Preparatory Course in IITs

Why preparatory course?

In most of the IITs, 10 to 20% drop of SC, ST and PwD students after first year and they are expelled due to poor performance. Many students are not even qualified enough to fulfil the eligibility criteria both subject wise and aggregate marks of JEE Advanced to get valid Rank. It was observed that significant number of reserved seats for people of these categories go unfilled because they do not have access to quality education or specialized coaching to meet the passing criteria. To cut expulsion of those students and help them to continue and finish their education as well as cope up in studies with minimum standards of subject knowledge and improve the intake of and fill the vacant seats in BTech and Dual degree programmes offered by IITs, preparatory criteria has been introduced. Preparatory courses do not reserve any additional seats, nor do they provide any guarantee of admission; rather, they are an effort to fill the seats which have anyway been reserved and are an attempt to ensure that seats meant for these students are fully utilised. The number of students admitted depends on the vacant seats in these different categories (SC, ST, PwD) across IITs.

What is Preparatory Course?

Preparatory Course is a pre-degree course for a duration of one year and admission into the degree programmes is conditional upon successful completion of the Preparatory Course. The objective is to strengthen the fundamentals in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and English so as to enable them to Cope up with the regular degree programmes in the next academic year in a better manner.

Who are eligible?

The preparatory courses are exclusively for SC and ST students, and for PwD students of all categories (General/OBC-NCL/SC/ST etc.). To gain admission to this preparatory course, the candidates must meet a separate preparatory course cutoff in JEE which is lower than the category cutoff. Eligible candidates receive a separate rank in addition to their common rank list All-India Rank and their category (SC/ST/PwD) ranks. For instance, a ‘150 (P)’ rank implies that the candidate is placed 150th among all the students eligible for the preparatory course.

Seat Allotment for Preparatory courses:

The vacant seats reserved for SC, ST and PwD candidates will be allotted to the candidates of respective categories for admission to a preparatory course of one-year duration on the basis of relaxed admission criteria. Admission is given to the candidates in the preparatory course provided the seats reserved for the respective category are vacant and the candidates have not accepted a seat in the preparatory course earlier.

JoSAA Counselling:

Filling-in of choices for preparatory courses is through the same online portal JoSAA like other candidates. If a candidate is eligible for the prep course, then the choices that he/she gets in the JoSAA portal will also include all the IITs. However, it should be noted that these choices are not for the prep course but for the actual courses that the candidate chooses (during the choice filling in JoSAA) and are applicable only after passing the preparatory course.
The counselling process for the preparatory course seats begins after all rounds of JoSAA counselling end. The seats reserved for SC, ST and PwD candidates, which remain vacant in the JoSAA counselling, are allotted to the candidates of respective categories. The institute and branch decided based on the preparatory course rank of the student. On successfully passing the preparatory course (possibly in a different IIT, known as Host Institute), the student can join their program in their allotted institute for the next academic Year.

Host Institute:

Upon confirming their preparatory course seat in the counselling process, students must report to their host institute for the one-year programme. The host institute might differ from the IIT where the candidate has secured admission. For instance, students that secured seats in IIT Goa, Bombay, Dharwad and Gandhinagar were to report to IIT Dharwad in 2023 for that academic year. The host institutes vary annually, and JoSAA releases a notification on its website with a list of host IITs for every region zone wise. Click here to know the list of Host IITs under each Zone for the year 2023.

Admission Process:

Each host IIT has varying administrative procedures for admission. However, it is common for students to receive a notification from the host institute with the necessary credentials (roll number, email ID and passwords) and instructions to register with the institute. Following this, students will have to pay the fees for the programme and upload relevant documents. But there will be Tuition fee waiver for those reserved and eligible candidates.

Preparatory Course Structure:

The entire course structure is for one year. The course curriculum typically covers a range of subjects, including but not limited to, Mathematics (calculus, algebra, differential equations), Physics (mechanics, optics, electricity and magnetism), Chemistry (inorganic, organic, physical), and English (communication skills, comprehension, vocabulary). The focus is on providing an in-depth understanding of the fundamental concepts and problem-solving techniques required for engineering studies. Regular assessments, tests, and examinations are conducted to evaluate the progress of students and identify areas that need further improvement. Students receive intensive coaching and guidance from experienced faculty members who are experts in their respective fields. The teaching methodology may include lectures, tutorials, practical sessions, and assignments to ensure comprehensive learning.

The opportunity to take Preparatory Course is given ONLY ONCE. At the end of this course, candidates are declared as ‘pass’ or ‘fail’.

On successful completion of the course, the candidates will be offered direct admission (Next Academic Year) to the already allotted undergraduate course.
If failed, they are not eligible to do it again and miss the opportunity to join the already allotted seat in IIT
Candidates admitted to the preparatory course are also eligible to appear in JEE (Advanced) for next year subject to fulfilling other eligibility criteria.

Guidelines for Preparatory Course:

Minimum qualifying marks is 40% for each of the following courses: Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The marks are aggregated over the two semesters. The former two courses will also have Lab components which are given “Pass” and “Not Pass” grades and you need to obtain the pass grades in lab courses so as to pass the Preparatory Course.
For English minimum qualifying marks are 30% per semester.
For students failing only in one subject, grace marks up to 5 % are given.
Evaluation will be based on Homework, Assignments, Class Participation, Quizzes, Mid Semester and End Semester Examinations. The weightage of each of these components will be informed by the instructors.
100% attendance is mandatory, except in case of medical or other emergencies. However, under no conditions, the attendance should be less than 80%.
No re-exam is given, except on the medical grounds.
No Degree / Diploma certificate is issued after successful completion of Preparatory Course.

Fee Payment:

Tuition fees is waived for all eligible students.
For SC/ST/PwD students whose parental (Father and Mother) income is not more than 5 Lakhs can apply for scholarship for concession in mess fee, hostel room rent etc.

No of Candidates Qualified for Preparatory Course 2023

S. No	Category	No of Qualified Candidates
		PwD	Non-PwD
1	General	91	0
2	General -EWS	48	0
3	OBC-NCL	109	0
4	SC	19	5998
5	ST	9	2442
	Total	276	8440

No of Candidates Selected for Preparatory Course 2023

S. No	Category	No of Selected Candidates
		PwD	Non-PwD
1	General	50	0
2	General -EWS	12	0
3	OBC-NCL	23	0
4	SC	4	0
5	ST	2	49
	Total	91	49

Note: The candidates are advised to regularly check official sources like the JEE Advanced website and those of individual IITs for recent information. Many students have reaped the benefits of the preparatory course and testify that the syllabus covered is the same as that of JEE Advanced. Preparatory courses often include counselling and mentoring sessions to address the academic and personal challenges faced by students. The aim is to provide guidance and motivation to help students adapt to the rigorous academic environment of the IITs. They are also provided with additional resources to enhance their learning experience and excel academically.

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