DASA/NRI Engg admissions- Discussion

Update: 2 July 2011

The minimum SAT2 score requirement of 1800 could be relaxed to 1440 during spot admission. Those applicants who have taken admissions in private colleges due to minm SAT2 score requirement have a big opportunity to get admissions to NITs as NIT brand is highly recognised in India and abroad.

Update: 1 July 2011

DASA-2011 1st Merit List has been declared today. Hearty Congratulations to all those who got their preferred branch and the college :).

Please find below the list

DASA-2011-1ST-Merit-List

Following is the actual SAT2 Cut-off for various branches and colleges

DASA-Cut-off-College-Branch-actual

The key highlights of DASA scheme merit list year are

1) Mechanical branch was the most popular branch going by the cut-offs, followed by ECE and CSE. Out of top 100 applicants, 33 opted for Mechanical, 21 for ECE and 25 for Computers.

2) NITK was the most popular college. Following is the number of DASA scheme toppers selecting this institute:8 out of 10, 15 out of 20, 34 out of 50 and 58 out of first 100 toppers selecting NITK.

3) NITK (58 out of top 100) was followed up by NIT-Trichy (18 toppers out of 100), NIT-W (8 out of 100) and PEC & NIT-C getting 7� toppers each out of 100 toppers. We have been consistent in giving this ranking� on this blog. Last year (2010), the break of college-wise preference of top 100 applicants was as following: NITK (37), NIT-T: 23, NIT-W:14, NIT-C: 10 and PEC:9.

Leaving aside cut-off scores, following is the break-up of applicants for DASA2011: NITK: 90 applicants, NIT-T:75, NIT-C: 65, NITW:62, PEC: 40, MNNIT-Allahabad: 31, SVNIT-Surat:23, MNIT-Jaipur: 20, VNIT-Nagpur: 15 applicants.

4) Due to steep fee hike in DASA scheme, less applicants have selected DASA scheme this year, many opting for other govt/private colleges. This is evident by number of students opting for DASA scheme has come down by about 15% in the category of those getting more than 1800 SAT2 score as compared to last year.

My apologies to all those parents/students whose querries I could not respond in last week due to minor injury I had on my wrist.

Update: 27 May 2011

Following is a new blog post on ranking of Indian engineering intitutes.� These rankings take care of various parameters (students, faculty, infra, placement etc).

List of Indian Engineering College Ranking

Update: 31 Dec 10

As promised, we are publishing expected SAT2 score cut-off for DASA scheme 2011 admissions.� Obviously, these are only indicative SAT2 PCM cut-off figures and would depend on the relative performance and yet-to-be-decided preference by the individuals .� However, they could provide some clues on the available choices with the given scores.

DASA-SAT2-Cut-off-College-Branch

We wish a very happy new year 2011 to all of our blog readers

Update:�17 Dec 2010

The NRI/Foreign Nationals desirous of getting admissions to Indian central engineering colleges (i.e NITs) under DASA scheme for the session 2011-12 should visit following official site periodically to keep track of any new information on the scheme
http://www.dasanit.org/
DASA scheme 2011:
DASA Scheme 2011 Guidelines/Procedure

The list of participating institutes and available seats in each institute is available� at the following link
DASA Scheme 2011- Participating NITs/Institutes and Seat Matrix

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on DASA scheme and SAT 2 subject tests is given at below link
DASA-scheme-FAQ-SAT2-NIT-NRI


Update: 23 Nov 2010

I have been receiving quite a few queries on how to improve the SAT2 scores (some candidates have taken 1st SAT 2 attempt in Oct/Nov and are not quite satisfied with their efforts). The general thread of the queries is that the candidates are getting about 700 scores (out of 800) in the subject and how to improve the score by about 50 points in each subject so that the total SAT 2 score can reach to around 2250 from 2100. In fact, this jump in scores can dramatically improve the college/branch one can get.

