IIT

At this score, he should look for specialised or interdisciplinary branches where the OBC cutoff is lower:

• IIT Jammu / IIT Dharwad: May get core Electrical or Power Electronics in later rounds.

• IIT BHU (Varanasi): Possible for programs like Electrical Machines and Drives or specialised Chemical/Materials branches (if they accept EEE).

• IIT Mandi: Possible for Power Electronics & Drives (PED) or Energy Engineering.

• IIT Gandhinagar / IIT Bhubaneswar: Good chances for interdisciplinary branches like Biomedical Engineering or Earth System Science.

Candidates can check GATE expected safe marks for IIT M.Tech admission below -

The Illinois Institute of Technology is one of the most popular universities around the world and yes, it is considered top-tier. 

It is a private research university located in Chicago and as per the QS, IIT Chicago is ranked at #591 which is an improvement of 10 places.

This university is ranked by some of the top ranking bodies of the world like QS, THE, US World & News and more. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is better for research careers, access to global tech companies and US / EU job market. While IITs are better if students want a career network in India. Indian students whose aim is to work in the top companies like Google, Amazon, or a startup, MIT provides a different ecosystem.

Students can choose IITs for their UG experience and then, maybe later they can choose to study abroad later. While both the institutions are extremely competitive for admissions, it is absolutely up to students which to choose, as per their preferences.

With 96 percentile, you're already in a strong position.At Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, you will likely get a good branch (even CSE/COE chances are decent depending on cutoffs).But honestly don't rush.If you still have another JEE attempt left, it makes sense to wait and try to improve. Even a small jump can open better options (top NITs, IIITs, etc.).Simple way to think-

• If Thapar is your safe + comfortable option → keep it

• But don't lock in yet if you can still improve your score

You're in a good spot. Just play it smart and keep options open.

A total of 304 students were placed out of 487 registered students during phase 1 of IIT Hyderabad BTech placements 2026.

IIT Tirupati offers courses at UG, PG and doctoral levels. The institute offers a four-year BTech programme at the UG level. At PG level, the institute offers M.Tech and MSc courses. IIT Tirupati also offers MS in Research and PhD programmes.

Aspirants must pass bachelor's degree in Engineering/ Technology/ 4-year BS degree, or a master's degree (MSc/ MCA, etc.) in the relevant discipline with GATE score to apply for MS in Research at IIT Tirupati. 

Candidates who have passed bachelor's degree in Engineering/ Technology from any Indian Institute of Technology with an exceptionally good academic record with a minimum CGPA of 8/10 (7.5 for EWS/OBC-NCL and 7.0 for SC/ST/PwD) can also apply.