Comprehensive List of engineering entrance exams in India

Engineering is a very popular career choice among Indian students. Admissions to engineering colleges are usually via entrance examinations that are held at national, state and college levels. However, even before this stage, it is imperative to know about the engineering entrance exams that are conducted every year by different university, consortiums and autonomous colleges.

The eligibility criterion for appearing for engineering entrance exams is a Class 12 or equivalent grade from a recognized school or college with English, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as part of the elective subjects. If candidates want to pursue an engineering course in Biotechnology, then Biology should also be part of the elective subjects in Class 11 and 12 or its equivalent.  Many times, students who have secured a diploma course in any technology or engineering subject are also eligible to appear for these entrance exams.

The general exam pattern for all entrance exams for admission to undergraduate engineering course usually consists of papers in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics with the syllabus covered being the same or similar to that covered in Class 12 of CBSE, ICSE or of any State board.  Knowledge of Biology is tested for Biotech courses. The test format is normally in the objective question type. It is critical to know that many entrance exams have negative markings for wrong answers.

Before applying for the entrance exams, it is important that candidates make sure that they are eligible to apply. There are many state level examinations which require candidates to have domicile status to apply under the state’s quota. Application is normally allowed in both offline and online modes with registration payments either done through online payment options or via a Demand Draft.

Here is a fairly long list that could help you get started:

Source - http://www.saddidilli.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/iit-delhi.jpg

Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main: is held by the CBSE Board every year and is a single entry point for admissions to IITs, NITs, centrally funded engineering colleges and also other state government-run and privately managed technology and engineering institutes.

JEE Advanced: Students who clear the JEE Advanced will be allotted undergraduate engineering seats in IITs and ISM Dhanbad based in the All India Rank (AIR).  The eligibility criteria to appear for JEE Advanced is to clear the JEE Mains and be in the top 50,000 rank holder list.

Birla Institute of Technology and Science Admission Test (BITSAT): is a computer-based test for admissions to the integrated first-degree programs in all of the three campuses of BITS including Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad. Each candidate gets a different set of questions as the computer selects randomly from the question bank in the server.

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU):  is held for admissions to undergraduate engineering courses in Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology. The eligibility is 50% aggregate marks in Class 12 or equivalent examination.

Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET): is a common entrance test organized annually by the Karnataka Examinations Authority for admissions to engineering courses in all engineering and technology colleges in Karnataka under the government quota.

Vellore Institute of Technology Engineering Entrance Examination (VITEEE): is conducted by Vellore Institute of Technology for admission to its engineering courses. The institute does not allow home-schooled candidates or candidates who have not attended full time regular school.

Consortium of Medical Engineering and Dental Colleges Karnataka (COMEDK):  holds a common entrance exam every year for admission to undergraduate engineering courses in all colleges under its umbrella. There is a single window counseling system based on scores and rank obtained by the candidates.

Punjab Technical University Combined Entrance Test (PTU CET): is conducted annually for admissions to engineering programs offered by the about 65 engineering colleges affiliated to the University. The PTU CET candidates fill up almost 85% of the available seats.

ISAT: is a national level entrance exam for admissions to B Tech courses in Aerospace Engineering and Physical Sciences in the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, which is the first space University in Asia.

Amrita Engineering Entrance Exam (AEEE): is the common entrance exam (computer based test) conducted by the Amrita University for admissions to undergraduate engineering courses offered at its three campuses including Amritapuri, Bengaluru and Coimbatore.

PES Scholastic Aptitude Test (PESSAT): is an annual entrance exam conducted by the PES University for admitting students to various undergraduate engineering courses. The examination syllabus is 30% from CBSE Class 11 and 70% from CBSE Class 12. 

CAT-2014 might offer a sigh of relief but cut offs for B-Schools could go up!

If there’s something that you would really want to know about the upcoming CAT-2014 examinations then it is none other than but the sea changes that have been confirmed about the myriad fronts. Rest assure- there’s no change in syllabus or the content, which means you can carry on your preparations with the same swing but a lot of changes surely went noticeable this time. Now the question that hits the box right on the first go is that how fair it would be for the aspirants to score good percentiles. And also it airs the question about the minimum cut off percentile for the top B-Schools in nation. Surprisingly the changes that have been incorporated are not a trivial one’s but it seems that they have altogether set a brand new scale for evaluations.

Changes are sometimes daunting but sometimes they are equally rewarding too. Like if you talk about the latest changes that have been called in the Common Admission Test then it can be clearly seen that the duration of examination has been outstretched from one hundred forty minutes to one hundred seventy minutes. Now this is surely a cherry on the cake and we shall discuss the same in brief now in order to understand what exactly these changes means to an aspirant.

Unfolded time gap means time management goes easy!

People called it a clever call by CAT when the time duration was revised followed by increased number of questions. Now that you have 30 minutes extra with you- the time allowed per question was automatically axed down from 2.3 minutes to 1.7 minutes. However, this could open more possibility and all that matters is speed, undoubtedly. So surely, striking out maximum number of questions in 170 minutes won’t be a child’s play.

High pressure mounting up every second!

With extra 30 minutes of time for examinations, longer duration will certainly call for a little bit of more practice. Mock tests series have really been proved beneficial in this very regard but one has to be really specific about the appropriate timing and closing a particular question in a given time frame. Certainly, one cannot master the art without even being pushed through some practices. Thus, your first hand encounter with the mock sessions will keep you mentally ready for all the upcoming.

Limited sessions to ensure quick wind up!

Earlier where the CAT was supposed to take place in 40 sessions, the CAT-2014 examination has curbed the same in just 4 sessions stretching over 2 days only. There have been a lot of say in this very regard but if you are really serious about belling the CAT then this year might hold something really good for you.

CAT 2013 Examinations:

Total time allotted: 140 minutes.

Number of questions in each section: 30 each in 2 sections.

CAT 2014 Examinations what’s new

Total time allotted: 170 minutes.

Number of questions in each section: 50 each in 2 sections.

Less time per question, which might probably mean a slight reduction in the level of toughness.

So, a new tweak in the CAT-2014 Examinations seems to be pretty promising and one can surely score a decent percentile with sincere and uncompromised efforts over the time. Nonetheless, it was a dual sided blade that was thrown openly in the air when IIMs allowed a switch between the sections. However, you have to have a razor sharp decision making ability in order to hit the right chord at just the right point of time. And also try to avoid wasting time on one section and killing time when you have an option of opting for comparatively easier questions in other sections. It’s a fair deal and with consistent efforts- who knows that you’re next in the IIMs shortlisted candidates list.

 Author Bio: Shadman Alvi is professional writer. Blogging and writing for myriad of social media platform is what excites him. He believes that newness and novelty are the two driving force that can make anything black and white- colorful. He enjoys experimenting with various techniques and implementing the same on print and web alike. If you like his work, feel free to catch him on LinkedIn.