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Can My Son with 20.81 Percentile in JEE Main Get into an NIT or a Good College?

Nayagam P

Nayagam P P  |9439 Answers  |Ask -

Career Counsellor - Answered on Mar 10, 2025

Nayagam is a certified career counsellor and the founder of EduJob360.
He started his career as an HR professional and has over 10 years of experience in tutoring and mentoring students from Classes 8 to 12, helping them choose the right stream, course and college/university.
He also counsels students on how to prepare for entrance exams for getting admission into reputed universities /colleges for their graduate/postgraduate courses.
He has guided both fresh graduates and experienced professionals on how to write a resume, how to prepare for job interviews and how to negotiate their salary when joining a new job.
Nayagam has published an eBook, Professional Resume Writing Without Googling.
He has a postgraduate degree in human resources from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Delhi, a postgraduate diploma in labour law from Madras University, a postgraduate diploma in school counselling from Symbiosis, Pune, and a certification in child psychology from Counsel India.
He has also completed his master’s degree in career counselling from ICCC-Mindler and Counsel, India.
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k Question by k on Mar 09, 2025Hindi
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My son is under general pwd category he has scored 20.81 percentile in Jan jee main session, what are the chances for him to get NIT college seat or is there any good college for him to get admitted with this score.

Ans: Your son's 20.81 percentile in JEE Main is on the lower side, which makes admission to NITs unlikely. However, he can explore reputed colleges within your state, where admission chances will depend on the branch of interest and the cutoff criteria of different institutions. It would be beneficial to research state-level engineering colleges that accept his JEE Main score and offer suitable programs.

Just for your knowledge, How to Predict Your Chances of Admission into NIT or IIIT or GFTI After JEE Main Results – A Step-by-Step Guide

Once the January JEE Main session results are declared, many students and JEE applicants started asking common questions about eligibility for specific institutes (NITs, IIITs, GFTIs, etc.) based on their percentile, category, preferred branch, and home state.

Providing precise admission chances for each student can be challenging. Some reputed educational websites offer ‘College Predictor’ tools where you can check possible college options based on your percentile, category, and preferences. However, for a more accurate understanding, here’s a simple yet effective 9-step method using JoSAA’s past-year opening and closing ranks. This approach gives you a fair estimate (though not 100% exact) of your admission chances based on the previous year’s data.

Step-by-Step Guide to Check Your Admission Chances Using JoSAA Data
Step 1: Collect Your Key Details
Before starting, note down the following details:

Your JEE Main percentile
Your category (General-Open, SC, ST, OBC-NCL, EWS, PwD categories)
Preferred institute types (NIT, IIIT, GFTI)
Preferred locations (or if you're open to any location in India)
List of at least 3 preferred academic programs (branches) as backups (instead of relying on just one option)
Step 2: Access JoSAA’s Official Opening & Closing Ranks
Go to Google and type: JoSAA Opening & Closing Ranks 2024
Click on the first search result (official JoSAA website).
You will land directly on JoSAA’s portal, where you can enter your details to check past-year cutoffs.
Step 3: Select the Round Number
JoSAA conducts five rounds of counseling.
For a safer estimate, choose Round 4, as most admissions are settled by this round.
Step 4: Choose the Institute Type
Select NIT, IIIT, or GFTI, depending on your preference.
If you are open to all types of institutes, check them one by one instead of selecting all at once.
Step 5: Select the Institute Name (Based on Location)
It is recommended to check institutes one by one, based on your preferred locations.
Avoid selecting ‘ALL’ at once, as it may create confusion.
Step 6: Select Your Preferred Academic Program (Branch)
Enter the branches you are interested in, one at a time, in your preferred order.
Step 7: Submit and Analyze Results
After selecting the relevant details, click the ‘SUBMIT’ button.
The system will display Opening & Closing Ranks of the selected institute and branch for different categories.
Step 8: Note Down the Opening & Closing Ranks
Maintain a notebook or diary to record the Opening & Closing Ranks for each institute and branch you are interested in.
This will serve as a quick reference during JoSAA counseling.
Step 9: Adjust Your Expectations on a Safer Side
Since Opening & Closing Ranks fluctuate slightly each year, always adjust the numbers for safety.
Example Calculation:
If the Opening & Closing Ranks for NIT Delhi | Mechanical Engineering | OPEN Category show 8622 & 26186 (for Home State), consider adjusting them to 8300 & 23000 (on a safer side).
If the Female Category rank is 34334 & 36212, adjust it to 31000 & 33000.
Follow this approach for Other State candidates Option also and different categories.
Pro Tip: Adjust your expected rank slightly lower than the previous year's cutoffs for realistic expectations during JoSAA counseling.

