Nervous 90s: DU cut will rise, but Delhi off the pace

FEWER TOPPERS Overall increase in number of students with score of 95% and above may spike cutoff but number of such students from Delhi drops

Delhi University cutoffs are likely to see a marginal rise this year too as the number of students across India who scored 95% and above in CBSE Class 12 Boards has seen a jump of around 8%.

While overall, the number of students with 95% and above score has increased, but in Delhi the number has gone down to 2,326 from last year’s 2,927. This, however, will not result in lowering of cut-offs as university officials said they receive applications from across India. But with lower marks, Delhi students may find it difficult to get a seat in their college of choice.

DU college principals said cutoffs for most undergraduate courses may rise by 0.25-0.50 percentage points, especially in on-campus colleges.

The number of students scoring 95% and above at all-India level has gone up by 740 this year. A total of 63,247 students got 90% and above, slightly down from 63,387 in 2016.

“There will be a marginal increase in the cutoff for popular courses. The increase in the number of high scorers will reflect in the cutoff. The increase could possibly be in the range of 0.25-0.50 percentage points,” said Jaswinder Singh, principal of SGTB Khalsa College.

The university has 56,000 seats in undergraduate courses this year, 2,000 more than last year.

Last year, the university had received about 2.5 lakh applications for 54,000 seats. The CBSE results have a direct impact on the DU cutoffs as 80% of its admission applications come from CBSE students.

“The cutoffs are dependent on the number of applications we receive and also on the scores of these applicants. If the applicants have scored 95% and above, then naturally, the cutoffs have to be kept above the 95% mark. So this year, the cutoff will see a marginal jump,” said a DU official.

College principals said the dip in the 95% and above scorers in Delhi will not impact the cutoffs as DU is a central university and applicants from across the country apply for admissions. “The campus colleges will definitely see a jump in cutoff for most courses,” said R P Rustagi, officiating principal of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC).

Some principals said the cutoffs won’t see much spike as the rise in number of high scorers is a regular trend. “Every year, the number of high scorers goes up. Many of these students will also opt for engineering, medicine and other professional courses so I don’t see any significant jump in cutoffs,” said Hansraj College principal, Rama who goes by her first name.

Most DU colleges keep a high cutoff to avoid over-admission. For instance, last year, all the DU colleges that offer Economics (Hons) and BCom (Hons) declared a cutoff above 90% in their first list.