Before I start with any other advice on the subject- I would say there is no short cut or substitute to hard work and well rounded preparation. Having said that, there is always scope for smart strategies that are used by corporates to focus on the big picture. So following should help students as well:

1)����� Follow Rule of 80:20 (Parato Principle): The Pareto principle, the law of the vital few states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Therefore, 20% people/countries own 80% of world’s wealth (think of G20 countries having 84% of world GDP). 20% of components in a car are responsible for 80% of cars stuck on the road (ever wondered they are the same culprits: battery, empty tank, tyre, spark plug and radiator water), 20% students of any school/college are responsible for 80% of the problems 🙂 .

To cut the long story short, 20% of the weak areas on the given subject are responsible for 80% of the incorrect answers- so find out those 20% problematic areas and you can eliminate 80% of errors. These 20% weak areas could be related to subject theory, silly calculation mistakes, not reading the question correctly and� what is being asked etc-etc. I have learnt the hard way during my certification days (Sun Java, PMP, Value Engg and others) that most mistakes for me were not related to lack of technical knowledge but related to not understanding the question itself-as to what is actually being asked in the question. So grab some sets of SAT 2 Mock Tests, solve one set of mock tests-identify your weak areas (many SAT 2 books/mock tests are available in the market and online). First, list down the weak areas and improve those areas before attempting any more mock tests. Then grab another set of SAT 2 �mock tests, and apply new understanding and learning. Just follow the iteration a couple of times and believe me you can improve your scores dramatically by studying smartly, efficiently and in shortest possible time (by just concentrating on 20% weak area)

2)����� Just follow my another article on How to Solve MCQ Questions (the article has been published in many magazines.) Since SAT 2 is a multiple choice exam, below link should also help greatly

http://nrispeaks.wordpress.com/2010/01/27/multiple-choice-question-mcq-exams-how-to-crack-them/


Update:�16 Oct 2010

I have received an email from the concerned authority in NIT-K noting that advance info on DASA 2011-12 has been posted at

http://www.dasanit.org/

Candidates interested in seeking admission in undergraduate engineering programmes in India are requested to take note of important details. Compared to DASA 2010-11, there are several changes in terms of eligibility requirements, fee structure, participating institutions, process etc.

The key changes being 1) Minimum SAT2 score of 1800 2) NIT-K having obtained a code number from Collegeboard for automatic SAT 2 score submissions, 3) Fee is proposed to be increased to $7000 (from $4000 earlier), subject to approval from ministry.

Update: 12 July 2010

Finally, DASA merit list has been published. We wish all the best to the blog visitors and wish them a great career. Live and enjoy each day of your college life but�don’t ignore your studies. DASA candidates need to put that extra effort to sail thru the studies as compared to AIEEE candidates.

We are in the process of collecting some useful ebooks and question bank for 1st semester�candidates to help them keep track of their studies and not lose sight of it.�We would provide the link of the study material within one week to all blog readers as complimenray gift for visiting this board and helping each other. There is no need to provide your SAT2 scores as same has been noted in the merit list.

Original Post: May 20, 2010

Welcome to the Forum Discussion created specially to discuss admissions to engg colleges thru DASA scheme.

Please refer to below existing threads and documents on this blog that has some very useful info on the subject. Please go through the blog postings as well as the various existing query on the subject since there are chances that the query may already have been replied or information already available on the resources below.

To prevent spam and future attempts on hijacking the blogs, all new comments posted here would go to the moderator first and will not appear instantly on the blog. Only the relevant queries of general interest would be included for the discussion.

DASA Scheme 2010-11 thru NITK-Surathkal
DASA Scheme/NRI Quota
SAT II Subject Tests: Everything About It
Choosing Between Electronics and Computers Branches

1) College Preference by NRIs

Question: Should I choose �Engg Branch vs. Top College

Answer: Select the best college for your rank- but don�t compromise on your branch. The best way is to first choose your preferred branch in top 30-40 colleges. If the rank is not good, try to get your second best branch selection in top 30-40 colleges. Try not to do engg from a college not in top 50 engg colleges of India. Preferably, select a college not by it�s location/metro but the overall rank of the college.

