I studied Computer Science (CS) in BITS Pilani, Goa campus. Since it was a newer campus, there was a rivalry with Pilani. All sister colleges have this. Nothing new here.

People made up metrics to prove that Goa campus was somehow superior to Pilani. And acted like it was the first choice for all of us.

You would hear statements like “Oh you know the number of GSOCs from Goa this year is greater than Pilani.”

BITS Goa was good for me. I loved my time there. Most of my batch mates have gone on to do great things with their lives, and I even wrote a post on how I am where I am today because of my time there. And I still believe that unless you are a teenage prodigy hell bent on starting up, you should just go to college. It will give you more optionality down the line.

Now that I am somewhat successful, it is even easier for me to look through my rose tinted glasses and claim that everyone should go to BITS Goa.

But would I? Let’s look deeper.

The same people who could not stop talking about how great Goa campus was, don’t even mention the part about them going to Goa campus tha Pilani on Linkedin. I mean they are technically correct. BITS Goa is not a university. It is a campus under BITS Pilani university, and the degree is from BITS Pilani and not Goa. It is still weird. The cut offs over the last 10 years still show the gap between the two campuses.

I am bringing this topic up only because this Pilani vs Goa debate is eerily similar to the US vs India startup ecosystem discussion. We can be proud of how much progress the Indian startup ecosystem has made, even say that now is the best time to be a techie in Bangalore, but that does not mean that anyone going to the US is an idiot and India is where all the action is.

Similiar to how I tell everyone that I love BITS Goa. I can write a book on all the adventures I had there. And I am sure no one who I went to college with regrets choosing Goa vs Pilani. I could have taken a non CS branch in Pilani, but I am glad I chose CS, and then ended up where I am.

But that does not make BITS Goa CS better than Pilani. Else the cut offs would have reflected that and people would be choosing Goa over Pilani.

And it is fine. We can love one thing without writing threads on how that thing is better over the other and reaffirm our confirmation bias.

I will recommend you to do the same thing I do when it comes to these discussions: Trust the narrative, but check the facts (h/t Pomp).