How to Fill Choices in JoSAA Counselling 2026: Important Tips and Major Mistakes to Avoid
Joint Seat Allocation Authority 2026 ( JoSAA )
Registration - 2 Jun '26
JoSAA choice filling 2026 is one of the first steps towards JoSAA counselling. This step makes or breaks the seat allotment process of the individual candidates. Hence, candidates must take the JoSAA 2026 choice filling process seriously and follow some guidelines while filling in the preferences of the institute and branches. We have discussed below some important tips and factors to be considered for the JoSAA 2026 choice filling process.
Tips to Fill Choices in JoSAA Counselling 2026
How to Fill Choices in JoSAA Counselling 2026: JoSAA 2026 choice filling is one of the most important steps in the JoSAA counselling. The candidates will be allowed to fill in as many choices of IITs, NITs, IIITs and CFTIs along with the choices of branches in the JoSAA 2026 choice filling process. Thus, it is understandable that candidates may get overwhelmed while deciding which institute and branch they should apply to and what their preference order is.
Candidates who are curious about how to fill choices in JoSAA counselling or are looking for JoSAA 2026 choice filling tips must keep in mind various factors like interest, fees, placement, ROI, location, JEE Main/Advanced rank, and more.
In this article, we have discussed the JoSAA choice filling tips, factors to consider while filling out the choices in JoSAA counselling and all details related to the JoSAA 2026 choice filling. Read below.
- Category of Candidate in JoSAA Choice Filling 2026
- Factors to Consider While Filling Choices in JoSAA Counselling 2026
- JoSAA 2026 Choice Filing
Category of Candidate in JoSAA Choice Filling 2026
Candidates cannot go ahead and randomly enter their choice of institutes and branches during JoSAA choice filling 2026. The JoSAA choice filling 2026 process must be planned strategically, and candidates must consider various factors while filling in their choices.
The first step is to figure out which category you belong to:
-
Category A: You are sure about your preferred institute and course
-
Category B: You are unsure about your course or institute preferences
Now, based on the category you fall into, we have given below 10 tips for JoSAA 2026 choice filling:
| Tip | Category A | Category B |
|---|---|---|
| Tip 1: Know your rank range and expected seats | Check the opening/closing ranks of your desired course-institute combo. Do not forget to take advantage of the JoSAA mock seat allotment rounds. |
Use mock seat allocations & past cutoffs to explore realistic options
|
| Tip 2: Be careful about your order of seat preference | Put dream choices at the top, even if the chances are slim |
Start with the best possible options, but include safe & backup choices
|
| Tip 3: Fill in as many possible choices | List all eligible branches in the preferred institute |
Add multiple branches and institutes to maximise admission chances
|
| Tip 4: Also add some alternate choices | Still list alternate branches in the same institute |
Keep a broad list – prioritise both course and institute balance
|
| Tip 5: Prioritise seats as per preference | Stick to your favourite branch across multiple IITs/NITs |
Use branch/institute combos to discover interest areas
|
| Tip 6: Check quotas and reservation benefits | Use the HS/OS quota advantage to your benefit |
Learn how category or gender-neutral seats affect your chances
|
| Tip 7: Do not blindly follow others | Customise the list based on your goals, not peer pressure |
Seek guidance, but create your unique order of preferences
|
| Tip 8: Check deadline and lock choices without fail | Review thoroughly; changes after locking are not allowed |
Don't rush - lock only after understanding the implications
|
Factors to Consider While Filling Choices in JoSAA Counselling 2026
Check below the various factors to be considered in the JoSAA 2026 choice filling process:
👍For Category A (Sure about institute/course):
- Branch Over Institute vs. Institute Over Branch: Decide your priority at an early stage. Figure what is more important to you: the course or the IIT where you want to study. If the course is more important, then go for the course and consider NITs, if IITs are out of reach.
- Upgrade Potential in Further Rounds: Also, take some risks if you can. If you think a certain course or college is slightly out of your reach, by 5 or 10 ranks, do add it to your list. You can always choose the slide and float option in the JoSAA counselling process.
