How to get into Top IITs with GATE 2026 Scorecard: Marks Vs Rank, Cutoff, COAP, Tips, and Strategies
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering 2026 ( GATE )
Result - 19 Mar '26
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.
How to get into Top IITs with GATE scorecard: Qualified GATE 2025? Appearing for GATE 2026? Preparing for GATE 2027? If you are then good luck and congrats. If you are appearing for exam this year and planning to convert your GATE scores into dream IIT seat, then you are right place. Your GATE scorecard is ticket to achieve your goals. GATE 2026 result will be declared on March 19 and COAP counselling dates will be updated soon. Get complete details on how to bag your dream IIT with GATE scorecard. From counselling startegy to interview planning, candidates can find all details here.
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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
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.
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:
- 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:
- GATE IIT MTech Cutoff 2025
- GATE 2025 IISc Bangalore OUT
- IIT Bombay GATE 2025 Cutoff OUT
- PSU Recruitment through GATE 2025
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 |
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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.
Yes, admission is possible with a rank of 8000, considering the IIT Hyderabad JEE Advanced cutoff 2025 for the General AI category. For this category, the overall closing cutoff ranged from 667 to 10043. Hence, a rank of 8K will make a student eligible for IIT Hyderabad admission, if they belong to the General AI category.
Please note that other categories, rounds, etc., will have different qualifying cutoffs accordingly, and that admission is based on various factors, like total number of seats, difficulty level of exam, etc.
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.
To get admission to BTech at IIT Goa, candidate must have a valid rank in the JEE Advanced exam. The cutoff was released for different categories belonging to the All India quota. Among the General AI category candidates, the closing ranks varied between 6242 and 13451. Given below are the branch-wise cutoff ranks for the General AI category:
| Course | 2025 |
|---|---|
| B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering | 13451 |
| B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering | 6242 |
| B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering | 10095 |
| B.Tech. in Mathematics and Computing Engineering | 7932 |
Also Read:
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:
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.
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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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 21 hours ago
Surely, GATE previous year papers are very useful in preparation for the exam. It will help in understanding the overall exam structure, paper pattern and subejct-wise weightage of topics. Every GATE aspirant must solve GATE previous year papers.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 21 hours ago
GATE previous year answer key with solutions can be checked on Shiksha page. These previous year question paper solutions have been prepared by subejct experts and will help GATE aspirants to prepare for the exam.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 22 hours ago
The provisional answer key of GATE is the preliminary answer key provided by the organising institute which is kept open for review and challenge by students. After the review, the final answer key is released.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 22 hours ago
No, the question papers released by coaching institutes are prepared using memory based questions from students who appear in the exam. They are not the actual papers. The official/actual papers are released only by the organising institute.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 22 hours ago
GATE scorecard 2026 will be released on March 19, 2026. Candidates will be able to check their scorecard by login to the website using their credentials.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 22 hours ago
The details required to download GATE answer key 2026 are enrollment ID/registered email ID and password. Once the link to download answer key of GATE 2026 is activated in the website gate2026.iitg.ac.in, candidates can login in the website to download the answer key.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 22 hours ago
The official website to download GATE 2026 answer key is gate2026.iitg.ac.in/. The link to download the answer key will be available inside the candidate login.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 22 hours ago
Yes, candidates need to provide supporting proof for GATE 2026 answer key challenge. Supporting document has to be uploaded to the website while submitting the answer key challenge. IIT Guwahati will not accept the answer key challenge without proper supporting proof.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 23 hours ago
To calculate the score using GATE answer key, candidates need to check their response sheet and match the answers marked by them with the correct answers marked in the official answer key. To calculate the score, candidates need to follow the GATE marking scheme.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 23 hours ago
To download the GATE answer key, they have to login to candidates portal at GOAPS in the official website using their registered email ID/enrollment ID and password. The answer key can be downloaded as PDF after login.
S
Contributor-Level 10
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: