From the Editor in Chief


	June 19, 2000

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Admissions. It's that time of the year again -- long queues outside colleges for forms, students anxious about getting the institution or subject of their choice, their first entry into the real world after the protective environment of home. For parents too it is a significant moment. The child they raised has grown into adulthood and where he or she enrolls for that undergraduate course could define the rest of his or her life. India has a bewildering diversity of institutions spread across the country offering general and specialised education that is impossible for an ordinary aspirant to benchmark. Some, like the Indian Institutes of Technology, have become virtual brand names for quality, yet beyond them lies a vastness about which so many of us are ignorant.

For the past four years INDIA TODAY has conducted an annual admission-time assessment of the country's best colleges. This year's survey comes a long way from the earlier appraisal based on a general perception. It tries to portray a comprehensive picture of which college to look at and for what area of specialisation by setting some key parameters by which to judge the quality of education imparted, the calibre of the faculty and the heritage that any big institution uniquely represents. Conducted over eight of India's biggest cities, it asked searching questions to 450 senior educationists, principals, deans and heads of department. It is an informed look at the best colleges in the country.

The news business is a tricky one. Some of the best stories we write or report may actually tell depressing tales -- train disasters, political skulduggery, match-fixing. A cover story on India's best colleges is, however, a genuinely satisfying effort.

Not that we expect our findings to satisfy everybody. The three previous surveys evoked many letters from alumni of various colleges who felt their alma mater had been treated unfairly. Just shows how their time in college remains an important part of their lives. We hope our survey helps the 5.5 million seeking college admission make a better choice.

(Aroon Purie)

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