JoSAA Counselling: Eligibility, Registration, Procedure

If you're exploring higher education opportunities in India, familiarizing yourself with the JoSAA is crucial. JoSAA spearheads the centralized seat allocation process for premier institutes like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs). In the following article, you'll learn how JoSAA operates to simplify your college admission process and help you make an informed decision. Read on to learn more about JoSAA counselling from document upload to availability of seats for the academic year 2024-2025. 

What is JoSAA counselling?

The Ministry of Education (formerly the Ministry of Human Resources Development) created the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) to oversee and control joint seat allocation for engineering admissions for over 100 institutions, including IITs, IIITs, NITs, and other-government funded technical institutes (Other-GFTIs). A single portal handles admission for all such institutes, introducing a unified counselling platform that reduces the number of empty seats in engineering universities nationwide. The joint seat allocation process was efficiently implemented to accelerate the admissions process and make it more transparent.

Upon successfully clearing JEE (Main) or JEE (Advanced), you must register for JoSAA counselling to participate in the admission process for various eminent engineering institutions in India. JoSAA supervises admissions to 40 Other-GFTIs, 31 NITs, 26 IIITs, 23 IITs, and IIEST Shibpur [1]. 

The JoSAA counseling for 2024 has been structured into five rounds, with seat allotment results scheduled on the following dates [2]:

• Round 1: June 20 

• Round 2: June 27

• Round 3: July 4

• Round 4: July 10

• Round 5: July 17

Your selection for seats through JoSAA depends on your qualifications and your preferences for colleges and courses.

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JoSAA counselling: Eligibility criteria

You can participate in JoSAA counselling if you have one or more of the below qualifications. In addition, you must have also passed the “Performance in Class 12 or equivalent examination” to be JoSAA eligible. 

• JEE (Advanced) for academic programmes (not including the preparatory courses) at IITs 

• JEE (Advanced) for preparatory courses at IITs

• Rank in JEE (Main) last year, BE/BTech paper for BE/BTech programmes at IIITs, IIEST, NITs, and Other-GFTIs

• Rank in JEE (Main) BArch paper for BArch programmes at IIITs, IIEST, NITs, and Other-GFTIs

• Rank in JEE (Main) BPlan paper for the BPlan programme at IIITs, IIEST, NITs, and Other-GFTIs

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What are the documents needed for JoSAA counselling?

The official JoSAA website publishes required documentation for JoSAA counselling each year. Make sure you report to the official centres on the designated date and time, carrying all the required documentation for the registration process with you. For the 2024-2025 academic year, gather the following documents to enrol in counselling [3]:

Documents required for NIT+ System

The NIT+ System represents seats from 31 NITs, 26 IIITs, 33 Other-GFTIs, and IIEST Shibpur. The following documents are necessary for registration or online reporting for admission to the NIT+ System:

• Class X mark sheet/certificate, Aadhaar card, or Birth Certificate as proof of date of birth

• Class XII mark sheet and certificate (qualifying examination)

• JEE (Main) 2024 Admit Card

• Category certificate (SC/ST/OBC-NCL/GEN-EWS) as per Government of India format, if applicable, as listed on JoSAA website

• Original certificate for Persons with Disability (PwD), if warranted, as per the format listed on JoSAA website

• Original certificate for individuals with less than 40 percent disability and difficulty in writing, if warranted, in the format issued by JEE Main

• A copy of Crossed Bank Cheque or an image of Passbook with bank account details

• Medical certificate in specified format listed on JoSAA website

• Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) certificate or Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card, if applicable

• Passport or citizenship certificate, if applicable

Documents required for IITs

You must have the following documents for registration or online reporting for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs):  

• Class X Mark sheet/certificate, Aadhaar card, or Birth Certificate as proof of date of birth

• Class XII Mark Sheet (qualifying examination)

• Category certificate (SC/ST/OBC-NCL/GEN-EWS), if applicable, as per formats in JEE (Advanced) Information Brochure or Government of India guidelines listed on JoSAA website

• Original certificate for Persons with Disabilities (PwD), if warranted, in a format listed on JEE (Advanced) Information Brochure

• Certificate for individuals with less than 40 percent disability and difficulty in writing, if applicable, as per JEE (Advanced) Information Brochure

• A copy of Crossed Bank Cheque or an image of Passbook with bank account details

• Medical certificate as per specified format in JEE (Advanced) Information Brochure and JoSAA website

• Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) certificate or Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card, if applicable

• Passport or citizenship certificate, if applicable

JoSAA registration and counselling process

As you register for JOSAA, it is important to know all the steps. Below are step-by-step instructions for the JoSAA counselling procedure.

