One of my friends studied at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, so I will be able to share some information about their placement process, drives, etc. 

• Companies like Arcesium and Amazon might offer a 30+ package, though few students receive this offer based on their coding skills.
• Core companies like Sandisk, Texas Instruments, MediaTek, etc. may hire 4-5 candidates from CS, ECE, and EE departments combined.
• The remaining students get placed in different sectors like IT, Consulting, Banking, etc. These include BCG, JP Morgan, Amadeus, Smartcube, etc.
• TCS and Infosys are the mass recruiters, they will offer you many opportunities, though they might sometimes not be up to the mark. So try to stay ahead in the competition. 

In the below table you will get the placement record of the ECE course of Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh.

Students also get placed by mass recruiters like TCS, or Infosys. But it will be better if you get recruiters from core companies. Therefore, a package of Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, is good. Most students get placed. So, if you are thinking of joining PEC, then go ahead with it.

When it's about choosing the colleges then analyze the statistics, not the ranking. PEC is statistically better than the NITs. It has been proven over the years that the tag of NIT doesn't matter that much.

Below are some facts about PEC:

• The reputation as one of the oldest institutes in India. PEC was established in 1921.
• It has a magnificent extracurricular culture.
• The average placement package is about 10 LPA which is better than NIT Surat and is even comparable to IITs.
• The rate of extension it is undergoing in its infrastructure since 2014 and many changes have been done till now.
• Most of the students get their dream internships at MNCs where about 50% of internships are abroad.

The table shows a brief overview of the institution:

PEC has no IIT or NIT tag but has a unique PEC tag that is not comparable to anything. Both the colleges are renowned and one of the best in India. Overall PEC Chandigarh is the potential choice.

PEC Chandigarh was ranking at 39th before but now it is at 68th rank. It is often argued that NIRF ranking is not legit. 

For instance - DTU is placed so low and VIT is placed above BITS this cannot be digested as BITS is way better than VIT in every aspect. Till IITs, it can be digested but after that, it's a joke. 

The public perception of PEC is impressive. Thapar University is placed higher than PEC but PEC is way better than Thapar in every aspect. 

As a B.Tech student, the main focus will be on placements, so below given is some placement stats of PEC: 

Private colleges are better than NIT and PEC. NIRF also takes into account the campus, Ph.D., publications, Research, etc. Maybe PEC is lower in that but if they consider only B. Tech then it will be placed much higher.

PEC Chandigarh is a good college and has much more reputation and placements records than NIT Jalandhar, moreover Chandigarh city is a good place to live and study. 

Below given are some facts about PEC:

• It is getting renewed and lots of sports facilities are improving, new centers like Siemens Centre of excellence and solar tech park are made.
• Construction of new hostels is about to begin.
• With an extensive alumni base spreading from academic stalwarts like Satish Dhawan, Kalpana Chawla, Baadshah and Shalabh Kumar are incredible.
• Voyagers scheme where students get funded by the college to explore rural India is surely another catching thing about the college. 
• New faculties that are highly qualified are being brought up into the system with the new DSA and Director things are improving. 
• Placements are improving everywhere but if the student considers PEC and gets a branch-like CS or Mechanical then for sure they will land a core job.
• The highest package this year was 42 lacs and only a few students at top IITs got more packages than this.

The table shows a brief overview of the institution:

But the Department of Mechanical Engineering needs to improve its curriculum and teaching standards but that would be the case with academics in every college so maybe that's why self-learning has become so important. Overall PEC Chandigarh is on par with NIT Jalandhar and one can opt for PEC Chandigarh.

VIT is better as it has more than 200 companies coming for CSE students. If the student wants to go into a college with better placements or better exposure. 

The table shows a brief overview of the institution:

• The intake of students in VIT is not great as students above the rank of 2000 in VITEEE join some other colleges. 
• VIT has seats for merit up to only 6000 rank holders in CSE. Concluding only one thing that 80% of those 1300 VIT CSE students get through management quota. So, if the student is worthy then they will find themselves humiliated with children who come there through management quota.
• That's why even if the student gets a lower branch in PEC, take it as PEC is the legacy of notable alumni and will continue to remain. 
• Unless you have a certain inclination towards some branch then do opt for PEC the student will never regret it.

It is not possible to decide your inclination just after completing 12th as there is plenty of knowledge awaiting. When you take a branch that you probably didn’t realize in school also the placements in PEC are nice now it is on par with VIT. Overall, PEC is the potential choice.

No, upgrading an institute to an IIT is a long and difficult process and therefore the presence of IIT Ropar, IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee within the vicinity doesn't help its cause.

One of my friends have studied there and the following are his comments on PEC Chandigarh:

• Its recognition by scientists and academia worldwide is a different story altogether. Earlier, due to its recognition under Panjab University, foreign scientists have judged and supported PEC students. They might put students from the institute on an equal footing with their peers from IITs or NITs. 
• Now that the institute has become a deemed university, the situation has been changed. No one is ready to acknowledge the merit of scholars of this institute.
• The absence of a consistent nomenclature is hurting students of PEC. It is making it very difficult for them to secure admission to universities and to convince the committees of the importance of their alma mater. 
• PEC Chandigarh is constantly upgrading its curriculum and has modified it at par with IITs. 
• PEC has performed excellently and attracted the best students from the nation. It's been continuously ranked among the best technical institutes in India.

The institute administration has continuously been making demands for upgrading the institute to an Indian Institute of Technology, without any success. This is an issue that both faculty and students are looking forward to being resolved. 

One of my friends attended the Punjab Engineering College below is his first-day experience.

• In the morning he was all set to go to the hostel of PEC. He had his breakfast after that he went straight in front of the auditorium where his registration was to take place. He saw there was a big flex upon which the pictures of the famous alumni of the college rested. 
• He sat in the auditorium waiting for the registration. He met his first good friend from Patiala, in front of the auditorium. 
• After registration, they went to see the hostel completed all the formalities over there, and went to the room. He met his roommates and chose his bed, kept his luggage, and then went back for the orientation program. 
• In orientation, students were shown many videos related to the college, and the rank openers were awarded. 
• The bonding which the seniors had amongst themselves at that time was the first thing that caught his interest. He liked his seniors as they all introduced themselves in such a friendly manner. 

After the interaction, they were made free to leave for their respective hostels. So this was all about the first day in PEC.

For admission to PEC Chandigarh, you need to clear JEE Main and your intermediate exams result will also be taken into consideration. The weightage of JEE and 10+2 is 60% and 40% respectively.

Now, to answer your question, PEC Chandigarh has 4 categories - General, SC, ST, and General PwD. There is no specific OBC category present when cut-offs are considered.

The OBC candidates are allotted seats from the General category. Furthermore, candidates from Defence parents, Kashmiris, etc. will also get some preferences. It is best to contact the college for further accurate information.