Major Mistakes To avoid in JoSAA Counselling 2025

Major Mistakes To avoid in JoSAA Counselling 2025

Edited By Vikash Kumar Vishwakarma | Updated on Apr 24, 2025 04:10 PM IST | #JEE Advanced
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JoSAA counselling is conducted for admission to top IITs, NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs in India. Only those candidates who qualified the JEE Main and JEE Advanced exams can participate in the JoSAA counselling process by filling out the registration. Both of these exams are of great importance and come with a lot of hard work, and even a single silly mistake while appearing in the JoSAA counselling process can be heartbreaking. Each year, several students miss out on the seats of JoSAA participating institutes due to a lack of knowledge about the JoSAA admission process. To avoid this, candidates can start by knowing the complete schedule of JoSAA 2025 counselling. The authority will announce the JoSAA counselling dates on the official website. Candidates need to complete the JoSAA counselling registration and choice filling as per the schedule. Candidates will be allotted seats based on the availability of seats, rank, and filled choices.

Major Mistakes To avoid in JoSAA Counselling 2025
Major Mistakes To avoid in JoSAA Counselling 2025

There are many situations where the seats are left vacant. Even if a candidate is upgrading from an NIT to an IIT, he/she need to report to a Reporting Centre (RC). If the candidate fails to report at the assigned RC, he/she will lose the seat. Due to some of these mistakes, a candidate fails to get admitted to top IITs. Qualifying for the JEE Advanced or JEE Main, and failing to participate in JoSAA counselling, will lead to great disappointment amongst the candidates. Careers360 is here to help students avoid these mistakes during JoSAA 2025 counselling. Here we have listed some common mistakes made by students during JoSAA counselling and how you can avoid them.

Avoid these Major Mistakes During Counselling of JoSAA 2025

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 2025. The correct way is to add the choice or combination lists on top. The priority list will be defaulted 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.

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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 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 as many options as they can. 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 in 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 some 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 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

Candidates can fill the JoSAA choices after the completion of the registration process. 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,e otherwise the last saved choices will be automatically saved.

How many choices should in fill 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 2025. 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 2025. All the best!

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Questions related to JEE Advanced

Have a question related to JEE Advanced ?

To appear for JEE Advanced , candidates must meet certain eligibility criteria regarding their 12th board exam . Specifically, the criteria for the number of attempts in JEE Advanced are based on the year of passing the 12th exam .

Here’s the relevant information:

Number of Attempts for JEE Advanced:

  1. First Attempt :

    • A candidate must have passed their 12th exam (or equivalent) in the year of appearing for JEE Advanced or the previous year.

    • For example, if you are appearing for JEE Advanced 2025 , you must have cleared your 12th exam in 2024 or 2025 .

  2. Maximum Attempts :

    • A candidate can appear for JEE Advanced a maximum of 2 times in consecutive years.

    • This means if you have already appeared for JEE Advanced in the previous year , you can attempt it once more the following year.

Example:

  • If you clear your 12th exam in 2025 , you will be eligible to appear for JEE Advanced 2025 and JEE Advanced 2026 (if you meet other eligibility criteria).

  • If you miss JEE Advanced 2025 , you can still appear in 2026 as long as it’s within your 2-year window after passing the 12th exam.

Important Points:

  • Your 12th board exam marks (Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics) will be considered for determining eligibility and ranking in JEE Main .

  • JEE Advanced eligibility depends on your JEE Main rank and meeting the cutoffs as well as other criteria like age, nationality, and more.

To secure a seat in an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) through JEE Advanced, you need to fulfill a set of conditions that cover your performance in JEE Main, your academic background, and other criteria. Here's a breakdown of the key conditions:

First and foremost, you must qualify in JEE Main and be among the top 250,000 candidates (including all categories) who clear Paper 1 of JEE Main. This is the primary filter to be eligible to appear for JEE Advanced.

