How to get into Top IITs with GATE scorecard: We all know reputation and prestige GATE exam holds. Every year, thousands of applicants appear for exam just with one purpose, and that is either to get into top IITs or NITs or PSU jobs. In this article, we will discuss how you can convert your GATE scores with right strategy to get into top IITs for admission. From GATE marks, to cutoff, to counselling tips, you can all information here.
Also Read:
Why one should aim for IITs through GATE scores?
Admission to IITs through GATE scores increases your chances to access the following -
| World-class education and research facilities |
High-placement packages and opportunities |
| Alumni network |
Strong and collaborative research work |
- Tips and Hacks to get into Top IITs using your GATE scores
- GATE 2025 Cutoff (Branch-Wise) OUT
- Go through the last five year's GATE cutoff trends
- GATE COAP 2026 Counselling Dates
- How to get into Top IITs with GATE scorecard: Register at COAP Portal
- How to get into Top IITs using GATE Scores: Tips to Research Smartly
Tips and Hacks to get into Top IITs using your GATE scores
First and foremost, check your eligibility
- To apply for IITs through GATE, candidates must have a bachelor's degree with good academic scores
- A valid GATE score of 750+ (if you are targetting top branches like CSE or ECE)
Understand GATE Score vs Rank vs Marks
- The GATE marks is the raw marks evaluated out of 100
- GATE score is normalised out of 1000, which is used for admissions
- GATE rank is the AIR in the respective branch paper.
Also Read:
Commonly asked questions
No doubt, 2000 rank is a decent rank in JEE Advanced exam. Candidates securing this much of rank will surely get selection at IIT Hyderabad. However, for top courses like CSE and AI, they need to secure lesser than that. As per IIT Hyderabad JEE Advanced cutoff 2024, the required rank stood between 656 and 9551, wherein, the most sought-after course was BTech in CSE. Candidates can check out below the courses available under 2000 rank at IIT Hyderabad for the General AI quota:
| Course | 2024 |
|---|---|
| B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering | 2105 |
| B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering | 4469 |
| B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering | 5757 |
| B.Tech. in Civil Engineering | 7898 |
| B.Tech. in Engineering Science | 3835 |
| B.Tech. in Engineering Physics | 4932 |
| B.Tech. in Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering | 8197 |
| B.Tech. in Biomedical Engineering | 8493 |
| B.Tech. in Industrial Chemistry | 9551 |
| B.Tech. in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics | 8524 |
| B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering (IC Design and Technology) | 2147 |
IIIT Allahabad accpets JEE Main score for admission to the BTech courses. As per the IIIT Allahabad cutoff 2023, the Last Round closing rank for BTech ranged between 5924 and 9558, among which Information Technology was the most competitive specialisation. The Round 1 closing rank for BTech ranged between 4817 and 8428 for BTech.
So, considering the previous year Round 1 and the Last Round closing ranks, candidates seeking admission to IIIT Allahabad must secure a rank over and above 4800 and 9600 for the General ALL India category candidates.
Candidates can refer to the table given below to check out the 2023 Last Round closing ranks for IIIT Allahabad to get an idea of the ranks required for all the BTech courses offered at this institute:
| Course | Round 1 | Last Round |
|---|---|---|
| B.Tech. in Electronics and Communication Engineering | 8428 | 9558 |
| B.Tech. in Information Technology | 4817 | 5924 |
| B.Tech. in Information Technology (Business Informatics) | 5162 | 6587 |
Those candidates who are aiming for admission to ECE at IIT Ropar cannot avail this course as it was not offered in 2024. However, under the acquired rank of 7000, candidates can opt for Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering Physics, and Chemical Engineering programs. Further, as per the IIT Ropar cutoff 2024 for JEE Advanced, the cutoff rank for aforementioned courses for the General AI category candidates stood at 8836, 10097, and 11365, respectively.
