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Beyond Doctor, Engineer, CA

Part One: Before you choose, chapter 1

More than three doors

The choices after Class 12, and how a seat is won

Engineering, medicine or CA (chartered accountancy)? Most families stop there. They are good doors, and Chapter 5 opens them fully. But India offers more than forty good routes after Class 12. Most take any stream. Several cost far less. Many lead to careers that pay well and last.

The well-known threeEngineering, Medicine, Chartered AccountancyCreativeDesign, Architecture and planning, Fine and applied arts, Animation, film and media, Creative technologyScience and dataResearch science and mathematics, Data and computing without a B.TechProfessionalLaw, Management, Actuary, CS, NDA, merchant navyHumanitiesHumanities, psychology and economicsStudy abroadStudy abroadMore doors, in briefNursing, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and allied health, Dentistry, AYUSH, Nutrition and dietetics, Agriculture, Food technology, Dairy, fisheries, forestry, Veterinary science, Hotel management, Culinary arts, Tourism and aviation, Journalism, Performing arts, Foreign languages, Teaching, Social work, Sport, Commerce, Computer applications, Skill degrees

How a seat is won

Three kinds of institutions offer these degrees. National institutes often charge low fees for their reputation: the IITs and NITs, NID, the National Law Universities and the IIMs. Central and state universities, such as Delhi University and BHU, usually charge even less. Some of the cheapest seats in India are also the hardest to win. Private universities often cost several times as much, and some offer real financial aid.

  1. 1

    Class 12 marks

    Decide whether you may apply. B.Arch needs 45 per cent overall with Physics and Mathematics; NIT seats need 75 per cent.

  2. 2

    Entrance exam

    Gives you a score, rank or percentile. Most routes have their own exam: UCEED, NID DAT, NATA, CLAT, CUET and others.

  3. 3

    Counselling

    You list your choices and seats go in rank order. JoSAA runs IIT and NIT seats, CSAS runs Delhi University, NID and NIFT run their own.

  4. 4

    Seat and fees

    Accept the seat, pay the fee and report to college, between June and August 2028.

What moves the cut-off: home-state seats kept for local students, and extra seats for women at some institutes.

Words that confuse families

A percentile is the share of candidates you scored above. A cut-off is the last rank that won a seat. Counselling, despite the name, means seat allotment, not career advice: you list colleges and courses in order of preference, and a computer works down the rank list and offers seats. JoSAA is the joint seat allotment for the IITs and NITs; CSAS is Delhi University’s system, which uses CUET-UG scores. NID and NIFT run separate rounds.

One detail catches families out: many institutes keep a share of seats for students from their own state, so outsiders compete for fewer.

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