Step 1: Online registration

• Open the JoSAA website and select “JoSAA Candidate Registration and Choice Filling”.

• Next, log in by filling in the JEE (Main) or JEE (Advanced) application number and password. 

• Verify that all the personal information displayed on your profile is accurate. You can only change the contact information if necessary. 

Step 2: Choice filling

You will select your preferred specialisation and colleges from the list of colleges and courses after registering.

• Explore your options according to the qualification.

• Fill in enough choices to increase your chances of earning a seat. 

Step 3: Locking the choices

• After you have filled in your choices, you need to lock the seats by making the appropriate selection.

• If you wish to change the choices later, you can do so within a 10-day period. Choices will lock automatically once the deadline for choice filling has been reached. You cannot edit your choices after the deadline.

• Finally, print a copy of the page for future use. 

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Mock allotments in JoSAA counselling 

In JoSAA counselling, a mock allocation of seats takes place before the final seat allocation. This initial step simulates the actual seat allocation process, enabling you to see a preliminary outcome based on your rank and preferences. The mock allotments help you assess your chances of securing admission to your preferred colleges. As the mocks conclude, you may, if needed, make changes to your college and course selections.

Seat allotment during JoSAA counselling 

Announcement of the final JoSAA seat allotment occurs over five rounds after the release of two mock allocations. The assignment of the seat is based on the results of the qualifying exam (JEE [Main] or JEE [Advanced]) and the choices made during registration. You can verify your seat allotment status on josaa.nic.in under “Activity Board” using your application number and password.

You must download the provisional allotment letter and deposit the fee for seat acceptance. Then, you will visit the reporting centre (RC) for verification of the document.

What rank do you need to secure a seat in NIT?

Previous years’ opening and closing ranks for NIT can offer you a glimpse into what rank range is competitive for admission in 2024. The information below lists the opening and closing ranks for NIT academic programmes for Round 1 of the academic year 2023 [4]. 

• Information technology (4 years, Bachelor of Technology): 8 and 134229

• Architecture (5 years, Bachelor of Architecture): 3 and 18405

• Mathematics (5 years, Integrated Master of Science): 814 and 54069

• Mechanical engineering with specialization in manufacturing and industrial engineering (5 years, Bachelor and Master of Technology - Dual Degree): 2558 and 55443

How to accept or decline an allotted seat

When accepting your seat online, you must choose from three options: Freeze, Float, or Slide. However, if you are assigned a seat as per your first choice, you will only have the Freeze option available. You can either accept and Freeze the offered seat or reject it. The following points summarize all three options:

• Freeze: If you choose to freeze, you accept the seat you've been given and will not participate in any other rounds.

• Float: If you want to accept the provided seat but are simultaneously looking for a place in a better/higher-ranked college or course, you can float.

• Slide: You accept the seat allotted, but if seats become available in a better programme at the same institute, you will apply for an upgrade.

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As of 2024, Slide and Float options are not applicable during the last round of JoSAA counselling [3]. You must report to the allotted college to confirm your admission by paying any outstanding academic fees.

Next steps

JoSAA counselling is a centralized platform for admissions to IITs, NITs, and other premier engineering institutes in India. It uses candidate ranks and preferences to allocate seats across six rounds. To participate, candidates who qualify in JEE Main or Advanced need to register on the JoSAA website and fill in their choices of colleges and courses.

In JoSAA counselling, there isn’t a special technique to get into the desired college, except that you strive to attain a good rank. However, on Coursera, you can discover courses that can help you prepare for your education journey, like Deep Teaching Solution’s Learning How to Learn: Powerful Mental Tools to Help You Master Tough Subjects course. Consider enrolling today.

Frequently asked questions