NIT Manipur JEE Main cutoff 2024 has been released for admission to the BTech courses. During the Round 1 cutoff, the closing rank for CSE was 25886 for the General category students under the AII India Quota. Among OBC candidates, the closing rank for B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering stood at 8750. Candidates seeking admisison to NIT Manipur can refer to the table below to check out the Round 1 closing ranks for BTech in CSE course for various categories under the AI quota:
Category | JEE Main 2024 Expected Cutoff |
|---|---|
Common Rank List | 90-91 |
Gen-EWS | 75-76 |
OBC-NCL | 73-74 |
SC | 51-52 |
ST | 37-38 |
PwD | 0.0013527 |
GATE 2025 Cutoff (Branch-Wise) OUT
| Paper Code | Test Paper | No. Candidates Registered | No. Candidates Appeared | Cut-off (GEN) |
Cut-off (OBC-NCL/EWS) |
Cut-off (SC/ST/PwD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AE | Aerospace Engineering | 7576 | 6009 | 28.9 | 26 | 19.2 |
| AG | Agricultural Engineering | 3095 | 2624 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| AR | Architecture and Planning | 10898 | 8501 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| BM | Biomedical Engineering | 2682 | 2165 | 29.2 | 26.2 | 19.4 |
| BT | Biotechnology | 24927 | 20048 | 28 | 25.2 | 18.6 |
| CE | Civil Engineering | 101596 | 79951 | 29.2 | 26.2 | 19.4 |
| CH | Chemical Engineering | 18009 | 14843 | 27.7 | 24.9 | 18.4 |
| CS | Computer Science and Information Technology | 207851 | 170825 | 29.2 | 26.2 | 19.4 |
| CY | Chemistry | 33058 | 25698 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| DA | Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 75854 | 57054 | 29 | 26.1 | 19.3 |
| EC | Electronics and Communication Engineering | 97394 | 81475 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| EE | Electrical Engineering | 83355 | 67701 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| ES | Environmental Science and Engineering | 9073 | 6631 | 26.1 | 23.4 | 17.4 |
| EY | Ecology and Evolution | 3509 | 2713 | 39.5 | 35.5 | 26.3 |
| GE | Geomatics Engineering | 3616 | 2726 | 25.7 | 23.1 | 17.1 |
| GG1 | Geology and Geophysics (Geology) | 6837 | 5352 | 38.4 | 34.5 | 25.5 |
| GG2 | Geology and Geophysics (Geophysics) | 917 | 684 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| IN | Instrumentation Engineering | 14680 | 11935 | 25.6 | 23 | 17 |
| MA | Mathematics | 16953 | 13171 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| ME | Mechanical Engineering | 79830 | 62015 | 35.8 | 32.2 | 23.8 |
| MN | Mining Engineering | 8881 | 7438 | 30.6 | 27.5 | 20.4 |
| MT | Metallurgical Engineering | 4420 | 3571 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| NM | Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering | 538 | 395 | 25.1 | 22.5 | 16.7 |
| PE | Petroleum Engineering | 1731 | 1320 | 31.1 | 27.9 | 20.7 |
| PH | Physics | 24747 | 19225 | 26.8 | 24.1 | 17.8 |
| PI | Production and Industrial Engineering | 4791 | 3547 | 35.6 | 32 | 23.7 |
| ST | Statistics | 3063 | 1967 | 30.2 | 27.1 | 20.1 |
| TF | Textile Engineering and Fibre Science | 2355 | 1889 | 34.7 | 31.2 | 23.1 |
| XE | Engineering Sciences | 14937 | 11156 | 35.4 | 31.8 | 23.5 |
| XH-C1 | Humanities and Social Sciences (Economics) | 4161 | 2973 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C2 | Humanities and Social Sciences (English) | 5665 | 4132 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C3 | Humanities and Social Sciences (Linguistics) | 378 | 297 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C4 | Humanities and Social Sciences (Philosophy) | 702 | 531 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C5 | Humanities and Social Sciences (Psychology) | 5709 | 4125 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C6 | Humanities and Social Sciences (Sociology) | 2147 | 1546 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XL | Life Sciences | 50084 | 41086 | 31.3 | 28.1 | 20.8 |
| TOTAL | 936019 | 747319 |
Go through the last five year's GATE cutoff trends
Go through the last year's cutoff trends (5 years) to see what GATE scores allow branches (based on their category). Candidates can check an approx data of the cutoff scores accepted every year.
| Reputable IITs |
Branch |
GATE score (approx) |
|---|---|---|
| IIT Madras |
ME |
700+ |
| IIT Delhi |
EE |
720+ |
| IIT Kanpur |
EC |
730+ |
| IIT Bombay |
CS |
750+ |
Candidates must note that every IIT has different GATE cutoff criteria and admission selection processes. Also, GATE cutoff marks vary yearly depending on exam difficulty, seat availability, and number of applicants who appeared and qualified. Therefore, it is essential to go through instructions and guidelines carefully.
