Hello Pooja,

Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is a national level postgraduate entrance exam conducted by the seven IITs- Delhi, Madras, Bombay, Kanpur, Roorkee, Kharagpur, Guwahati) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, to offer admission to various M.Tech programmes offered by IITs, NITs, Private, Public and International Universities.

This year, 2019, GATE was conducted by IIT Madras in computer-based mode on Feb 2, 3, 9 and 10, 2019. The result which was scheduled to be announced on March 16 got preponed unexpectedly and was announced a day earlier i.e March 15, by IIT-Madras.

I'm sorry to inform you that with this rank, you have a poor chance of getting admission in any of the IITs, NITs, IIITs, and other government/central colleges. Even the cutoff for SC/STs doesn't cross AIR 900 and let's not get started about general category cutoffs.

The GATE 2019's minimum qualifying marks:

• General: 39.6
• OBC: 35.6
• SC/ST/PWD: 26.4

Every year, the minimum qualification marks vary. This year it is higher than the 2017's which means the cutoff to get admission into the colleges will also take a leap. On the bright side, you've cleared the exam so you're eligible to apply to IITs and NITs, but they wouldn't consider your application for admission .

In order to have even slightest chance at admission in any of the mentioned institutions, one must have AIR:

• General: <600
• OBC: <700
• SC/ST/PWD: <1000 (upper limit)

Centralized colleges like DU have cutoffs that are similar to NITs and IITs, so admission into CFTIs is also out of the scope.

If you've no problem with other colleges, including private and charity-funded, you can try applying for admission in government colleges of AP, Bihar and other states. You might stand good chances at the following colleges:

• JNTU, Hyderabad
• Osmania University (OUCE)
• Jamia Millia, Delhi
• GEC, Coimbatore
• Anna University, Chennai
• VIT, Pune
• PSG Tech, Coimbatore

All the above colleges are well-reputed and are popular options for the in-state candidates. There may/may not be any additional criteria set by the institutions (usually they have), but it is very likely that your graduation percentage will carry a good weight in the admission process. Some colleges may give seat with external support/recommendation and/or through management.

I hope this helps.