College brochures are marketing documents. They are designed to impress. Learning to read between the lines — and knowing what questions the brochure should answer but often doesn't — will save you from one of the most expensive mistakes you can make at this age.

Green flags — what good colleges show clearly

Specific placement numbers: median salary, highest salary, and percentage of students placed. Not just 'top companies visited campus'.

NAAC accreditation grade (A++ is highest) or NBA accreditation for individual programmes.

Faculty qualifications: how many hold a PhD? How many are from industry? Ratio of permanent to contractual faculty.

Student-to-faculty ratio below 20:1 for quality institutions.

Infrastructure details with actual photos — labs, library, hostels, sports.

Red flags — what to be suspicious of

'100% placement' without specifying salary or roles. Many colleges count any job, including unrelated ones, as 'placed'.

Vague statements like 'industry-aligned curriculum' with no specifics on what that means.

Brochures heavy on stock photos of happy students and light on any actual data.

Affiliation claims that are outdated or misleading ('formerly affiliated with...').

No mention of NIRF ranking, NAAC grade, or any external accreditation.

Questions to ask on college visits

When you visit a college, ask to speak to current students — not the ones selected by the college to meet you, but random students you find in the canteen or library. Ask them: Would you choose this college again? What is the quality of teaching like? What is the worst thing about this place?

The most important number in a college brochure is the median salary of graduates in your specific programme. Not the highest. Not the average. The median.

Check these databases independently

NIRF Rankings (nirfindia.org) — government-maintained, updated annually.

NAAC scores (naac.gov.in) — accreditation details, grade, and year of last assessment.

LinkedIn: search the college name and filter by your target role. How many alumni are doing what you want to do?