Also Read:
Commonly asked questions
To secure seat at IIT Bombay for CSE, students should obtain rank as per the cutoff list. For BTech CSE admission, cutoff was 23 for EWS All India category candidates. Therefore, they should get a rank of 23 or below to secure a seat as per the last round cutoff list.
IIT Kharagpur offers BTech and Integrated BTech courses based on JEE Advanced scores. Based on candidates' scores, the institute released the IIT Kharagpur cutoff 2024 for various categories belonging to the All India quota. As per the last-round, the JEE Advanced cutoff for BTech in Computer Science and Engineering programme stood at 415 for the General AI category candidates. To check category-wise cutoffs, candidates can check out the table below:
| All India Categories | 2024 |
|---|---|
| General | 415 |
| OBC | 209 |
| SC | 137 |
| ST | 67 |
| PWD | 22 |
| EWS | 67 |
No, JEE exams are not mandatory for BSc admissions at IIT Madras. Candidates who wish to take admissions into the BSc course at IIT Madras must appear for IISER entrance examination. The admissions into IIT Madras BSc courses are decided on merit basis where, the scores obtained by candidates in the IISER entrance exam are taken into account to decide the admissions.
The minimum marks required in JEE Mains to qualify for JEE Advanced 2026 will be announced with the JEE Main 2026 final result after session 2 exams. Last year's minimum marks in JEE Mains to qualify for JEE Advanced were:
2025:
- Unreserved (UR): 93.1023262
- Gen-EWS: 80.3830119
- OBC-NCL: 79.4313582
- SC: 61.1526933
- ST: 47.9026465
- UR-PwD: 0.0079349
2024:
- General (UR): 93.2362181
- General (UR) PWD: 0.0018700
- Economically Weaker Section (EWS): 81.3266412
- Other Backward Classes (OBC): 79.6757881
- Scheduled Caste (SC): 60.0923182
- Scheduled Tribe (ST): 46.6975840
2023:
- General (UR): 90.7788642
- OBC-NCL: 73.6114227
- SC: 51.9776027
- ST: 37.2348772
- GEN-EWS: 75.6229025
- General (UR) PWD: 0.0013527
Candidates aiming for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) need to meet these cutoff marks in JEE Mains to be eligible for JEE Advanced 2026.
Explore colleges based on GATE
GATE COAP 2026 Counselling Dates
| Round No | Time window for candidates to view offers and take a decision |
Accept & Freeze | Retain & Wait | Reject & Wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | May 17 (10:00 AM) to May 20 (09:00 AM) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Round 2 | May 23 (10:00 AM) to May 26 (09:00 AM) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Round 3 | May 29 (10:00 AM) to June 02 (09:00 AM) | Yes | Yes/No | Yes |
| Round 4 | June 05 (10:00 AM) to June 08 (09:00 AM) | Yes | Yes/No | Yes |
| Round 5 | June 11 (10:00 AM) to June 14 (09:00 AM) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Round 6 | June 17 (10:00 AM) to June 20 (09:00 AM) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Round 7 | June 23 (10:00 AM) to June 26 (09:00 AM) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Round 8 | June 29 (10:00 AM) to July 01 (09:00 AM) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Round 9 | July 04 (10:00 AM) to July 06 (09:00 AM) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Round 10 | July 09 (10:00 AM) to July 10 (06:00 PM) | Yes | No | Yes |
How to get into Top IITs with GATE scorecard: Register at COAP Portal
COAP portal is used for admissions to IITs through GATE scores. This year, IISc Bangalore conducted the COAP counselling 2025. Registrations began from May 17 onwards. The steps to register can be checked below
- First candidate has to visit the official website and register themselves to generate a COAP ID.
- Enter their GATE and scorecard details and once the counselling process starts, the applicants have to fill out the choices
- Lock within the deadlines.
Note: COAP does not make offers; it is a platform through which you can view and accept offers from participating institutes.
Students can also apply individually
Each IIT open the registration window separately. Candidates have to visit the IIT they want to apply for and register themselves by uploading the GATE scorecard and other documents and details. The results will be updated on COAP portal.
Prepare for GDs and Personal Interviews
Apart from GATE scores, some IITs do conduct Technical interviews, departmental written test, etc.
