Offline merit list cut-offs stay high as many seek better options at FYJC

MUMBAI: With many students wanting to move from seats they secured in the First Year Junior College (FYJC) through the online process, cut-offs in the offline merit list announced on Thursday remained high, or even higher, compared to the third online merit list at top colleges.
With over 80,000 seats vacant after the third online merit list, students had expected cut-offs to drop drastically, making it possible to secure admissions in the college of their choice.But only few seats were available at the popular colleges, keeping cut-offs very high.
Many students went to withdraw admissions on Thursday from seats allotted to them. "I was given my eighth preference, but I was sure I would get a better college. So, I applied and I got it," said a commerce aspirant who secured 84% in SSC. "We had very few seats in the arts and commerce streams. It resulted in cut-offs increasing in the offline list. We had about 70 seats in the arts stream but despite that, cut-offs were higher," said Jyoti Thakur, executive coordinator, Jai Hind College, Churchgate. While the third merit list cut-off for commerce at the college was 89.4, the offline cut-off was 90.8%.
At HR College, Churchgate, there were only six seats for the offline process. "All six students scored higher than the online cut-offs. They have secured admission and we have begun our academic year," said vice-principal, Anila Pillai. The cut-off for the online admission process was 92%. The cut-offs at D G Ruparel College, Matunga, too were higher compared to online lists.
Chances for students securing seats under minority quotas are better at some colleges. "We have to keep 51% for seats from the Gujarati community, so we can't give it away to open category students. If there are cancellations, we may have another list for minority students," said Vijay Joshi, principal, K J Somaiya college, Vidyavihar. Colleges can announce another merit list at 11am on Friday if there are vacant seats.