FYJC 2nd list: In an unusual pattern, cut-offs for arts rise

MUMBAI: In a first for several city junior colleges, arts stream cut-offs saw a rise when the second merit list was announced in the early hours of Thursday. Cut-offs in commerce saw a dip of only a few decimal points while the drop in science was considerable at most colleges.
In the second round, 80,141 of the 1.2 lakh applicants were allotted seats in one of the colleges they had selected in their admission forms.Of these, 18,468 were allotted a college which they had listed as their top preference.
The highest cut-off in arts was 93.8% at St Xavier’s College, Fort. It was only a mark lower than in the first round. At Ruia College, the cut-off rose from 90.6% to 93.2% in the second.
“We feel that the students who might have missed their top preference in the first merit list must have decided to wait for the second. But if the cut-off did not drop this time, too, the top scorers were again allotted to us. There could also have been fresh applicants who must have not opted for our college in round one,” said vice-principal Nilan Rane. The science cut-off at the college went down from 92.8% in the first list to 90.8% in the second.
At V G Vaze College, Mulund, the arts stream cut-off increased to 85.6% in the second list from 83.8% in the first. “We were expecting the cut-offs to rise in the arts stream as we were getting queries from students who hadn’t selected our college in round one. This time, we had only 14 seats in the open category, so only the top scorers got in as compared to the first list when we had about 260 seats. Some top scorers might have also switched streams,” said vice-principal Vidyadhar Joshi. The college’s cut-off in the commerce stream was 89.4%—just one mark lower. The science cut-off was down by 6 marks to 91.4%.
At Mithibai College, Vile Parle, both arts and commerce cut-offs saw an increase. “The top scorers must have waited for the second round if they were allotted anything but their first preference and hence the cut-offs remained high. It has been more for the arts stream because the interest among students seems to shifting,” said principal Rajpal Hande. The science stream cut-off was down to 82.2%—almost 3% lower than the first.
Principals from top colleges said they were expecting the drop in cut-offs in the science stream. “There are plenty of seats in science and that affects cut-offs. Also, a lot of parents prefer that their children study at a junior college closer home so that they do not have to travel and can concentrate on academics,” said Ashok Wadia, principal, Jai Hind College, Churchgate. The highest cut-off in the science stream was at Ratanbai Walbai Junior Science College, Mulund, at 94.4%.
After delays in the first round of admission, the second merit list seat allocation was done at 1.30am on Thursday, almost 15 hours ahead of the scheduled 5pm. “For the previous list, the base was set up in Pune. We shifted that to Mumbai three days back as the most number of students are here. The list was readied by the agency around midnight, after which we verified the details and announced the list,” said Chavan.
The admissions for this round begin at 10am on Friday and the third merit list will be declared on July 29 at 5pm.
The high cut-offs meant several students remained unhappy with the colleges allotted to them in round two. “In the first list, I didn’t get allotted a college. I had missed a chance at Mithibai College by just 2% so was hoping I would get in this time. But, that hasn’t happened and I have once again not been allotted a college,” said a student applying in the science stream.
Students continued to visit the education department’s office on Thursday with complaints. “Students must select colleges with cut-offs closer to the marks they have scored. If they select only the top colleges, they will continue to be disappointed,” said an official counselling the students.