Ahmedabad: Engineering students aiming for top private colleges and their parents will vouch that the real test begins after cracking the entrance exam. With counselling rounds picking up pace nationwide, families are thrust into a punishingly expensive scramble, forced to block seats — often in multiple colleges at once — while students await outcomes from their most preferred institutes.
Overlapping counselling schedules of private universities, state admission authorities and centralized bodies such as the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) mean that many middle-class families must arrange Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh just to keep their child’s options open.
Parental Struggles: The Case of Rajendra Joshi
Rajendra Joshi is one such parent navigating the uncertainty. His son, Manav, scored 95 percentile in JEE Main and 88 percentile in GujCET, and hopes to secure a computer engineering seat either in a premier engineering institute in Gujarat or among the country’s top private colleges. However, with JoSAA counselling for National Institutes of Technology (NITs) yet to begin, the family cannot afford to wait.
“Private colleges do not wait for JoSAA results. If you skip their counselling rounds or fail to pay within the deadline, you lose the seat,” Joshi said.
Manav secured provisional admissions in two reputed private engineering institutes after clearing their entrance procedures. “I immediately had to pay nearly Rs 4 lakh in fees to secure one seat because the deadline was close,” Joshi said. The pressure is far from over for the Joshis. Another highly sought-after institute is expected to begin counselling by the middle of next month. If Manav secures admission there as well, the family will have to arrange another Rs 6.4 lakh almost instantly. “By mid-June, we may have already paid more than Rs 10 lakh just to keep two admission options alive,” Joshi said, adding, that if an NIT seat is allotted through JoSAA, “we will first have to pay the NIT fees and then wait for refunds from the private institutes”.
Another Perspective: The Shah Family’s Decision
Sanjay Shah’s daughter Krutika wants to study mechanical engineering and has admission offers from two reputed private institutes in hand. But unlike the Joshis, the Shahs have decided not to block those seats.
Krutika secured 75 percentile in GujCET and a JEE Main rank of around 1.7 lakh. Sanjay, a manager in a private company, said the decision ultimately came down to finances. “I only had around Rs 5 lakh available. Using it to secure a seat outside Gujarat would have left me little funds in case she gets admitted to a better institute within the state,” he said. The family will wait for Gujarat’s admission rounds instead of risking their savings on private colleges elsewhere. “At least through GujCET merit, she may still get a decent college in Gujarat even if her JEE rank does not work out,” he added.
Growing Financial Stress
Parents say the financial stress attached to engineering admissions has steadily intensified in recent years. Most colleges demand hefty upfront payments within days of seat allotment, leaving little time for families to arrange funds. While institutes do refund fees after deductions if students withdraw later, parents complain that the refund process is slow and uncertain.
“Ever since my son entered Class 10, I started saving dedicatedly for engineering admissions,” said Amitosh Patel, another parent from Ahmedabad. “A neighbour whose son studies in a private engineering college in southern India had warned me years ago that parents often have to block multiple seats before making a final decision,” Patel, who works for a private company, said.
Despite the heads-up, Patel admitted he could not save enough, and is now waiting only for Gujarat admissions.
Expert Insights
Education consultants say the problem stems largely from the lack of synchronisation in counselling schedules. “Results, counselling rounds and fee deadlines rarely align. Families are forced to pay huge amounts in advance because they cannot risk losing seats while waiting for better options,” said an Ahmedabad-based admission consultant.
