B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering 

at SRM IST, Kattankulathur

Yes, SRM University offers direct admission to certain programs for eligible candidates who meet the required eligibility criteria. The admission criteria for these programs may include past academic performance, work experience, and other relevant factors. However, for most of the programs offered by SRM University, admission is through the SRMJEEE (SRM Joint Engineering Entrance Examination) or other national level entrance exams.

Therefore, it is recommended that you check the specific admission requirements for the programme you are interested in on the university's website or by contacting the admissions office. In case you do not qualify for direct admission or wish to appear for the entrance exam, you can apply for SRMJEEE and appear for the exam. The exam is conducted annually and is the basis for admission to several programs offered by the university.

The best campus of SRM University to pursue BTech is the Kattankulathur campus. It is the largest campus of SRM University and has the best infrastructure, faculty, and placements. The campus is spread over 2,500 acres and has all the facilities that a student needs, including hostels, classrooms, laboratories, sports facilities, and a library. The faculty at the campus is highly qualified and experienced. The campus also has good placements. During the SRMIST placements 2023, the highest package and average package offered stood at INR 57 LPA and INR 7.58 LPA, respectively. 

Both the colleges are equally good, but I will vote for Thapar University, Patiala because of the standard which the University has maintained since its establishment. I will try to distinguish between both colleges with the help of certain parameters:

• ADMISSION PROCESS: Thapar University admits its students on the basis of JEE main marks. Usually cutoff goes higher for Computer engineering (around 180). While SRM University conducts its own examination called SRMJEE.
• CAMPUS: SRM University has a very good and beautiful campus. Student intake is higher at SRM University. 
• Thaper don't have any management quota seat whereas SRM had few seats reserved for the management quota. The fee is almost similar in both colleges. And location-wise Chennai has the upper hand over Patiala.

Here are some positive and negative points of SRM University: 

Positive:

1. Located in Chennai which is a metropolitan city. Three out of five campuses are located in Chennai
2. You can have a lot of fun
3. In KTR, there are a lot of opportunities provided to students to develop their profile like hundreds of clubs, teams like robocon, conrods, camber, and 4ze where students can build their own bots, cars and stuff. If you are really interested in your field then you can do anything in SRM
4. Canteen facilities are excellent
5. As far as placements are concerned, most students are placed in IT sector. Core companies also visit the campus but they select only one or two students. In a batch of 500600 students i.e. 1520 students are placed in core companies. But still that depends on your skills and we can’t blame the university for that.

Negative:

1. The student to faculty ratio is too high.
2. Faculty members are not very highly skilled, though they are postgraduates in their respective field. Most of them have completed M.Tech from other local colleges. There are very few from IITs and foreign universities.
3. The curriculum is old. 
4. The evaluation system is also not very good.
5. Very little research happens here. Most of the faculty members don’t have any publications
6. Also, if you have a lot of money you can join in management quota into any branch you want. Almost half of the students have joined in management quota.

All the best.

SRM Kattankulathur is a private university, so the tuition fees is relatively high. However, it is still more affordable than many other private universities in India. The tuition fees for BTech at SRM Kattankulathur range from INR 10 lakh - INR 18 lakh, depending on the specialisation.

In addition to tuition fees, students also need to pay other fees such as hostel fees, mess fees, and exam fees. The cost of hostel, mess and laundry can range from INR 1 lakh to INR 2.5 lakh per year, depending upon the room or bed you wish to choose. Whether or not SRM Kattankulathur is costly to study BTech depends on your financial situation as well.

The university fee structure is cumulative of several components, such as caution deposit, tuition fee, hostel fee, and more. A few of these components are one-time payable, while some have are charged annually/semesterly. SRM IST Chennai MBA tuition fee ranges between INR 1.9 Lacs and INR 11.5 lakh. Moreover, the one-time fee range between INR 1,200 and INR 11,000 and the hostel charges range between INR 1.45 Lacs and INR 3.3 lakh.

The fee mentioned here is as per the official website/sanctioning body. It is still subject to changes and hence, is indicative.

Admission to SRM Institute of Technology Kattankulathur is a multi-step process. Check below step-wise SRM admission process:

1. Application: Candidates need to apply online for all courses. The application fee is INR 1,200 for each course.
2. Selection rounds: The university conducts its own entrance exam like SRMJEEE, SRMJEEM and SRMJEEL for admission to some of the courses like MBA, BTech, BA LLB (Hons), etc. SRM also accepts national-level entrance exams. Further, PI round is conducted for a few courses. The university releases a merit list with the names of the shortlisted aspirants.
3. Counselling & Admission Confirmation: Shortlisted candidates are called for counselling and document verification. Aspirants need to pay course fee to confirm their admission.

SRM University conducts SRM JEE exam for admission to Engineering courses. Candidates seeking admission to BTech and M.Tech courses must qualify for SRM JEE (UG) and SRM JEE (PG) exams. The university does not accept scores for any other entrance exams. Also, direct admission is not valid either. Candidates are shortlisted for BTech and M.Tech based on their past academic records and scores obtained in the entrance exam. 

To sit for the respective exams, candidates must apply for the exams priorly and make a preparation strategy to ace the exam. 

Yes, candidates can get admission to BTech without JEE Main score. Admission to BTech course is only based on SRMJEEE score. Candidates are required to pass Class 12 with minimum 60% aggregate as per the minimum eligibility criteria. Further, aspirants must qualify for SRM JEE exam with a valid score. This exam is conducted in two phases. The application window for 2024 has started for both the phases. Find here the registration details for SRM JEE exam.

SRM University, Kattankulathur offers BTech in full-time across various specialisations. The total seat intake for this course is 5,355. Admission to all the seats of BTech are done through a common selection process. However, there are some specialisations of this course are also offered at the Tiruchirappalli campus of SRM University. As per the details from unofficial sources, the seat intake for BTech at SRM Unversity, Tiruchirappalli campus is 1,050.