Hey there,

With category rank of 26,500 you have chances to get into the NITs. In NITs you can apply via Home State (HS) quota for which you have priority. You have to register for JoSAA for considering you for counselling. JoSAA prepares a rank list and release opning and closing rank. So your counselling is based on JoSAA rank list.

Also, you can use the college predictor to get the best possibilities of geeting a college.

Good Luck !