- Long-Term Career Goals: If placements and career prospects are more important to you, then select a college with good ROI, placement repo, internship opportunities, and industry connect
- Past Cutoffs & Current Trends: Analyse at least past 5 year cutoff and select the priority of your course and college accordingly.
🤞For Category B (Not sure about the institute/course):
- Look out for internal sliding options: You can take admission to the course and college allotted to you, and then after one year, you can change the branch to a better one. Many colleges offer this option, while some may not.
- Look out for courses with less competition: There are some good emerging engineering branches like Data Science, AI, Chemical, or Interdisciplinary branches. These courses can be less competitive, and you can get into them in good colleges.
- Other factor: In case you are not sure about the course or college you want to take admission to, then you can make your decision based on NIRF ranking of the college, proximity to your city, hostel facility, commute, etc.
JoSAA 2026 Choice Filing
In the JoSAA choice filling process, candidates are allowed to enter and arrange their choices of institutes and colleges they wish to be admitted to. Candidates are advised to fill in as many choices as possible in order of their preference to increase their chances of seat allotment in JoSAA. JoSAA seat allotment is based on choices filled by the candidates, their category, and their JEE Main / JEE Advanced ranks, whichever is applicable. Note that there is no fee for JoSAA registration and JoSAA choice filling 2026.
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No. You are only allowed to fill choices once before entering the first round of counselling and that choice list is final. Candidates are given only one chance to enter their choice, edit the choices, rearrange them before the choice filling deadline. All candidates have to save and lock their choices within the prescribed deadline. No more chances to fill.edit/rearrange the choices will be provided in the subsequent rounds of JoSAA counselling.
- Login to JoSAA Portal
- Access JoSAA Choice Filling Link
- Adding and Arranging the Choices
- Saving the Choices
- Locking the Choice
- Printing the Choice List
Once the specified end time for choice filling is reached, JoSAA automatically locks the choices. Prior to locking, you have the flexibility to edit, add, delete, and update your choices. However, after locking, you can only modify the preference order, but this option is typically available only after the first round of seat allocation.
Once candidates have filled in their choices, they can manage them freely until the JoSAA choice locking date. This means they can remove, rearrange, or modify their choices as many times as needed before the deadline. Candidates can rearrange their choices by adjusting the choice numbers or easily swap options between different choices. Additionally, multiple choices can be selected at once for bulk deletion.
JoSAA choice management remains open until the final date specified in the JoSAA schedule. Once candidates lock and submit their choices as per the schedule, no further changes can be made throughout the counselling process. The seat allotment in each JoSAA counselling round will be based on the choices submitted by the candidates. If a candidate does not lock their choices by the given date, their most recently saved choices will be automatically locked and used for JoSAA seat allotment in all rounds.
Case: 1 Your rank is not so good but you have also filled the choices of the branches in very good NIT. In this case, it is not bad because you have no scope of getting these choices So they would not affect you in counselling.
Case 2: Your rank is good but you have filled the choices which you don't want to join or which are not so good or which you could easily get with less marks also. In this case, it would affect badly if you have filled these wrong choice above than that of your desired (or best) branch of the institute then there may be the case that you would be offered the seat in the choice which is placed higher and that may be the undesirable one. So fill up the choices carefully by placing the desired, best branches over the undesired and low valued branches.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered a month ago
Yes, the JEE Main admit card is needed at the time of JoSAA counselling.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
Yes. You can. Both counselling have different purposes. JoSAA is for admission to IIT and NIT+ system, while JAC Chandigarh is for admission to Dr S. Bhatnagar University Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology; Panjab University, Chandigarh (Formerly Department of Chemical Engineering & T
C
Contributor-Level 6
The JoSAA 2026 choice filling window will open with the registration window in June 2026. Candidates will be able to register and then fill the choices of courses and colleges based on their JEE Main/Advanced ranks and category.