Last year I wrote a post on understanding various disciplines (say streams) at BITS-Pilani and how one can decide his preferences on streams. And now here I am back with the another post on the same lines. The content of this post is mostly same as previous one except few changes related to cut-offs. The below note is an extract from my previous post. It has some changes related to BITSAT-08 cut-offs and little guess-work on expected cut-offs. This post will be useful for studs who arent able to decide on what kind of courses them should take. So let’s start demystifying the preference order.
BITS is a kinda a place where apart from the regular academics you learn a lot from the extra curricular. The flexibilities offered at BITS are innumerable. From no attendance to attending unregistered classes, bunking classes to attending surprise tests, one-night ghoting, 2am fried Maggi...no doubt i still miss those golden days a lot :(. I can assure the prospective students that they will have very fond memories with BITS once they pass-out.
Few of the notable flexibilities pertaining to academics is the option of having DUAL degree. This enables student to pursue engineering in 2 different areas. For eg. few of my friends have dual degrees in various areas like Mechanical + Computer Science, Mathematics + EEE, Economics + Computer Science. There is also an option to completely switch from one stream to other stream say from Mechanical to EEE or Chemical to Instrumentation. You have another option of continuing the undergraduate course and convert it into a post-graduate degree like B.E (Hons.) EEE to M.E (Hons.) Embedded Systems. Apart from this we have the compulsary and optional Internship programs at the end of second year and in fourth year. All these flexibilities allow the students to design their career paths as per their needs and interests. All these features have made BITS one of the most sought after colleges for engineering in
Many students might have already gone through the cut-offs for various branches at BITS (both Pilani and
"The cut-off BITSAT scores for admissions to I Semester 2008-09 to different programmes are given below. This is given here for information on the request of many candidates."
| Degree programme at Pilani Campus | Cut-off BITSAT-2008 score |
| B.E.(Hons.): Chemical | 309 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Civil | 304 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Electrical & Electronics | 339 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Mechanical | 324 |
| B.Pharm.(Hons.) | 241 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Computer Science | 349 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Electronics & Instrumentation | 331 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Biological Sciences | 263 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Chemistry | 282 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Economics | 289 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Mathematics | 287 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Physics | 288 |
| M.Sc.(Tech.): General Studies | 302 |
| M.Sc.(Tech.): Engineering Technology | 283 |
| M.Sc.(Tech.): Finance | 276 |
| M.Sc.(Tech.): Information Systems | 287 |
| |
| Degree programme at Goa Campus | cut-off BITSAT-2008 score |
| B.E.(Hons.): Chemical | 281 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Electrical and Electronics | 304 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Mechanical | 290 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Computer Science | 313 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Electronics & Instrumentation | 295 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Biological Sciences | 248 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Chemistry | 265 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Economics | 271 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Mathematics | 270 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Physics | 272 |
| M.Sc.(Tech.): Information Systems | 272 |
| Degree programme at Hyderabad Campus | cut-off BITSAT-2008 score |
| B.E.(Hons.): Chemical | 280 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Civil | 285 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Electrical and Electronics | 299 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Mechanical | 291 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Computer Science | 306 |
| B.E.(Hons.): Electronics & Communication | 306 |
| B.Pharm.(Hons.) | 230 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Biological Sciences | 248 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Chemistry | 264 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Economics | 266 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Mathematics | 268 |
| M.Sc.(Hons.): Physics | 267 |
| M.Sc.(Tech.): Information Systems | 272 |
Since the
My guessing (which never went correct in exams) was good and last year cut-offs was indeed in the range of 240-250. The cut-off for a seat in Pilani campus was 241, for Goa campus it was 248 and for
The most important factor which could dampen students' spirits is the latest buzzword "Recession". The concerns are genuine as the placements at reputed engineering colleges in
Now let us assume that a student X got around 310 marks and now has to give in the preferences of the various courses. The first foremost thing he should take care about is his career goals. Questions like career goals, ambitions, interests in specific fields etc. should be taken into consideration while deciding the preferences. But the general scenario is that the student coming out of 12th standard do not have much knowledge about the courses, and even if they have the knowledge then they cant decide on their areas of interest. So this student X is of similar type who does not have any specific interests in any field but has inclination to be in the most popular branches (EEE, E&I, CSC etc.). So here go his preferences:
- B.E (Hons.) Computer Science - Pilani
- B.E (Hons.) EEE - Pilani
- B.E (Hons.) E&I - Pilani
- B.E (Hons.) Mechanical - Pilani