Have a Backup Plan with NITs and IIITs
Incase, you don't land in your dream IIT, then do have a backup plan. Make a list of NITs and IIITs you wish to get admission. Plan in advance. For NITs and IIITs, counselling will be conducted by CCMT.
Also Read:
Commonly asked questions
IIT Madras JEE Advanced cutoff 2024 was concluded for different courses such as BTech, Integrated BTech and BS. The cutoff for the General AI category candidates closed at a range of 159 and 10682. During 2023, the cutoff ranks for the same was closed at a range of 148 and 11185. Candidates can check the branch-wise cutoff for both the years in the table below, to get an idea of the change in cutoff:
IIT Hyderabad cut off rank in Round 6 for BTech in Computer Science and Engineering is 674 which is very close to this range. This was for general category under All India quota. Unless the candidate belongs to some other category or domicile, one can not afford to score less than this. With this rank, there is a probability of getting admission however since, the cut offs keep changing from round to round, better ranks definitely increases your chances of getting admission in IIT Hyderabad - Indian Institute of Technology.
As per the elgibility criteria released by the IITs, It is mandatory to have minimum 75% marks (65% for reserved category) in class 12 to take admission in IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs. Candidates should apply for JoSAA conselling only if they fulfill all the conditions of eligibility. However, many institutes admit students on the basis of JEE Main where there is no requirement of minimum marks in class 12.
How to get into Top IITs using GATE Scores: Tips to Research Smartly
Here are some tips that candidates can follow to secure a seat in their dream college -
- Keep a list of IITs, IIITs, NITs, and other institutions beforehand.
- Go through their last five year's cutoff scores (of your specific branch)
- Check their ROI and placement records
- Check their department-based research work.

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Student Forum
Answered Yesterday
hi,
With a GATE EC 2026 score of 609 under the EWS category, you have a strong profile for M.Tech in VLSI and related specializations. Along with IITs and NITs, Lovely Professional University is also a good option to consider for advanced studies in VLSI and Electronics. LPU offers industry-oriented
Answered a week ago
Yes, GATE qualified candidates will also have to appear for the PGET exam held on the scheduled date. The merit list will combine performance of both WBUT and GATE paper.
S
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
Yes, WBUT PGET do accept GATE score for admission. The merit list will be prepared considering 70% weightage to GATE scores and 30% to PGET.
I
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
Candidates with GATE score of 2026, 2025 or 2024 are eligible for BITS HD 2026 entrance examination.
T
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
No, students can not get direct admission in Cluster Innovation Centre MSc. The college only accepts CUET PG score. Hence, having a GATE scorecard will not come in handy during admissions.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
If you are seeking admission in NIT Surathkal MTech, then GATE is mandatory. Students applying for non-MTech programmes do not need to appear for GATE. For M.Tech however, GATE followed by the centralised counselling is mandatory.
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
No, students can not get admission in IIT Roorkee MSc with GATE scores. The institute accepts IIT JAM score only. No other tests including GATE are accepted. Students also have to appear for the centralised counselling to get a seat.
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
IISc Bangalore GATE cutoff 2026 for the ECE course for the General AI category was 650 in round 1. For the OBC AI category, the round 1 cutoff for the same course was 600. This difference in the score says that the competiton for the General AI category was higher than the OBC AI quota.
To know the
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
IISc Banglore GATE COAP cutoff 2026 was declared for admission to the M.Tech course for various All India categories up to Round 1. For the General AI category, the round 1 cutoff ranged from 480 to 800, wherein M.Tech. in Instrumentation Systems and M.Tech. in Microelectronics and VLSI Design were
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, you can get a seat at IISc Banglore with a GATE score of 542, if you belong to the General AI category. Students can refer to the table beow to know which courses are available with this score based on the IISc Banglore GATE cutoff 2026 for round 1.
| Course | Round 1 |
|---|---|
| M.Tech. in Instrumentation Systems | 480 |
| M.Des. in Product Design and Manufacturing | 500 |
| M.Tech. in Smart Manufacturing | 500 |
| M.Tech. in Chemical Engineering | 525 |
For the OBC AI category, the courses availble
N
Contributor-Level 10
Upasana Pradhan is an Mtech graduate in Electronics and Communication Engineering from DTU who specialises in curating postgraduate and undergraduate engineering entrance exam content, such as GATE, TS PGECET, KCET,
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