Secondly, there are criteria related to your Class 12 (or equivalent) examination . You must have passed this examination with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as compulsory subjects. Additionally, you need to either secure at least 75% aggregate marks in the qualifying examination (65% for SC, ST, and PwD candidates) or be within the top 20 percentile of successful candidates in your respective Class 12 board examination.

Regarding the number of attempts , a candidate can appear for JEE Advanced a maximum of two times in two consecutive years. For JEE Advanced 2025, candidates must have appeared for their Class 12 (or equivalent) examination for the first time in either 2024 or 2025. Those who appeared for the first time in 2023 or earlier are generally not eligible.


There is also an age limit . Candidates should have been born on or after October 1, 2000. However, there is a five-year age relaxation for SC, ST, and PwD candidates, meaning they should have been born on or after October 1, 1995.

Finally, candidates who have already been admitted to an IIT under any academic program in previous years (through JoSAA) are generally not eligible to appear for JEE Advanced again. However, there are some exceptions for those who were admitted to a preparatory course or whose admission was cancelled before the final round of seat allotment.

In simple terms, to get into an IIT through JEE Advanced, you need to perform well enough in JEE Main to be eligible, pass your Class 12 with good marks (or be a top performer in your board), be within the allowed number of attempts and age limit, and not have already taken admission in an IIT previously. Make sure to check the official JEE Advanced website for the most up-to-date and detailed eligibility criteria.

You cannot change your category from OBC (State) to General EWS during JoSAA counseling if your category is not listed in the central OBC list. Your category will be considered based on the documents provided during the JEE Advanced application process.

Since you’ve qualified JEE Mains Paper 2 but not Paper 1, you cannot apply for JEE Advanced directly, as the eligibility for JEE Advanced requires candidates to have qualified JEE Mains Paper 1 .

Important Points:

  1. Eligibility for JEE Advanced : You must qualify Paper 1 of JEE Mains, which is the entrance exam for JEE Advanced . Paper 2 is for B.Arch aspirants and does not affect eligibility for JEE Advanced.

  2. Which Score is Counted : For JEE Advanced , only the Paper 1 score is considered, and it’s used to determine your eligibility for the exam.

What to Do Next:

  • You may be able to apply for other B.Arch colleges based on your Paper 2 result, but for JEE Advanced, you would need to clear Paper 1 in a future attempt.

Cleared only Paper 2 in JEE mains



Hi Adhya! Congratulations on clearing JEE Advanced !

Based on your JEE Advanced scores:

  • CRL Rank : 304880

  • OBC-NCL Rank : 107412

Admission Possibilities in NITs and IIITs :

With your OBC-NCL rank of 107412 , here’s what you can expect:

  • Top NITs (like NIT Trichy, Warangal, Surathkal, etc.) and IIITs (like IIIT Hyderabad) will likely be out of reach for branches like CSE , as they typically require a much lower rank.

  • However, for lower-ranked NITs and IIITs , you may have a chance for branches like:

Information Technology (IT)

Software Engineering

Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE)

Some NITs that might still offer you a seat in IT or related branches are:

  • NIT Durgapur

  • NIT Goa

  • NIT Sikkim

  • NIT Mizoram

  • NIT Nagaland

  • NIT Puducherry

IIITs :

For IIITs , the competition is high for CSE , but you may still have a chance in newer IIITs like:

  • IIIT Kota

  • IIIT Bhagalpur

  • IIIT Nagpur

  • IIIT Kalyani

Other Good Options:

If you are interested in CSE or related branches , here are a few private universities that offer strong computer science programs:

  • VIT Vellore

  • SRM Institute of Science and Technology

  • Shiv Nadar University

  • Amrita University

  • Manipal University

These institutions offer CSE , Software Engineering , and related branches and have a high reputation, with good campus placements.

Summary:

  • Top NITs and IIITs : Unlikely for CSE with your rank, but branches like IT, Software Engineering, and ECE may be possible in lower-ranked institutions.

  • Private Universities : You have a strong chance in institutions like VIT , SRM , Shiv Nadar , and Amrita .


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