When every educational institute advertises themselves as the best private engineering colleges in India, it is bound to leave one completely confused. Selecting one from such a list of the top 10 engineering colleges in India is nothing but a risky prospect.

Finding the right engineering college is a huge decision both for you, your career, your life as well as for your family. The four years you spend in this college will decide what you do in life. And the sooner you start making a short list the better it will be for you.

Here are a few things which might help short list one such college for you:

• The choice of stream: Pursuing an engineering branch is the most crucial step and one should find which stream of engineering motivates you the most. For this one will need to research the various streams of engineering and see the details of the curriculum. Next try to dream about how you would fit into it and then decide which stream is the best choice. Remember not to get influenced by what your friends or others say in this matter and do a bit of soul searching before you decide. Just to be on the safe side, choose three streams that attract you the most.

• Categorise the colleges: Divide the list that you find on the internet into three categories. The first should be the very top notch universities which might be difficult to get into. The second should have average category ones which will be reasonably easier to get admission and should also make you happy to attend without much regret. The final category should be colleges to whom you will definitely get an admission in case none of the above options work. You should consider factors like affordability, infrastructure, libraries, etc., reputation of the college, cost of fees and cost of social life, scholarship options, distance from home, class size, past performance of the department, placement options, etc.

• Rank your listing: Once your list is ready, you need to rank them on the criteria listed above by placing weight age in front of each criteria. This will give you a total weight age for each college and prepare your very own list of the top 10 engineering colleges in India which is tailor made for you.

• Visit the college: The website of the college will surely give one a fair bit of idea about the college but nothing beats the real deal. A visit to the college is not always possible though, in which case you will have to rely on the internet and on the reviews and recommendations of others. But if possible, a visit to the college will provide you a glimpse into the reality of studying for four years in the college of your choice in terms of travelling, atmosphere at the college, facilities and also provide an opportunity to interact with the older students who will provide information about the college not generally found on their website.