Engineering is undoubtedly one of the most lucrative and sought-after careers in India. With a variety of engineering disciplines leading to hefty salary packages, every year thousands of students aspire to become engineers after completing their schooling. Most of the premier engineering institutes across the country offer a bunch of engineering degrees. Thus, leaving students in a dilemma of choosing the best institute. To get into the top engineering colleges in India, taking an entrance exam is a must.
There are more than 2000 engineering colleges in India. While some accept the national level JEE, the others conduct their own entrance or accept state level exam scores. With so many options, selecting the most suitable exam becomes tough. It is vital for students to choose the right examination and institutes to have a bright career ahead. Let’s take a look at the top engineering entrance exams in India, to help students make the best decision.
Engineering entrance exams are held every year at undergraduate and post graduate levels for programmes offered at IITs, NIT, IIITs & GFTI’s across the country. While exams like JEE Main, JEE Advanced, WBJEE, MHCET, SRMJEEE, VITEEE etc. are majorly conducted for undergraduate admissions, GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is a PG level exam conducted for admission to MTech programmes in India. With lakhs of candidates appearing for this exam every year, GATE is extremely popular amongst PG engineering candidates.
To appear for these exams, applicants must have completed their + 2 education from a recognised board in Science stream with Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics as compulsory subjects. However, in a few cases even English is considered compulsory and is also included in the exam syllabus.
Top Engineering Entrance Exams in India
- JEE Main: The exam evaluates the candidates aspiring to pursue BE/BTech courses offered at NITs, IIITs and CFTIs. JEE Main exam is also the eligibility test for JEE advanced which is the entrance exam to secure admissions in programmes offered by 23 IITs. JEE Main will be conducted by NAT (National Testing Agency) from 2019 onwards. Earlier, the exam was conducted by CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education).
- JEE Advanced; Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced is conducted by the seven zonal IITs with guidance from the Joint Admission Board (JAB). It is the next step for candidates seeking admission into the IITs/ISM across the country. Only the top 2,24,000 score holders in JEE Main exam are eligible to apply for JEE Advanced exam
- GATE: GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is a qualifying exam for admissions to post-graduate engineering programs (ME, MTech, PhD) in Indian institutes of higher education with financial assistance provided by MHRD and other Government agencies. GATE scores are also used by Public and Private Sector Undertakings for recruitment of trainee engineers
- MHCET; Maharashtra Common Entrance Test, popularly known as MHCET is conducted by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) Maharashtra for admission to first year Engineering and Technology programmes(BE/BTech) and Pharmacy programmes(BPharma/PharmaD) offered at colleges in the state.
- KCET; Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) conducts Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) to offer admission to engineering aspirants in BTech and other professional courses offered by various colleges in Karnataka
- WBJEE; West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) is conducted by West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board (WBJEEB) for admission to professional undergraduate and post graduate level courses offered in Engineering, Pharmacy and Architecture in Universities, Government Colleges as well as Self Financing Engineering & Technological Institutes in the State of West Bengal
- UPSEE; Uttar Pradesh State Entrance Examination (UPSEE) is conducted by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University. The exam is a gateway for candidates seeking admission to the undergraduate & postgraduate engineering and other professional courses offered at colleges in the state of Uttar Pradesh
- BITSAT; Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) conducts BITSAT (Birla Institute of Technology & Science Aptitude Test). The exam is a gateway for aspirants seeking admission into the undergraduate and post graduate engineering and pharmacy programmes offered at BITS