- MSc (Hons.) Mathematics - Pilani
- Msc (Hons.) Economics - Pilani
- Msc (Hons.) Physics - Pilani
- Msc (Hons.) Chemistry - Pilani
- Msc (Hons.) Biology - Pilani
- Msc (Tech.) Information Systems - Pilani
- B.E (Hons.) Computer Science -
- B.E (Hons.) EEE -
- B.E (Hons.) E&I - Goa
- B.E (Hons.) Computer Science -
- B.E (Hons.) ECE -
- B.E (Hons.) EEE -
- MSc (Hons.) Mathematics -
- Msc (Hons.) Economics -
- Msc (Hons.) Physics -
- Msc (Hons.) Chemistry -
- Msc (Hons.) Biology -
- B.E (Hons.) Mechanical -
- MSc (Hons.) Mathematics -
- Msc (Hons.) Economics -
- Msc (Hons.) Physics -
- Msc (Hons.) Chemistry -
- Msc (Hons.) Biology -
- B.E (Hons.) Mechanical -
- B.E (Hons.) Chemical - Pilani
- B.E (Hons.) Civil - Pilani
- Msc (Tech.) Information Systems -
- Msc (Tech.) Information Systems -
- B.E (Hons.) Chemical -
- B.E (Hons.) Civil -
- B.E (Hons.) Chemical -
- B.E (Hons.) Civil -
- B.Pharm (Hons.) - Pilani
- B.Pharm (Hons.) -
- MSc (Tech.) Finance - Pilani
- MSc (Tech.) Engineering Technology - Pilani
- MSc (Tech.) General Studies - Pilani
Here goes the explanation for the above preference:
- Higher preference for MSc courses (call it as B-group courses) of pilani because student X BITSAT score falls into that category exactly. Also getting a dual degree in few of the disciplines like Computer science , EEE or E&I is not difficult if you score good marks (we call it as CGPA - Cumulative Grade Point Average in BITS) in exams. In fact the marks (latest marks I could get) required to get dual degrees are:
- EEE - 7.5+
- Computer Science - 7.6+
- E&I - 7.2+
- Mechanical - 7+
Note: CGPA of 10 is equivalent to 100%
- These scores are applicable to students of B-group only. If a student wants to take dual within A-group (the B.E (Hons.) courses) then the scores can go as high as 9.2+. Likewise if a student wants to take a transfer to another A-group course, the score required is high (around 9.3+). Thus getting a dual degree using B-group is easier compared to other available options. An average student who studies regularly can easily get above 8.5 in BITS, atleast in first year as few of the subjects are foundation subjects. The only drawback is he needs to spend 5 years to complete the courses instead of 4 years. But I never consider this as a drawback because a dual degree student has the option to take internship of either 6 months (1 semester) or 12 months (2 semester). These internship are done in reputed organisations and many of them even get employed in those companies !! Thus effectively you are actually studying for 4 years + 1 year of real project work in various companies. Not a bad deal !!
One important point to be discussed is now - what if two students have same marks? This has been explained in the BITS admission website:
"As explained earlier, a candidate who has appeared in BITSAT-2008 will be eligible for admission only if he/she gets the required minimum marks in the Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics or Biology subjects of 12th examination as per the eligibility criteria described already. All candidates who have appeared in BITSAT-2008 and are interested in admission will be required to submit Admission application with 12th marks and preferences to different degree programmes offered, on or before 30th June 2008, as detailed later in this brochure.
The merit position of such eligible candidates (i.e., those who have appeared in BITSAT-2008 and have submitted the application for admission in the prescribed form(s) with 12th marks, preferences and the required fees) will be prepared on the basis of their scores in BITSAT-2008. There will be two separate merit lists prepared for admission. One for all the programmes except the B.Pharm.(Hons.) and M.Sc.(Hons.) Biological Sciences, the other only for B.Pharm.(Hons.) and M.Sc.(Hons.) Biological Sciences. The cases of bracketing, if any, will be dealt with as described below.
When the score of two candidates are the same, first their scores obtained in Mathematics (if he/she has taken Mathematics in BITSAT) or Biology (if he/she has taken Biology in BITSAT) will be considered for separating them. If the scores obtained in Mathematics/Biology are equal, then their scores in Physics in BITSAT will be considered for separating them. If the scores obtained in Physics are also equal, then their scores in Chemistry in BITSAT will be considered for separating them. If still there is a tie, their PCM (if he/she has taken Mathematics in BITSAT) or PCB (if he/she has taken Biology in BITSAT) total marks in 12th examination will be considered for their separation."
http://www.bitsadmission.com/admn/brochures/BITSAT2008br.htm
Lastly the disclaimer part :). This list is based solely on my judgement and info from few of my friends who are studying in BITS currently and also few ex-Bitsians. The list does not reflect the course content quality or other issues. All these disciplines are taught by very good and experienced faculty in all the campuses. Students who have interest in specific streams like Civil, Chemical, Mechanical etc should give higher preference to those disciplines. I request you to discuss with your relatives, teachers and friends before filling up your preference order. Also go through the admission details and other important information on BITS website before submitting your preferences. Please do not rely solely on the college rankings given by various magazines as they can be very misleading. one last thing, BITS is on par with IITs and better than many NITs. So while deciding college and stream, give first preference to your interests/career/branch than which college to join. Feel free to shoot your queries :).
Updated news:
1. Check out this new video of BITS- Pilani:
http://video.google.com
2. For the students who wanted to know what is special of BITS and its culture, check
this link –
http://www.livemint.com/2008/06/12000116/India8217s-Best-Colleges.html
3. This attachement (.pdf file) gives the ranking for top 30 private engineering institutes. Please dont rely solely on rankings for college selection.
http://www.livemint.com/2008/06/12000116/76EAFEC3-3A7C-494C-A923-EFC04A6490B0ArtVPF.pdf
