Looking for the top NITs and IIITs options at 96.4 percentile in JEE Main? If yes, then this article will help you in exploring the options. At this percentile, your rank will be in the range of 47,000 to 59,000, placing you among the above-average students, yet your percentile is not high enough for top institutes.
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This is exactly where you should analyse rank trends, college options, branch demand, and placement records to get yourself in the right direction. In this article, we will have a look at placement statistics, branch choices, NITs and IIITs options available for you despite not securing high percentile.
| Branch | Metric | IITs | NITs | IIITs | IITs/ NITs / IIITs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Institute Count | 12 | 9 | 2 | 23 | |
Placement % against Registered | 93.44% | 89.39% | 60.10% | 81.13% | |
Average CTC (₹ LPA) | 25.79 | 17.98 | 13.69 | 20.35 | |
Total Institute Count | 8 | 6 | 14 | ||
Placement % against Registered | 77.13% | 76.58% | 76.85 % | ||
Average CTC (₹ LPA) | 14.58 | 9.46 | 12.02 | ||
Total Institute Count | 13 | 3 | 16 | ||
Placement % against Registered | 84.59% | 87.41% | 87.39% | ||
Average CTC (₹ LPA) | 20.05 | 11.24 | 17.65 | ||
Total Institute Count | 12 | 8 | 20 | ||
Placement % against Registered | 84.09% | 82.58% | 83.33% | ||
Average CTC (₹ LPA) | 15.11 | 10.41 | 12.76 |
This table gives a detailed comparison of placement records and salary outcomes between Computer Science Engineering and Core Engineering branches such as chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering. From the above data, CSE clearly offers the highest salary packages among all the other core branches while placement rates are also usually lower in core branches.
The difference of placement percentages and salary levels are almost half in core engineering fields as compared to a CSE field. If we look at the data, it is advised that a student at this percentile should opt for CSE at NITs or IIITs.
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Branch | Metric | IITs | NITs | IIITs | IITs/ NITs / IIITs |
Total Institute Count | 10 | 8 | 18 | ||
Placement % against Registered | 72.56% | 72.69% | 72.64% | ||
Average CTC (₹ LPA) | 11.78 | 9.5 | 10.52 | ||
Total Institute Count | 3 | 9 | 1 | 13 | |
Placement % against Registered | 88.20% | 77.18% | 54.84% | 80.93% | |
Average CTC (₹ LPA) | 22.85 | 15.94 | 13.66 | 17.82 | |
Total Institute Count | 5 | 5 | |||
Placement % against Registered | 77.81% | 77.81% | |||
Average CTC (₹ LPA) | 12.03 | 12.03 | |||
Total Institute Count | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
Placement % against Registered | 77.01% | 76.88% | 77.94% | ||
Average CTC (₹ LPA) | 11.52 | 10.11 | 10.73 |
This table shows how other core branches perform in terms of placements and salaries across institutions. ECE is considered the top choice with a good mix of flexibility and salary. Other branches, like mining and civil engineering, have lower salary rates as compared to ECE. Choose from the other branches only if you have a specific interest; otherwise, ECE is the best choice in terms of salary and placement rates.
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Branch | Closing Rank | Institute |
B.Tech Civil Engg | 47160 | |
47577 | ||
48062 | ||
48513 | ||
49391 | ||
49922 | ||
52450 | ||
52976 | ||
53728 | Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology Shibpur | |
54268 | ||
54950 | ||
57319 | ||
B.Tech Mechanical Engg | 47505 | |
48977 | NIT Srinagar | |
49151 | NIT Sikkim | |
50560 | ||
52716 | ||
55295 | ||
56813 |
The NITs that are mentioned in the table above are available around 96.4 percentile. At the range between 47160 to 56813, students often enter into civil or mechanical engineering in various institutes of NITs instead of opting for the computer science engineering branch.