- VITEEE; Vellore Institute of Technology Engineering Entrance Exam (VITEEE) is conducted by Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University to offer admission to aspirants in BTech programmes available at its Vellore and Chennai campuses. Apart from exam centres in India, VITEEE is also held at two international test centres which are Dubai and Kuwait
- SRMJEEE; SRM Joint Engineering Entrance Examination (SRMJEEE) is conducted by SRM Institute of Science & Technology. The exam is a gateway for aspirants seeking admission in its BTech/MTech programmes
Top Engineering Entrance Exams Highlights
| JEE Main / UG | |||
| Institutes accepting scores | Candidates appearing each year | Mode | Admission Cycle |
| (National Institute of Technology) NITs, (Indian Institute of Information Technology) IIITs and (Government Funded Technological Institutes) GFTIs |
More than 10 lakh |
Online (Computer Based Test) |
JEE Main 2019 (January)
Application Submission – Sep 1 to 30, 2018 Exam Date – Jan 6 to 20, 2019 Result Date – Jan 31, 2019 JEE Main 2019 (April) Application Submission – Feb 08 to March 7, 2019 Exam Date – April 6 to 20, 2019 Result Date – April 30, 2019 |
| JEE Advanced / UG | |||
| Institutes accepting scores | Candidates appearing each year | Mode | Admission Cycle |
|
(Indian Institute of Technology)IITs |
Only 2.4 lakhs rank holders are eligible to appear for JEE Advanced |
Online (Computer Based Test) |
Application Submission – May, 2019
Exam Date – Last week of May, 2019 Result Date – June, 2019
|
| GATE / PG | |||
| Institutes accepting scores | Candidates appearing each year | Mode | Admission Cycle |
| Indian higher education institutes and Public sector units (PSUs) across the country. |
More than 8 lakh |
Online (Computer Based Test) |
Application Submission – Sep 01 to Oct 01, 2018
Exam Date – Feb 2 & 3, 2019 / Feb 09 to 10, 2019 Result Date – March 16, 2019 |
| MHCET / UG | |||
| Institutes accepting scores | Candidates appearing each year | Mode | Admission Cycle |
| College across the state of Maharashtra |
Approx. 4 lakh |
Offline (Pen and Paper) |
Application Submission – Jan 2019
Exam Date – May 2019 Result Date – June 2019 |
| KCET / UG | |||
| Institutes accepting scores | Candidates appearing each year | Mode | Admission Cycle |
|
College in Karnataka |
More than 1.5 lakh |
Offline (Pen and Paper) |
Application Submission – November 2018
Exam Date – April 2019 Result Date – June 2019 |
| WBJEE / UG | |||
| Institutes accepting scores | Candidates appearing each year | Mode | Admission Cycle |
|
College in West Bengal |
More than 1.27 lakh |
Offline(Pen and Paper) |
Application Submission – December 2018
Exam Date – April 2019 Result Date – June 2019 |
| UPSEE / UG & PG | |||
| Institutes accepting scores | Candidates appearing each year | Mode | Admission Cycle |
| 841 institutes of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University,
Ghaziabad – 93 colleges Gautam Budh Nagar – 75 colleges |
More than 1 lakh |
Online (Computer Based Test) & Offline (Pen and Paper) |
Application Submission – November 2018
Exam Date – April 2019 Result Date – June 2019 |
| BITSAT / UG & PG | |||
| Institutes accepting scores | Candidates appearing each year | Mode | Admission Cycle |
|
BITS Pilani, Goa & Hyderabad |
Approx. 3 lakhs |
Online
(Computer Based Test) |
Application Submission – December 2018
Exam Date – May 2019 Result Date – June 2019 |
| VITEEE / UG | |||
| Institutes accepting scores | Candidates appearing each year | Mode | Admission Cycle |
| Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University and its campuses |
More than 2 lakh |
Online (Computer Based Test) |
Application Submission – November 2018
Exam Date – April 2019 Result Date – June 2019 |
| SRMJEEE / UG & PG | |||
| Institutes accepting scores | Candidates appearing each year | Mode | Admission Cycle |
| SRM Institute of Science & Technology and its various campuses |
More than 1.5 lakh |
Online (Computer Based Test) |
Application Submission – November, 2018
Exam Date – April, 2019 Result Date – May, 2019 |
Author Bio
Saumya Srivastava is a professional blogger and content writer at Shiksha.com. She regularly contributes her ideas on top engineering exams like JEE Main, JEE Advanced, AIEE and popular medical courses, best IT colleges and many more. She specializes in streams like Engineering & Technology, Medicine & IT.