In this blog post, I will be sharing all the expenses you should look out for if you are going to Kota for studying IIT JEE. I am a BTech graduate in computer science and engineering from IIT Bombay. I studied in Kota for two years before joining IIT, these two years played a key role in me obtaining my dream of joining a premier Engineering institute. Hope this helps students and parents going to Kota to study.
Coaching
This will be your main expense when you move to Kota, coaching in Kota can cost you between 1Lakh to 1.5Lakh INR per year. Most coaching has a pay structure like the later payers have to pay more. so if you are planning to go to Kota you should register as soon as you can. paying the first installment early can save you as much as 30000 Rupees. here is the price structure for resonance for reference.
All the coaching also have scholarship tests, If you score well in them you can get as much as 90% scholarship. I know scoring 90% on these tests is not easy, but the scholarship starts at 40% with a 10% scholarship and goes linearly up to 90%. this test will also determine your joining batch in your coaching. so, prepare as much as you can by practicing problems from DLPD material or previous year exams.
School
Though you won’t be attending school daily while you stay at Kota. you will have to pay for it. Either be it your hometown school or a dummy school in Kota. I would recommend getting a dummy school in Kota as you don’t want to travel back-fro to your hometown while board exams and interrupt your studies. If you take school admission in Kota depending on the board it can cost you 15000 to 50000 Rs. If you choose the Rajasthan board it will be on the lower end and if you choose the CBSE board it will be on the upper end. I personally chose the Rajasthan board as at that time cutoff of the board to enter JEE Advanced was below 75% and had less work demand in the board exam. but now it is above it. so It is up to you to choose. if you don’t mind tough checking and Hindi as a core subject as opposed to PE or computer in CBSE. you should choose Rajasthan Board. But CBSE is better if you want to score well on the board as well. this can also help you in getting an NIT as 40% of the board percentile is considered in JEE Mains.
Hostel/PG+Mess
If you don’t have relatives in Kota you will be staying in either a Hostel or a PG. the main difference between them is in a hostel you have a mess, laundry, and cleaning included with your hostel fee. In PG you have to find your own mess/tiffin service for food. this is why hostels are a little more expensive than PG. a single room in PG will cost you around 15000-20000 Rupees a month, and 13000-17000 for a double sharing room if you are going to Kota with a friend. this price range is for normal hostels but might be more or less depending on facilities and location. For PG you can get a single room PG for as little as 5000 rupees. but food won’t be included in this. for while you have to get an open mess/ tiffin subscription costing extra 3000-4000 rupees. You should choose PG or Hostel depending on your likings. if you like everything available in one place go to a Hostel. but if you get bored with the same food every week and would like to change every few months go for a PG.
Total Expense
In total at the end of the year, you can expect expenses of anywhere from 2.5 Lakh to 4 Lakh rupees each year. you can greatly reduce this by getting a good scholarship, sharing a room, or staying in a PG. You can also opt for e-Learning courses of coaching rather than going to Kota to save hostel fees (as they are the biggest expense). Hope this answers all the question regarding expenses in Kota while studying for IIT JEE.