I’m an Architect by qualification, but never found my heart in it. Left it after four years of working in the field to pursue art, which I’m good and confident at. Currently working as an independent artist, doing client art commissions and exhibited my work at places. Still need a realistic view of the future, or steps to be successful.

Ans: At the 79.6 percentile, your likely CRL may be roughly 2.8–3.2 lakh, so NIT/IIIT through JoSAA is very difficult, especially for CSE/ECE. You can still register for JoSAA/CSAB, because CSAB fills vacant NIT/IIIT/GFTI seats after JoSAA, but expect only very low-demand branches/GFTIs if any seat remains. Since you studied in Haryana, focus more on HSTES Haryana counselling, where B.Tech admission is based on JEE Main All India Rank. Good practical options: DCRUST Murthal, YMCA Faridabad, UIET Kurukshetra, GJUST Hisar, PIET Panipat, Manav Rachna, Chandigarh University, LPU, NIIT University, UPES etc. All the BEST for Your Prosperous Future!

Follow RediffGURUS to Know More on 'Careers | Money | Health | Relationships'.

Ans: Based on your son’s score, he has some chance, but mainly for lower-demand branches, not CSE or ECE in the better NITs. For Haryana home-state quota, the first preference should be NIT Kurukshetra under the HS-SC category, but realistically the likely options may be Civil, Production, Mechanical-related, or other lower branches if the cutoff moves enough; CSE, IT, and ECE are unlikely.

In some previous years, NIT Kurukshetra HS-SC lower branches have closed around 6,000 to 9,000 SC rank, so your son’s 7,663 SC rank is borderline. He should also keep options such as NIT Agartala, Sikkim, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and GFTIs in the list, and participate in CSAB Special Rounds as well.

It is also advisable to keep these as backup options: YMCA Faridabad, DCRUST Murthal, and UIET Kurukshetra. All the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

Follow RediffGURUS to Know More on 'Careers | Money | Health | Relationships'.

Ans: Ashok Sir, Prefer IIIT Allahabad IT slightly over MNNIT Allahabad CSE if he wants pure coding/IT culture and top tech placements; IIIT-A’s official placement page shows strong IT-focused outcomes. MNNIT CSE is also excellent, with an average salary package of ?28 LPA for CSE reported recently. All the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

Follow RediffGURUS to Know More on 'Careers | Money | Health | Relationships'.

Ans: ou have not mentioned your son's home state. For CSE in top NITs, chances are low. He may have better chances for CSE/IT/ECE in newer IIITs such as IIIT Kalyani, IIIT Bhagalpur, IIIT Kottayam, IIIT Dharwad, IIIT Una, IIIT Senapati/Manipur, IIIT Kurnool, depending on category and round movement. In NITs, he should also fill ECE/EE/Mathematics & Computing/AI-related lower options if available, not only CSE. Additionally, reviewing JoSAA opening and closing ranks from the past 2–3 years will provide valuable insights and help your son confidently select and fill his preferred & maximum number of choices. It is also advisable to participate in CSAB round because vacant seats can move & also to have 3-4 backup options of reputed Private Engineering Colleges in and around your home state. All the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

Follow RediffGURUS to Know More on 'Careers | Money | Health | Relationships'.

Ans: Aryan, With 85.5 percentile and OBC-NCL rank 78,000, CSE through NIT/IIIT is not realistic, so focusing on MMMUT Gorakhpur and UP/private options is sensible. For MMMUT, check counselling carefully. Recent data shows even ECE/IoT closing around the 70k–80k range in early rounds, so CSE at your rank may be difficult, but lower branches or later rounds may be possible; still, you can try for CSE. MMMUT CSE is respected in eastern UP, with decent coding culture and a government-fee advantage with good placement records. It is advisable to have the following as backups KIET, AKGEC, JSS Noida, GL Bajaj, Galgotias, NIET, ABES, IILM, Bennett, Sharda for CSE. All the BEST for Your Prosperous Future!

Follow RediffGURUS to Know More on 'Careers | Money | Health | Relationships'.

Ans: Moni, Based on your score, for NIT Durgapur, earlier SC home-state lower branches generally closed around a 5,000–8,000 SC rank, so your SC 13,050 is not safe for regular JoSAA rounds. Still, you can fill your preferred choices along with NIT Durgapur lower branches, NIT Agartala, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and GFTIs. IIIT CSE/IT is unlikely, but try lower/newer IIITs in CSAB Special Rounds, where vacancies can move. It is advisable to have the backup options of WBJEE counselling, Heritage Institute, IEM, Techno Main Salt Lake, Haldia Institute and/or any other reputed Private Engineering Colleges. All the BEST for Your Prosperous Future!

Follow RediffGURUS to Know More on 'Careers | Money | Health | Relationships'.

Ans: Moni, Based on your score, for NIT Durgapur, earlier SC home-state lower branches generally closed around a 5,000–8,000 SC rank, so your SC 13,050 is not safe for regular JoSAA rounds. Still, you can fill your preferred choices along with NIT Durgapur lower branches, NIT Agartala, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and GFTIs. IIIT CSE/IT is unlikely, but try lower/newer IIITs in CSAB Special Rounds, where vacancies can move. It is advisable to have the backup options of WBJEE counselling, Heritage Institute, IEM, Techno Main Salt Lake, Haldia Institute and/or any other reputed Private Engineering Colleges. All the BEST for Your Prosperous Future!

Follow RediffGURUS to Know More on 'Careers | Money | Health | Relationships'.

Ans: Sudeep Sir, You have not mentioned your son's home state. For CSE in top NITs, chances are low. He may have better chances for CSE/IT/ECE in newer IIITs such as IIIT Kalyani, IIIT Bhagalpur, IIIT Kottayam, IIIT Dharwad, IIIT Una, IIIT Senapati/Manipur, IIIT Kurnool, depending on category and round movement. In NITs, he should also fill ECE/EE/Mathematics & Computing/AI-related lower options if available, not only CSE. Additionally, reviewing JoSAA opening and closing ranks from the past 2–3 years will provide valuable insights and help your son confidently select and fill his preferred & maximum number of choices. It is also advisable to participate in CSAB round because vacant seats can move & also to have 3-4 backup options of reputed Private Engineering Colleges in and around your home state. All the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

Follow RediffGURUS to Know More on 'Careers | Money | Health | Relationships'.

Ans: Vinod Sir, With a CRL of 54,907 in the Open category and Tamil Nadu home-state quota, NIT Trichy is unlikely through JoSAA. Even lower-demand home-state branches such as Civil, Metallurgy, and Production have usually closed much earlier in recent rounds. For reference, in NIT Trichy 2025, HS Open CSE closed around 4,463, and Civil/Metallurgy/Production were also well below 54,907.

More realistic JoSAA/CSAB targets would be NIT Puducherry, NIT Andhra Pradesh, NIT Meghalaya, NIT Manipur, NIT Mizoram, NIT Nagaland, and NIT Arunachal Pradesh for branches like Civil, Mechanical, Chemical, EEE, or Production. A few GFTIs and newer IIITs may also be possible, but CSE/IT will be difficult at this rank.

Yes, it is better to wait for and participate in CSAB, but do not rely on it alone. Your son can also participate in TNEA counselling, but getting into reputed colleges may be difficult, especially if your son is from a non-Tamil Nadu school board (CBSE/ICSE/IB) and has lower cutoff marks. It is highly advisable to keep strong backup options in private colleges such as SSN, SASTRA, Amrita, VIT, SRM, Shiv Nadar Chennai, Sathyabama, and Saveetha. All the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

Follow RediffGURUS to Know More on 'Careers | Money | Health | Relationships'.