Admission cut-off at St Stephen’s may go down

The new guidelines state that the merit differential between the reserved category and the general category cannot exceed 15 per cent. If the seats in Christian category aren't filled, they will be shifted to the general pool.

For many students who are applying to St Stephen's College this year, getting into their dream college may become a little easier. Thanks to the new admission guidelines that were passed in the supreme council meeting on May 26, the cut off percentage for general category students may go down.

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The new guidelines state that the merit differential between the reserved category and the general category cannot exceed 15 per cent. If the seats in Christian category aren't filled, they will be shifted to the general pool.

“After the guidelines were passed, there is now a strong possibility that the cut off will come down as the number of seats on offer for general category students may go up,” said Valson Thampu, principal, St Stephen’s College.

According to the new guidelines, if the cut off for a particular course is 90 per cent for the general category, then only those Christian students who have scored at least 75 per cent can get admissions.

The college earlier admitted Christian students who had scored at least 60 per cent in their qualifying examination.

“There could be a noticeable decrease in cut offs due to the decision,” said Thampu.

“The staff council had been demanding a cap on the merit differential between the two categories as there was a gap between students,” said Nandita Narain, admission in-charge, St Stephen's College.

“Earlier, there were very few instances when seats in the Christian quota were left vacant. This year, there may be more vacant seats, which will be transferred to the general quota,” added Narain.