University and College Admission - India

India

Most Indian universities participate in one or another centralized admission procedure. In summer 2011, an Indian institution was expecting 100% score for gaining admission, highlighting the crisis of confidence in quality of higher education in general and also limitations of admissions process. National tests and interviews are organized by an independent body composed of members of the participating organizations. Little weight is given to applicants’ past academic record and more to their exam results. Applicants are ranked by exam grades, and submit their preference of universities/programs based on their rank and choice. Some such common entrance tests are:

• Joint Entrance Exam (JEE), the undergraduate exam for the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs);
• Common Admission Test (CAT), XAT, JMAT, MAT or SNAP, the graduate exams for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other business schools;
• Graduate Admission Test of Engineering (GATE), the graduate exam for the IITs;
• All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE) for admission to Undergraduate Engineering and Architecture / Design courses;
• Pre Medical Test (PMT)-conducted by the CBSE; the entrance exam for admission to MBBS program;

States have their own admissions exams and policies. For example, the state of Maharashtra uses the HSC test as a prerequisite for entering Degree level college and uses the SSC test as a prerequisite for entering Junior Level college as well as Diploma Level College.Apart from that 15% reserved for NRI / Foreign students