What happens after the exam

The counselling process — explained simply

Many Indian students lose seats not because of the exam, but because they don't understand the counselling round that comes after. Here's the actual roadmap, body by body.

Common mistake — students plan exam prep for 2 years and counselling for 0 days.

Choice-filling, document verification windows, freeze / float / slide decisions all happen in tight 5–10 day windows. Read this once, save the dates, and stay near a computer + scanner during your counselling weeks.

JoSAACSABMCCCLAT ConsortiumState CETs

JoSAA

Joint Seat Allocation Authority

Official site

For exams

JEE Main · JEE Advanced

Seats covered

IITs (23) + NITs (31) + IIITs (26) + GFTIs (40+)

Rounds

6 rounds (June – mid-July)

Step-by-step

  1. 1

    Register on josaa.nic.in (one common login for all 120+ institutes)

  2. 2

    Fill choices: branch + institute combinations in priority order (often 100+ choices recommended)

  3. 3

    Round 1 seat allotted by AI/Open/EWS/OBC/SC/ST/PwD ranks

  4. 4

    Choose: FREEZE (lock seat), FLOAT (better branch only), or SLIDE (better in same institute)

  5. 5

    Document verification at allotted institute or report online

  6. 6

    Pay seat-acceptance fee (₹35,000 Gen / ₹17,500 reserved)

  7. 7

    Round 2–6 if you slid/floated; final allotment by mid-July

Pro tip · Fill 80–100 choices minimum. Not filling enough is the #1 reason students lose seats.

CSAB

Central Seat Allocation Board (Special / Supplementary)

Official site

For exams

JEE Main

Seats covered

NITs + IIITs + GFTIs vacant seats after JoSAA

Rounds

2 rounds (mid-July – early Aug)

Step-by-step

  1. 1

    JoSAA ends with vacant seats (rejected, withdrawn, no-shows)

  2. 2

    Register separately on csab.nic.in (last-mile chance for NIT/IIIT)

  3. 3

    Fill choices afresh — your JoSAA choices DO NOT carry over

  4. 4

    2 rounds of allotment

  5. 5

    Document verification at allotted institute

  6. 6

    CSAB-NEUT runs in parallel for NE / Sikkim quota

Pro tip · CSAB is your safety net if you missed allotment in JoSAA — don't skip it.

MCC

Medical Counselling Committee

Official site

For exams

NEET-UG

Seats covered

15% AIQ MBBS/BDS + Deemed + AFMS + ESIC + AIIMS + JIPMER

Rounds

4 rounds (Aug – Sep)

Step-by-step

  1. 1

    NEET-UG result → MCC opens registration on mcc.nic.in

  2. 2

    Fill choices for 15% All-India quota MBBS/BDS seats

  3. 3

    Round 1 allotment + reporting

  4. 4

    Round 2 with upgrade option

  5. 5

    Round 3 (Mop-Up) for vacant seats — open to all

  6. 6

    Stray vacancy round at institute level

  7. 7

    Remaining 85% goes to State Counselling (separately)

Pro tip · Track BOTH MCC (15% AIQ) AND your state counselling (85% state quota) — they run parallel.

CLAT Consortium

Consortium of National Law Universities

Official site

For exams

CLAT

Seats covered

24 NLUs (NLSIU, NALSAR, NUJS, NLU Jodhpur etc.)

Rounds

5 rounds typically

Step-by-step

  1. 1

    CLAT result → fill NLU preferences on consortiumofnlus.ac.in

  2. 2

    Round 1 allotment based on category + preference + rank

  3. 3

    Choose: confirm seat, upgrade, or exit

  4. 4

    Pay counselling + tuition fee at allotted NLU

  5. 5

    Subsequent rounds for upgrades and vacant seats

Pro tip · NLU preference order matters more than people realise — research placement reports first.

State CETs

Maharashtra DTE / Karnataka KEA / TN DOTE / WB JEEB / AP & TS · APSCHE etc.

Official site

For exams

MHT-CET · KCET · TNEA · WBJEE · EAMCET · KEAM · COMEDK

Seats covered

State govt + private engineering / pharmacy / agri colleges

Rounds

3 rounds (Jun – Aug typically)

Step-by-step

  1. 1

    Domicile certificate + 12th marksheet + caste cert (if applicable)

  2. 2

    Register on state CET portal after results

  3. 3

    Document verification at facilitation centre

  4. 4

    Provisional merit list → option-form filling

  5. 5

    Round 1 allotment → reporting

  6. 6

    Round 2 + Round 3 for upgrade / vacant seats

  7. 7

    Spot round at institute level for any leftover seats

Pro tip · Each state has its own portal and rules — Karnataka uses 50:50 (CET + 12th board), Maharashtra weighs 100% CET, TN waived its CET.

Documents to keep ready

Scanned (200 KB each, JPG/PDF) AND a hard-copy folder. Same set works for almost every counselling body.

  • 10th marksheet + certificate
  • 12th marksheet + certificate
  • Birth certificate / proof of date of birth
  • Aadhaar card
  • Domicile certificate (state CETs only)
  • Income certificate (for fee waivers / EWS)
  • Caste certificate (SC / ST / OBC-NCL — issued < 1 yr)
  • EWS certificate (issued in current FY)
  • PwD certificate (UDID, if applicable)
  • Passport-size photos (10–12 prints)
  • Bank account proof / passbook
  • Migration certificate (after final allotment)
  • Anti-ragging affidavit (printed at counselling)
  • Medical fitness certificate
  • Exam result + scorecard printout

Reservation matters in counselling — know your category

Counselling allots seats by category. The cut-off you compete against is the one for your category, not the General cut-off.

  • SC: 15% · NCL not required, certificate from competent authority
  • ST: 7.5% · Same as SC certificate process
  • OBC-NCL: 27% · Certificate must be issued within last 1 year, family income < ₹8 L
  • EWS: 10% · For Gen-only, family income < ₹8 L, issued in current financial year
  • PwD: 5% horizontal · UDID card + 40%+ disability + benchmark certificate
  • Female supernumerary: 20% · IITs only, added on top of merit allotment

All percentages as per central rules; state quotas may vary. Always upload the latest valid certificate.

See exam dates first

2026 exam calendar with apply-by countdowns.

What does NCL / EWS / GFTI mean?

Quick glossary of every counselling acronym.