IIT Cutoff: What You Need to Know About Admission Ranks and Seats

When you hear IIT cutoff, the minimum JEE Advanced rank required to get into an IIT program. Also known as IIT admission rank, it’s the line that separates students who get a seat from those who don’t — no matter how hard they studied. It’s not just a number. It’s the result of thousands of students competing for just 18,000 undergraduate seats across all 23 IITs in 2025. Your cutoff depends on your category, the branch you want, and which IIT you’re targeting. A rank of 500 might get you Computer Science at IIT Bombay, but the same rank could land you Civil Engineering at IIT Guwahati — or nothing at all if you’re outside the reserved category quota.

The IIT JEE rank, the score you get after clearing the JEE Advanced exam is the only thing that matters. No board marks, no coaching certificates, no recommendations. Just your rank. And that rank changes every year. In 2024, the general category cutoff for CSE at IIT Delhi was around rank 350. In 2023, it was 320. Why? Because more students scored higher. The cutoff isn’t fixed — it moves based on how the entire batch performs. That’s why looking at last year’s cutoff alone won’t tell you if you’re safe. You need to understand the trend, the seat distribution, and how many seats are reserved for OBC, SC, ST, and EWS candidates. Each IIT has its own cutoff for each program, and some branches like Electrical or Mechanical have higher demand than others.

IIT seats, the total number of engineering spots available across all IITs are fixed by the government, and they’ve stayed around 18,000 for years. But the competition keeps growing. More students are taking JEE Advanced every year, and more are scoring above 200 marks. That pushes the cutoff higher. If you’re aiming for a top branch at a top IIT, you’re not just competing with the smartest students — you’re competing with the most consistent ones. The ones who didn’t burn out, didn’t quit, and kept solving problems even after failing mock tests. And if you’re from a reserved category, your cutoff might be lower — but the number of seats for your category is also limited. It’s not easier. It’s just different.

What’s often ignored is how the cutoff affects your future. Getting into an IIT isn’t just about the rank — it’s about which branch you get. A lower cutoff in a less popular branch might still lead to a better career than a higher cutoff in a saturated field. That’s why smart students don’t just chase the highest-ranked IIT. They look at placement stats, faculty strength, and industry demand. Some IITs have stronger ties to startups. Others focus on research. The cutoff tells you if you’re in — but not what you’re getting into.

Below, you’ll find real posts that break down exactly how cutoffs work, how many seats are available, and what your rank actually means in the bigger picture. No fluff. No guesswork. Just facts from students who’ve been there.