Can This Method Be Used for JEE April & JEE Advanced?
Yes! You can repeat the same steps after your April JEE Main results to refine your admission possibilities.
You can also follow a similar process for JEE Advanced cutoffs when applying for IITs.

Want to Learn More About JoSAA Counseling?
If you want detailed insights on JoSAA counseling, engineering entrance exams, and preparation strategies, check out EduJob360’s 180+ YouTube videos on this topic!

Hope this guide helps! All the best for your admissions!

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Sir my daughter got Air 31,203 (GEN category) in JEE Mains. She got NIT Calicut energy engineering and BITS UB 2+2 CSE. She is interested in both computer science and physics.Should she choose between the two or participate in csab. which would be the best choice? and is doing the bits ub 2+2 really worth its money based on how much they learn from both the colleges will it be equal to or better than normal bits CSE program.
Ans: Based on the following insights and information, as well as your daughter's interests and long-term goals & affordability of the fee, choose the most suitable option for her: The BITS Pilani–University at Buffalo 2+2 CSE dual-degree offers two years at BITS Pilani (or Goa/Hyderabad) and two years at UB’s Jacobs School of Engineering, delivering a unified NAAC A++ and NBA-accredited curriculum. It features PARAM supercomputing access, global immersion, capstone projects and a centralized Career Development Centre recording over 90% CSE placement consistency. The dual alumni networks and international accreditation improve top-tier software recruitment and global mobility; however, the total fees and overseas living costs are significantly higher.

As a general-category candidate, the CSAB-Special Round 2025 closing ranks for mid-tier IIITs and GFTIs provide tertiary backup options: IIIT Ranchi’s CSE (AI quota) closed at ranks 31,909–34,325, IIIT Manipur’s CSE-Quantum closed at ranks 45,341–53,737, and peripheral GFTIs such as PEC Chandigarh admit CSE candidates up to rank ~40,000. These options are less attractive than the secured dual degree and energy-engineering seats but remain feasible contingencies.

Recommendation
recommendation Embrace the BITS-UB 2+2 CSE dual-degree for premier global CS training, robust >90% placements, and dual alumni networks. Secure NIT Calicut Energy Engineering for specialized power-sector expertise and strong core-energy placements. Treat CSAB general rounds (IIIT Ranchi CSE, IIIT Manipur CSE-Quantum or PEC Chandigarh CSE) as third-tier backups, focusing on peripheral institutes with closing ranks above 31,203. All the BEST for a Prosperous Future!

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Nayagam P

Nayagam P P  |9439 Answers  |Ask -

Career Counsellor - Answered on Jul 26, 2025

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Sir my son got 77377 crl rank in mains and 24k obc ncl rank with homestate rajasthan can he get any college with branch like cse/it/ai/ece Or what about gl bajaj delhi
Ans: Ashish Sir, With an OBC-CL home-state rank of 24 000, admission into core branches at Rajasthan’s MNIT Jaipur and IIIT Kota via CSAB-Special is feasible for certain programmes, while seats at other NITs/IIITs will likely remain out of reach.

At MNIT Jaipur, the Home-State OBC-NCL closing rank for Computer Science & Engineering extended to about 49 000 in CSAB-Special Round 2, making CSE admission virtually assured with your daughter’s rank. However, ECE seats under HS-OBC-NCL closed near 3 400, and AI/Data Science around 6 800, both well below 24 000, so these branches are not attainable at MNIT Jaipur.

IIIT Kota, as a Rajasthan campus, offers Home-State HS-OBC-NCL seats in CSE closing near 67 000, Artificial Intelligence & Data Engineering near 10 500, and ECE close around 12 600, all of which comfortably cover an OBC-NCL rank of 24 000, making these programmes strong targets in CSAB-Special.

Beyond these, other NITs in non-home-state quotas (e.g., NIT Calicut, NIT Uttarakhand) and peripheral IIITs may fill seats well below 24 000 under OS-OBC-NCL quotas, but they will not benefit from Home-State priority. Government-Funded Technical Institutes like PEC Chandigarh and MIET Jhansi admit CSE/ECE under OBC-NCL up to ranks of 40 000–70 000, offering additional assured pathways. GL Bajaj Delhi, as a private institution, participates in state or university counselling (e.g., JAC Delhi), not CSAB, and hence is not an option in this process.

Recommendation
Prioritise Computer Science & Engineering at MNIT Jaipur under HS-OBC-NCL for its assured cutoff. Simultaneously apply to IIIT Kota’s CSE and AI/DE programmes under HS-OBC-NCL for guaranteed admission. As backups within CSAB, list IIIT Kota ECE and GFTIs like PEC Chandigarh for core-branch seats under OBC-NCL quotas. However, have some Private Engineering Colleges as back-ups with son's JEE Score instead of relying only on CSAB. All the BEST for a Prosperous Future!

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Radheshyam

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