Chandigarh, July 27: OF THE plethora of new courses on offer at the city colleges, B Sc courses like B Sc biotechnology and B Sc bioinformatics are current favourites with students. The high cut-off per cent and the number of applications received for these courses, that far exceed the number of seats available, speak volumes about the popularity of these courses.

At Government College, Sector 11 more than 500 applications were received for mere 40 seats in B Sc biotechnology and the cut-off was more than 70 per cent. Similarly, in B Sc computer science, all the 60 seats are already full.

Principal of SD College, A.C. Vaid, says these courses are preferred because they are job-oriented and a large number of pharmaceutical companies are investing in the region. The honours courses in B Sc biotechnology and B Sc bioinformatics are sought after in the college and all seats have been filled. All the students enroled in these courses last year were placed through the college placement cell.

The response is similar in DAV College, Sector 10, where all the seats to these courses were filled within two days of the admission process. College principal S. Marriya said not only are these courses job-oriented but are also in great demand because of the attractive remuneration.

He added that the students have also started opting for M Sc in these subjects because of the immense research options.