Following is a list of NITs most preffered by NRIs (in descending order of competition) during 2009. Please note that this list is skewed heavily towards south India NITs (for e.g .NIT-Calicut is preferred over NIT Warangal�because of regional background of applicants)

1) NIT Surathkal
2) NIT Trichy
3) NIT Calicut
4) NIT Warangal
5) PEC Chandigarh
6) MNNIT Allahabad
Following NITs also see some demand from NRIs�(but not�similar heavy demand as for above listed colleges-�it doesn�t mean they are inferior in any respect)

7) MNIT-Jaipur/IIIT- Allah/NIT-Kuru/ NIT-Bhopal/NIT-Nagpur/NIT-Rourkela

Additionally, following are the ranking of Indian Engg Institutes

India Today Ranking of Top 25 Engg Institutes
Ranking of Top 100 Engg Colleges

Private Colleges

1) PSG College of Technology Coimbatore
2) Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi
3) Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology Patiala
4) Vellore Institute of Technology Vellore
5) RV College of Engineering Bangalore
6) Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Infocom Technology Ghadhinagar
7) Manipal Institute of Technology Manipal

2) Branch Preference

Question: What branch is best?
Answer:
Normally people choose branches based o�n their ‘scope’ (i.e. career potential�) rather than their interests. However, there is there is no o�ne in this world who can predict which branch will be best employable four years down the lane. There is simply no way you can predict that. So what is the solution? Go by your gut feeling. There is nothing called a good branch and nothing called a bad branch. A good guy in a bad branch is much more employable than a bad guy in a (so called) good branch. If you have the love towards a subject, then go for it. If you don�t know your interests, one can follow the rat race by following in the footsteps of last years branch preferences by successful candidates. In the end, o�ne can achieve anything in spite/irrespective of his educational background
(Please refer below link to understand how AIEEE candidates selected their colleges and branches. The College selection by NRIs have been slightly different from AIEEE candidates as listed above but branch selection by NRIs has been in tune with AIEEE candidates.)

http://aieee.nic.in/ccb2009/ORCR09/Engineering/Eng/orcr.htm)

1) Electronics
2) Computers
3) Electrical and Electronics
4) Mechanical
5) Information Technology
6) Instrument and Control
7) Chemical
8) Civil
9) Production
10) Metallurgy
11) Biotech

3) Pay Packages for branches

Refer below link to get an idea of branch-wise salary package in NIT-Warangal

http://www.myengg.com/engg/placements/2009/nit-warangal-placements.php

However, if someone plans to lookout for jobs in US, following link provides the highest starting salaries based on the degrees. Without doubt 8 of 10 top degrees are Engg and Chemical is high flying branch (though aerospace is listed top branch, but I understand there are some restrictions for non-US citizens for the branch. Similarly, Petroleum Engg, was considered best branch with a starting salary of $85K in a separate survey)

http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp
http://www.icis.com/blogs/recruitment-campaign/2010/03/engineering-degrees-top-starting-salary-survey.php

4) How to become a successful engineer

Finally, for all those who are about to start their journey to become a successful engineer, please do go through below excellent presentation

How To Be A Successful Engineer

Feel free to post any advices you wish to give to prospective students, or to post your questions here if you are still in doubt. [Kindly Do not ask questions like �is branch/college ABC is better than A1B1C1?)

Regarding SAT II scores for DASA admissions, there is no precedence for admissions to NITs with SAT II scores and therefore, it would not be easy to know where one stands in the crowd. Boarders can certainly share their SAT II scores (alongwith CBSE XII PCM %) to gauge water. By the way, one can submit the best subject scores from 2 dates if giving exams on both 1 May and 5 June (eg. submit physics and Maths scores from 1 May and chemistry from 5 June , if those scores are best).

Many parents have sent their SAT II scores to me asking if they are good enough. Since there is no such precedence of the co-relation between the marks and NIT/branch, it is really difficult for me to answer. However, I can make out that May 1, 2010 SAT test has been pretty tough and scores are not in high 2300 (I have heard from inner circles of SAT training centres that May SAT 2 tests are normally tough). If people really would like to know where they stand, they have this board where the scores could be shared for better understanding of the subject.

 

Related Posts:

874 Comments