The much-anticipated JoSAA Counselling 2025 has officially begun for admission into 127 premier engineering institutions across India, including the prestigious 23 IITs, 32 NITs, 26 IIITs, and 47 GFTIs. A total of 62,853 engineering seats are available for allocation this year, with 18,160 seats from IITs alone.

As students rush to complete their online reporting by June 18, 5 PM, the spotlight remains firmly on the Computer Science Engineering (CSE) branch, which has once again emerged as the most preferred stream among top-ranking JEE Advanced candidates.

Top IITs for Computer Science in 2025: CSE Cut-Off Trends

The first round of seat allocation under JoSAA 2025 reveals the continued dominance of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) as the most in-demand branch, especially in the top 9 IITs. The closing rank for gender-neutral candidates in the open category for CSE across these IITs was AIR 1015, reinforcing its elite status.

IIT Bombay Leads the Pack

IIT Bombay continues to be the top choice for aspiring computer scientists. The opening rank for CSE here was among the top 66 AIR holders. Every single seat was filled by students ranked within the top 66, making it the most competitive CSE program in India.

Top IITs for CSE: Opening and Closing Ranks (Gender-Neutral Open Category)

In total, the last CSE seat in any IIT during Round 1 was offered at AIR 6384, which went to a student in IIT Bhilai. Under the female-only pool (open category), the final closing rank was AIR 12,211 — also at IIT Bhilai.

JoSAA 2025 Counselling Overview: Key Deadlines

JoSAA (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) is conducting the centralized counselling process for 127 top technical institutes, including:

• 23 IITs – 18,160 seats

• 32 NITs – 24,525 seats

• 26 IIITs – 9,940 seats

• 47 GFTIs – 10,228 seats

Students who didn’t get a seat in Round 1 must complete their online reporting and document verification by June 18, 5 PM. Any discrepancies in documents will be communicated through a JoSAA query, to be resolved by June 19, 5 PM.

IIT Patna: BTech CSE Cut-Off 2025

IIT Patna, steadily growing in popularity, witnessed an opening rank of AIR 1954 and closing rank of AIR 3215 for its Computer Science program.

NIT Patna CSE Cut-Off 2025

• Home State Quota: Opening Rank – 10,325 | Closing Rank – 16,345

• Other State Quota: Opening Rank – 8,843 | Closing Rank – 13,235

These numbers reflect increasing demand for NITs as well, especially for students unable to make the top IITs but still aiming for reputable institutions.

IIT Dhanbad (ISM): Analysis of Admissions in 2025

IIT Dhanbad has allocated 1210 seats in 2025 across its BTech and integrated programs. Despite offering attractive benefits such as full tuition fee waivers for top 1000 rankers, top JEE Advanced candidates continue to favor other IITs.

• Best Rank Admitted (Opening Rank): AIR 2143

• Last Rank Admitted: AIR 25,310

• Opening Ranks Over the Years:

  • 2022: AIR 1389

  • 2023: AIR 1853

  • 2024: AIR 2167

  • 2025: AIR 2142

Despite incremental improvements, IIT Dhanbad has struggled to attract top-tier rankers, even after expanding its fee waiver schemes in 2025.

New Courses at IIT Dhanbad in 2025: Increased Seat Capacity

In 2025, IIT Dhanbad introduced three new courses, resulting in an increase of 85 additional seats:

These courses have expanded interdisciplinary opportunities for students, though they still remain lower on preference among top rankers.

IIT Dhanbad – Other Departmental Cut-Offs (Round 1, 2025)

The CSE cut-off trends for IITs in 2025 reaffirm that Computer Science remains the top engineering stream, heavily favored by JEE Advanced toppers. With IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, and IIT Madras maintaining their elite status, other institutes like IIT BHU, IIT Guwahati, and IIT Hyderabad continue to grow in popularity among top 1500 rankers.

Institutes like IIT Patna and IIT Dhanbad are making strategic efforts to improve their rankings and appeal, but the top choices remain concentrated among older IITs.

As JoSAA Counselling 2025 continues, students must carefully evaluate not only cut-off ranks but also academic reputation, infrastructure, placement records, and course innovation.