Fresher's Guide

Freshers, or colloquially, fachche, are first-year students, usually from the B.Tech programme, at IIT Gandhinagar. If you are a fresher, congratulations! You just made it to one of India's most prestigious institutions. Here's some pointers to help you get started and make the most out of your first year at IITGN.

Registration

This article is a Stub. Please extend it to include the process of registration at IIT Gandhinagar.

What to pack?

This is very much a rough list of things you should pack for coming to IIT Gandhinagar, adapted from IIT Kharagpur's list [1] and modified for Gujarat's climate and IIT Gandhinagar's curriculum. Most essentials are sold at affordable rates at Krupa, the hostel departmental store, so feel free to mix-and-match between the list for what to pack, and what to buy once you are here. Essential equipment in bold.

1. Clothes (the weather is very hot during summer days, and very cold during winter nights, so pack accordingly; consider getting at least one sports attire, for your compulsory PE courses, and a kurta/traditionals for Independence Day, Eureka, and so on).

2. Toiletries like soap, shampoo, handwash, soap, detergent, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorants, comb, nailcutter etc. (Krupa has all of these available, but depending on your preference, you might want to get these on the way or from Ahmedabad).

3. Things related to your interests (sports gear, musical instruments, Kindle, books, etc)

4. Food (while most Gujarati food is available on campus, you might want to pack from home; in case you have good food, feel free to donate to the contributors of this wiki!)

5. Medical kit for common medicines (like painkillers, something for fever or coughs, diarrohea and vomiting, ORS) and band-aids.

6. Laptop (not really a necessity during your Foundation Programme, but once your semester starts, your courses will mostly demand a computer. Refer to Laptop Buying Guide here for tips on how to make one of the most important decisions you'll make in your B.Tech, in case you're confused.

7. A (preferably small) bag for carrying essentials to class. You will not be carrying your textbooks, mostly.

8. Towels (carry at least 2 for when you need a second one because first one is wet)

9. Necessary documents, as mentioned in your offer letter -- includes your Aadhaar card (if applicable), et cetera.

Societies/Groups/Clubs

A number of societies/groups/clubs call IIT Gandhinagar their home, primarily divided among the Technical Council and Cultural Council, plus some independent bodies like Amalthea, the annual technical summit, and Blithchron, the annual cultural fest. The usual recommendation is to join any two of these options -- you might join two Technical groups for example, or one Cultural club and a department at Amalthea, and so on.

Academics and Branch Change

Most students other than those in the Computer Science department attempt a branch change (a Department Change, or DepC in some IITs). Branch change is allocated solely on the basis of CPI, subject to availability. The norms, as of 2022, is an allowance for upto 10% rise in the allotted seats in JoSAA, and upto 50% decrease (unless the CPI is > 9.5, which allows branch change without exception). This makes IIT Gandhinagar one of the easiest IITs to attempt a change of branch.