IITs declare admission cutoffs for the first time

By Ruchi Shrimali

Ditching a 50-year old tradition, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have declared admission cutoffs for the first time in IIT JEE's history this year. General category students will have to score 35% in aggregate and at least 10% in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in IIT JEE 2012 to qualify for an all India rank. Similarly, OBC students will need 31.5% in aggregate and 9% individual sections; and SC/ST students will need 17.5% in aggregate and 5% in individual subjects to be ranked in IIT JEE this year.

The move was based on the Supreme Court's observations last year that the selection process of IITs should be upgraded periodically to keep them relevant to the current scenario. The uniform pattern will make it easier for the candidates to assess their performance in the exam. Read more about JEE admission cutoffs

Lower cut-offs may look attractive at the first glance but it may lead to a merit list that contains five or six times the number of seats available in the institutions. An All-India rank this year does not mean the students will necessarily secure a seat in IITs.

Even after making it to the merit list, many of the candidates will have to be turned down due to non-availability of seats. IIT JEE chairman said that all students who are ranked may not even be allowed to register for an IIT program. For General and OBC category seats, two students will be allowed to register per seat; while for SC and ST category seats, three students will be allowed to register per seat. Read more

Other interesting reads:

- IIT JEE 2012 - Analysis and Review 
- IITs want to reengineer new test format