Delhi University releases its ‘simulated’ list, first allocation list out on Aug 1

The candidates now have time till 11.59pm on Sunday to change, add or delete preferences, before the university releases the first allocation list for seats next week

Delhi University on Saturday released a list of simulated ranks of students — a tentative position that determines which course and college a candidate gets admitted to, depending on their preference and entrance test scores.

DU is offering admission to 71,000 seats at the undergraduate level across 78 undergraduate programmes and 198 BA (Bachelor of Arts) programme combinations in 68 colleges. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

The candidates now have time till 11.59pm on Sunday (July 30) to change, add or delete their preferences on the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) portal, before the university releases the first allocation list for seats next week. The simulated list, university officials said, is meant to help students gauge the probability of allocations in a particular programme.

However, the officials emphasised that the list is not final, and is bound to change based on the alterations of programme and college preferences by candidates.

The third phase of the admission process will begin on August 1 and will deal with seat allotment and admissions based on candidates’ college-course preferences. Candidates can accept their seat by August 4. Colleges will verify and approve admissions of students by August 5. The last date for online fee payment for the first admission round is August 6 (4.59pm).

DU officials have said that once a seat is allocated in a particular round, the candidate must “accept” the allocated seat before the last date for the given allocation round, with inactivity or inaction to be taken as non-acceptance to the allocated seat.

Till 2021, the university admitted students based on the marks they scored in the Class 12 board examination.

In some years, the cutoffs in different courses had even skyrocketed to 100%. However, starting last year, admissions to DU have been based on the Common University Entrance Test (CUET).

Haneet Gandhi, dean of admissions, DU, said that candidates can see the simulated rank on their admission registration dashboards.

“It must be noted that the simulated ranks are tentative ranks based on the scores and preferences submitted by candidates. These ranks should not be construed as a warranty, express or implied, or creation of a legitimate expectation or as final ranks for allocations of a programme of study or college whatsoever,” said Gandhi.

She said that the final ranks in a programme are likely to change since students may change, add, or delete preferences till Sunday.

Candidates who wish to edit their preferences must save the preferences since the last saved preference will be treated as the final preference. “Only the preferences saved till 11:59pm, Sunday, July 30, will be treated as final,” the university said.

Following the release of the list, some candidates said they will reorder preferences on the basis of ranks, while others said that they will wait for the first allocation list on August 1 at 5pm. “The simulated ranks are not final ranks. We are not sure how much the final rank will vary from the simulated rank. I am waiting for the final list and hoping that I get my choice of college,” said Saif Khan, who is seeking admission in BA (Hons) History.

DU is offering admission to 71,000 seats at the undergraduate level across 78 undergraduate programmes and 198 BA (Bachelor of Arts) programme combinations in 68 colleges.

HT on July 27 reported that 245,239 students applied for a spot at DU — a considerable jump in the number of applications this year, up from 217,653 in 2022, a 12.7% increase that officials attributed to more students appearing in the CUET.

Kirori Mal College received the most applications this year, with 161,533 students opting for the institution in their forms. This was followed by Hindu College, with 158,548 applications, Hansraj College (157,162) and Ramjas (156,068).

To be sure, students were free to opt for as many colleges as they wanted to on the CSAS portal. Hence, multiple colleges will have received applications from the same student.