walk alone after midnight, but are even guys really likely to do that anywhere in India, instead of taking an Uber?
Cons:
- SJA: Once regarded as the best student body of all NLUs, now the most incompetent.
- Divided student body. Lack of unity. Needless squabbling between woke and anti-woke factions.
- The academic atmosphere and faculty quality at NUJS has dipped sharply since the departure of Prof Menon, Prof Chimni and Prof MP Singh. These 3 are hugely respected as scholars and the governing body had names of national repute when they were in charge. Now there are a lot of mediocre people. The Left Front government had intellectual leanings and gave Menon/Chimni/Singh plenty of autonomy. In contrast, the TMC is a govt of thugs and wants only yes-men.
- Life in Kolkata has deteriorated sharply since the TMC took over. The air has become as bad as Delhi and anti-social elements have free reign in pockets of the city and surrounding villages (although you are unlikely to visit those pockets and surrounding villages).
- Although the alumni base is good, neither the admin or students tap them.
Right, the alumni aren't tapped by anyone, but still they keep returning for talks, credit courses, fund scholarships, moots, recruit in huge numbers during day zero etc.
Expect swimming pools in the campus during monsoon.
Constant interference by the state government (every nlu has it these days).
An above average faculty.... nothing extraordinary so don't expect much.
A very placement oriented environment.
An apathetic Vice chancellor, a poor hostel.
After all this you will most probably end up with a good package when you pass out....so study well, don't waste your time on petty University politics.
NUJS VC is amongst the most approachable NLU VCs of all. He is genuinely interested to work for the betterment of NUJS in consonance with the student body. VC and student body are on same page on most of the issues. VC has honestly been proactive on many fronts.
Expect the best days of your life. You WILL be at sea first, but Calcutta will reel you in. Slowly, but surely. Lots of pros and cons, as there always have been.
Try and not micromanage things - the journey is special. Buckle down, its going to be a hell of a ride.
Take my advice. Make friends and go on dates with students from the following colleges instead of NUJS:
IIM Calcutta: way out of our league and also older than NUJS students, but no harm in trying: they will be future millionaires who even law firm partners will suck up to. If you're looking to date, don't get bothered by age difference. Older girl-younger boy relationships do not matter any more, look at Nick and Priyanka. And neither do older boy-younger girl relationships, e.g. Ranbir-Alia and Sid-Kiara.
Xavier's, Presidency and JU: Nice crowd and without the ego of NUJS students, though JU and Presidency are too leftist
NIFT and Bhawanipore Education Society: The colleges of choice for Ananya Pandey types, but still better than ▮▮▮ NUJS students
I appeared for CLAT last month and have been offered admission at NUJS, Kolkata and unless I get NALSAR in the subsequent lists, looks like I'll be going there. I was hoping to get an idea about the general vibe of the university, the learning environment, the hostels and other infra, location, clubs, etc., and a friend of mine said this would be a good place to ask :))This is my first time posting on LI, please excuse any mistakes in the post. Thank you!
Pros:
- Placements
- Alumni base
- Central location in comparison with other NLUs. Malls, restaurants, cinemas and hotels nearby. Takes 20 minutes to go to the city centre proper, around 20-25 mins to the airport. Also multiple hospitals nearby, which should reassure both you and your parents.
- Kolkata has a very good and very cheap food scene
- In terms of academic atmosphere, the National Library in Kolkata is probably the largest in India. There are also various lectures and seminar at IIM Calcutta, IIFT, Presidency University etc, which you can attend.
- For sports, the Sports Authority of India and the Bengal Tennis Academy are nearby and offer good facilities, though you need to pay to use them.
- One of the treasures of Kolkata are the old colonial clubs: no other city has so many. These are inaccessible to ordinary people, unless you have reciprocal membership through a club like Delhi Gymkhana or Bombay Gykmhana. However, a few clubs give practically free access to students who are very good in sports (during off-peak hours).
- Kolkata is safe for women in comparison with most other cities in India. Yes, it is risky to walk alone after midnight, but are even guys really likely to do that anywhere in India, instead of taking an Uber?
Cons:
- SJA: Once regarded as the best student body of all NLUs, now the most incompetent.
- Divided student body. Lack of unity. Needless squabbling between woke and anti-woke factions.
- The academic atmosphere and faculty quality at NUJS has dipped sharply since the departure of Prof Menon, Prof Chimni and Prof MP Singh. These 3 are hugely respected as scholars and the governing body had names of national repute when they were in charge. Now there are a lot of mediocre people. The Left Front government had intellectual leanings and gave Menon/Chimni/Singh plenty of autonomy. In contrast, the TMC is a govt of thugs and wants only yes-men.
- Life in Kolkata has deteriorated sharply since the TMC took over. The air has become as bad as Delhi and anti-social elements have free reign in pockets of the city and surrounding villages (although you are unlikely to visit those pockets and surrounding villages).
- Although the alumni base is good, neither the admin or students tap them.
Constant interference by the state government (every nlu has it these days).
An above average faculty.... nothing extraordinary so don't expect much.
A very placement oriented environment.
An apathetic Vice chancellor, a poor hostel.
After all this you will most probably end up with a good package when you pass out....so study well, don't waste your time on petty University politics.
Stay away from the wokes.
Stay away from the jocks.
Stay away from the mean girls.
Stay away from most people, actually. Just form a cohort of a few very close friends and make friends with people from other colleges in the city.
Try and not micromanage things - the journey is special. Buckle down, its going to be a hell of a ride.
~Alum
IIM Calcutta: way out of our league and also older than NUJS students, but no harm in trying: they will be future millionaires who even law firm partners will suck up to. If you're looking to date, don't get bothered by age difference. Older girl-younger boy relationships do not matter any more, look at Nick and Priyanka. And neither do older boy-younger girl relationships, e.g. Ranbir-Alia and Sid-Kiara.
Xavier's, Presidency and JU: Nice crowd and without the ego of NUJS students, though JU and Presidency are too leftist
NIFT and Bhawanipore Education Society: The colleges of choice for Ananya Pandey types, but still better than ▮▮▮ NUJS students
if you don't have money, you won't have as a good a time, regardless of campus.
So try to get part-time jobs, or freelance, and then you can enjoy better.
What kind of kart time jobs are available for students?
source: 2nd year noojie
Do you regret choosing this place?
Why haven't you dropped out yet, if you hate it this much?