The dream of making it to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) comes wrapped in layers of ambition, nurtured from the early preparation days. But once inside, the reality for many isn’t always as ideal as imagined.
A recent survey of first-year students at IIT-Delhi reveals three particularly striking trends: nearly one in five students feel disillusioned with campus life compared to their pre-admission expectations; a significant 70–80% struggle to manage academic and extracurricular activities; yet, despite these pressures, there is a notable social bonding, with 58% rating their hostel friendships as very strong.
Around 70% regard their mentors highly. The gendered interaction is positive with around 11.5% students reporting that 40–60% of their friends are of the opposite gender.
With questions ranging from “How machau (referring to the level of greatness) do you think your mentor is?”, “Do you see competition in your friend group? If yes, how healthy is it?”, “Has your life become ‘chill’ after coming to IIT?”, to “How many dates do you go on every month, on average?” — the survey has attempted to capture all aspects of a fresher’s life, while also taking a candid approach.
Undertaken by the Board for Student Publications (BSP), the institute’s official student-run media body, the online questionnaire has covered a range of aspects, including a student’s background, daily life, social circles, habits, and aspirations. It engaged 486 respondents from a cohort of around 1,200 freshers.
Does academic curiosity extend beyond the classroom? Over 30% of students discuss their scientific learnings or talk about innovations and industry trends weekly, while 35.4% do it monthly. Around 27% agreed, “Mai toh placement lene aaya hoon (I have come to get a placement)”.
Personal well-being, however, remains an area of concern, with nearly half of the students missing at least one meal a day and 44% getting only five–six hours of sleep.
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When it comes to exams, last-minute preparation is usual. Around 60% begin their preparation just a few days before or a week or two in advance. The most common response is “a week or two” (31.3%), followed by “a few days” (28.4%), while 16.5% admit to pulling all-nighters. Only 13.2% identify as always being in the “grind” mode.
Interestingly, most students acknowledge competitive dynamics within their friendship circles, with around 70% finding it healthy, as in, on a scale of 1 to 5, 59.9% giving it a rating of ‘4’ or ‘5’. Freshers form tight peer clusters: 81.1% have fewer than 20% of their friends from other batches.
Hostel infrastructure draws mixed reviews — 47.4% say it’s livable even as 23% express dissatisfaction, citing daily inconveniences.
A majority — 44% — of the students say “they don’t get a full night’s sleep yet” at 5 to 6 hours per night. Another 22% admit to sleeping as little as 3 to 4 hours. Around 22% manage to get the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep.
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Nightlife remains a rare indulgence for most—71.5% of students say they never engage in any night out activities, while 22% go out around once a month and 6.5% go weekly.
Digital platforms fill the social gap, with 70% spending at least one hour a day on reels or shorts. Tight budgets define the lives of many freshers as one in four students does not get a personal allowance.
Giving insights into their background, a majority of those who make it to IIT Delhi say they have attended English-medium schools (92.6%), while 96.1% can speak Hindi fluently. Most students surveyed are from in and around Delhi. The representation from the South and Northeast is marginal — 0.2% to 2.5%.
On regional tongues, a large number of students are fluent in Punjabi, Marathi, and Gujarati.
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On post-college aspirations, more than half remain uncertain (57.6% haven’t decided yet), while others have shown an interest in entrepreneurship and advanced degrees including MS, MBA, PhD at around 11% each.
“The insights on gendered interactions on campus show a relatively positive outcome, indicating that there is a fair amount of interaction between girls and boys on the campus given the current intake ratio is roughly 80:20,” said a student who contributed to conducting the survey. Another key trend reveals that 13.7% of the students do not identify as heterosexual.
More than three-quarters of respondents are single — 47.8% “eager to mingle” and 30.5% single by choice — yet 88% do not use dating apps. Interestingly, a few months into IITD, around 30% of the students admit to a rough transition and use of rash language and swear words.
“We deliberately selected questions that are not only engaging but also yield interesting insights. The overall outcome is often unexpected. Many aspects that IIT students take for granted—such as subpar education quality or higher suicide rates—are normalised within their academic environment but remain invisible to the broader public…these will require further analysis,” explained another surveyor. The student also said that it took a couple of months to design and maximise the survey’s reach.