c case of the chicken and egg situation where it becomes difficult to decide whether students flock to Kota because of its success ratio or whether Kota’s triumph lies in the fact that the best among the engineering/ medical aspirants head its way to realize their dreams. Nevertheless, here are a few reasons why one gets the best medical coaching and engineering coaching in Kota:

1. There are more than 150 coaching institutes in the town that are vying for the best students. Most of them are among the best coaching institutes in India that admit students only after they clear an entrance exam! Imagine the irony – you’ve got to clear an entrance exam to join a course that again prepares you to clear another entrance exam!
   
   
2. The entire township revolves around the coaching of students – from paying guest (PG) houses, hostels, affordable eateries that specially cater to the youngsters, dabba (tiffin) system for students, stationery shops and even Psychiatry centres to counsel students. The atmosphere all around is highly competitive and conducive to solely focus on clearing the entrance exam. There is usually minimum scope for distraction, as every student gears up for the rat race.
   
   The true success of the best coaching centres in Kota can be attributed to the faculty who are paid quite well proportionate to the number of “toppers” they can produce from a batch of students. Image courtesy: Rakesh Ranjan
   
   
3. Kota attracts the best teachers. A sizeable chunk of the teachers in Kota are IITians, who have “been there, done that”. The good pay and a challenging work-space are the main motivating factors for them. The top coaching players in town easily pay ₹ 1-2 crores to their best & most experienced faculty while the average salary of a teacher is anywhere between ₹ 20 – 35 lakh. In contrast, professors at IIT barely earn ₹ 12 – 15 lakh annually. Poaching of good teachers is quite common as the best coaching institutes in Kota compete with each other for their star teachers who, when they leave, also take along their best students with them.
   
   
4. The stakes are high for every student who comes to Kota from all across India. Their parents would have invested a lot for their coaching tuition (more than ₹ 1 lakh annually), hostel fees (anywhere between ₹ 6,000 – 12,000 monthly) & other expenses. The pressure on students to perform is high and indirectly leads to better results as compared to students who prepare for entrance exams from the comfort of their own homes.