Branch | Closing Rank | Institute |
B.Tech Mechanical Engg | 47505 | NIT Meghalaya |
48977 | NIT Srinagar | |
49151 | NIT Sikkim | |
50560 | NIT Arunachal Pradesh | |
52716 | NIT Manipur | |
55295 | NIT Mizoram | |
56813 | NIT Nagaland | |
B.Tech Electrical Engg | 47047 | NIT Arunachal Pradesh |
50092 | NIT Manipur | |
51698 | NIT Mizoram |
At the rank range of 47505-51698, it is easy to get admission into the mechanical and electrical engineering branches at the NITs listed above. But when we compare the placement rates and average salary of mechanical engineering and electrical engineering to CSE, then it is relatively low.
Thus, the outcome is that you can easily get entry into core branches, but higher placement rates and good salaries are observed in CSE branches.
Branch | Closing Rank | College Name |
B.Tech and M.Tech Electronics and Communication Engineering Dual Degree | 47113 | |
B.Tech and M.Tech Mechanical Engineering Dual Degree | 54254 | IIIT Design and Manufacturing Kurnool |
B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering | 58080 | |
B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering with specialization in Quantum Technologies | 57736 | IIIT, Manipur |
50908 | ||
B.Tech Electronics and Communication Engineering | 47163 | |
47785 | ||
B.Tech Mechanical Engineering with Specialization in Design and Manufacturing | 52520 | IIIT Design and Manufacturing Kurnool |
53156 | IIIT, Bhagalpur | |
B.Tech Smart Manufacturing | 51448 | IIIT Design and Manufacturing Kancheepuram |
52669 |
At the rank segment of 47113-52669, IIITs offer various dual degree courses. The highest closing rank to get admission in B.Tech and M.Tech ECE Dual Degree is 47113. At this closing rank, you can opt for IIIT Design and Manufacturing Kurnool.
With a rank of 53156, B.Tech in Mechatronics and Automation Engineering is available at IIIT Bhagalpur. So you can choose from the multiple IIITs even without getting high ranks.
Branch | Closing Rank | Institute |
47706 | Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management, Ahmedabad | |
56268 | National Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Ranchi | |
B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering | 49330 | |
51218 | National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology, Aurangabad | |
55464 | ||
56480 | ||
57517 | ||
57546 | ||
58926 | ||
49977 | ||
50647 | National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology, Ropar | |
B.Tech AI & ML | 54588 | Birla Institute of Technology, Patna |
B.Tech Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 46244 | International Institute of Information Technology, Bhubaneswar |
58937 | Puducherry Technological University, Puducherry |
GFTIs offer diverse course options at the rank segment of 47706 to 58937. You can choose from a wide range of courses in engineering & technology. At this rank band, students can opt for interdisciplinary courses or CSE programs available at the above-listed institutes.
At 96.4 percentile, aspirants still can have plenty of opportunities to choose from. While students can easily get core branches in a few NITs but courses related to CSE in IIITs or GFTIs relatively offer better placement and salary opportunities.
On Question asked by student community
Dear Student,
The category rank with an 81 percentile depends on your specific category. You can check your category rank here:
You can get the following colleges:
You can check the complete list from here - https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/list-of-engineering-colleges-accepting-98-percentile-in-jee-main
Dear Student,
With 56 marks in JEE Mains 2026 April 5, the chances of result in a lower percentile than 80. But with normalisation you can expect a good percentile if your specific shift was very hard.
For your reference, check: JEE Mains 2026 April 5 Marks vs Percentile: Shift-Wise
Dear Student,
Normalization can boost your score and percentile if your specific shift was very hard.
You can check your percentile and rank here: JEE Mains 2026 April 5 Marks vs Percentile: Shift-Wise Expected Score Analysis
Dear Student,
88.3 percentile can help you get into NITs and other colleges but it also depends on your specific category. You can check cutoff and college list based on your JEE Main 2026 percentile here: JEE Main 2026 Colleges vs Percentile
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