Major Mistakes To avoid in JoSAA Counselling 2026

Avoid these Major Mistakes During Counselling of JoSAA 2026

Mistake: Not filling the choices in order of priority, starting with the first preferred choice at the top.

How to avoid: During the choice-filling process, students have to add combinations (course and institute) as per their preferences or choices. However, many students add choice-filling options in an unplanned way. This is one of the mistakes that students may make at the time of JoSAA counselling 2026. The correct way is to add the choice or combination lists on top. The priority list will be defaulted to and considered as the first choice of the candidate, even though the candidate meant something else. And once a candidate is offered a seat that is the candidate’s first choice, it cannot be changed. So, the candidate has no option but to accept the seat or reject it.

To avoid such a perplexing situation, it is always advisable to first make a list of combinations in descending order of priority on a sheet of paper or a Word file. Try as many combinations as you can, and cross-check whether the order is right.

Mistake: Not understanding the meaning of Float, Freeze, and Slide

How to avoid: When the seat allotment process starts, the candidates must read all the notifications and news released on the official website. When a seat is offered, the candidate is asked to choose between these three options: Float, Freeze, and Slide. Now, being unsure about which of these terms, candidates found themselves in an uncomfortable position. Yes, some of us may wriggle out of the situation by enquiring what they mean, but the problem is when you have so much going inside your head and at such a crucial juncture, a blunder is only a hair’s breadth away.

So, to be on the safe side, finding out what the terms mean is recommended.

Float, Freeze, and Slide Options Explained

Freeze: When a seat is offered, candidates have the option to no longer be considered for any further rounds. The seat will be locked in your name. Candidates can opt for this option if they are confident enough with the allotted seat. Otherwise, the candidates can opt for any of the following two options.

Slide: By opting for this option, candidates can accept the seat while leaving the option open for upgradation to an academic program of higher preference, within the same institute.

Float: This option allows you to accept the seat, but leave the option of upgrading open. One basic difference between slide and float is the float option gives you the scope of upgrading to a higher preferred academic program in any institute.

Mistake: Filling choices that the candidate has no interest in.

How to avoid: Choice filling is probably the most critical factor of JoSAA counselling. Many candidates fill in only one or two one or two options correctly and then do not take care of the next couple of choices. But this is not the correct way of doing this, a candidate must list out all his/her favourite branches and institutes, and fill in those choices in the order of priority. Filling out the choices preferences-wise will get the chances higher to get your favourite seat. There are more than a dozen engineering disciplines on offer, so if you put your head together and devote enough time, you should be able to come up with a couple of disciplines that will interest you.

Also, JEE Advanced qualified candidates must consider the academic program + IIT combination. JEE Main candidates, meanwhile, will have to decide on the NITs, GFTIs, and IIITs where to pursue the program.

Mistake: Filling in only a handful of choices

How to avoid: To get your favorite seat, candidates are advised to fill at least some 50-odd combinations, unless the candidate is ranked within the top hundred, or maybe in the top 200. Even in the case of a top-ranked candidate, it is advisable not to take chances and fill in as many options as possible. It is because, while a candidate may be ranked in the top 100, we have to account for reserved category seats as well.

Consider this: A candidate, ranked AIR 100 in JEE Advanced, applies to Electrical Engineering at IIT Bombay. Now, IIT Bombay has only some 60 odd Electrical Engineering seats. So, for the candidate to get admission based on his current ranking, several things will have to fall into place. Like many inside the top 100 must choose to study Electrical Engineering in some other institute. Ditto for reserved category candidates; a few of them may also need to opt elsewhere to make space for this candidate. But it is not prudent to rely on so many ifs and buts when things can so easily go wrong. The best solution then is to fill in as many choices as one can.

Mistake: Not taking clues from the cutoff trends of previous years.

How to avoid: Analysing the previous year's cutoff of JEE Advanced will give candidates insights into the counselling process. Using the analysis of previous year cutoff trends, candidates will be able to compare the category-wise opening and closing ranks for various engineering branches and institutes. However, the cutoff changes every year, and there is a pattern of change in these cutoff trends. Understanding this pattern will be helpful for candidates. For example, IIT Bombay is among the top favourites among students, so even if the cutoffs diverge, it won’t be by much. Secondly, the cutoff list will help the candidate identify the institutes he/she is likely to get admission. This information would be very handy when filling in the choices.

On the other hand, candidates who don’t check the cutoffs are making decisions randomly based on intuition, which might work sometimes but is most likely to misfire.

Mistake: Forgetting to lock choices.

How to avoid: It is a common mistake, but it does happen and can sometimes cause severe agony. In JoSAA counselling, if a candidate doesn’t lock the filled choices, the system will automatically lock the last saved choices. If the candidate has saved the choices in the correct order, there is little to worry about, but if, by chance, the candidate was expecting to come back and make modifications later on, it can’t be done once the system locks the saved choices. So, allotment will be as per the last saved choices, which may not reflect the actual preference of the candidate.

Mistake: Reporting at the wrong institute during Dual Reporting

How to avoid: If a candidate, has chosen the float option, is offered a seat in an NIT in one round, and later upgrades to an IIT in a subsequent round, the candidate has to report again for document verification, but at a reporting centre (RC) for IITs, and not an RC for NITs.

Reporting at the wrong institute will cost the candidate both the seats – the one initially accepted by the candidate and the one offered in a subsequent round.

JoSAA Choice Filling Tips

While filling out the choices, candidates must prioritize academic programs. There is no charge for filling out the JoSAA choice, so candidates must add more programs. After adding the programs, it is important to lock the JoSAA choices before the deadline, otherwise the last saved choices will be automatically saved.

How many choices should be filled in JoSAA?

Students have the opportunity to fill out the JoSAA choices. Before filling in the choices, candidates must check the JoSAA seat matrix and the cutoff trends. While making the preference of courses, candidates must add as many colleges as possible. But all the choices must be in priority order. Finally, lock the JoSAA choices before the deadlines.

By reading all the common mistakes mentioned above and following all the important instructions, candidates can avoid unexpected situations and get their favorite seat in JoSAA counselling 2026. Knowing all the important points can increase their chances of securing the desired admission. Don’t forget to remember all the above points and stay confident and positive during JoSAA counselling 2026. All the best!