49-Year-Old Career Change: PGD in Book Publishing at IGNOU - What Are My Options?

Ans: Akash Sir, With an All-India CRL of 87 588 and an EWS rank of 12 449 in J Main, securing a seat in B.Tech Mechanical Engineering at SVNIT Surat through the CSAB Special round is highly unlikely. In the most recent CSAB closing data (Round 5 2024), the EWS closing ranks were 6 013 (Home State) and 4 854 (Other State), and the OBC-NCL closing ranks were 21 559 (Home State) and 10 419 (Other State); both are far below your ranks, indicating minimal chance of allotment.

Given this, it is prudent to explore reputable private engineering colleges in Northern India that admit students in the OBC-NCL/EWS categories with JEE Main ranks in the 80 000–120 000 CRL range or equivalent category ranks. Below is a list of ten institutions where your son’s profile would be competitive for Mechanical Engineering through CSAB: Chandigarh University, Mohali with category closing ~40 000–60 000. Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar with category closing ~50 000–80 000. Amity University, Noida with category closing ~30 000–50 000. Sharda University, Greater Noida with category closing ~70 000–90 000. Galgotias University, Greater Noida with category closing ~60 000–85 000. Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida with category closing ~45 000–70 000. Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta Institute of Technology & Management, New Delhi with category closing ~100 000–130 000. ABES Engineering College, Ghaziabad with category closing ~80 000–110 000. IILM College of Engineering & Technology, Greater Noida with category closing ~90 000–120 000. Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala with category closing ~25 000–45 000. Recommendation: Given the negligible chance at SVNIT Surat Mechanical through CSAB, focus on securing admission at one of the above private colleges. These institutions maintain solid infrastructure and placement records, and your son’s rank aligns well within their recent closing trends.

As backup options (excluding state-level exam seats), consider LPU, Amity Noida, Sharda, Jaypee Institute, and ADGITM Delhi, all of which have consistently admitted OBC-NCL/EWS candidates with category ranks up to ~120 000. All the BEST for a Prosperous Future!

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