Mumbai: The first-year junior college (FYJC) admission cycle saw competitive thresholds remain high as the Mumbai region’s third merit list was declared on Tuesday morning. Data revealed that out of 1,23,886 eligible candidates, a total of 60,715 students were allotted seats in this round. Elite institutions across the city largely held their ground, experiencing marginal fluctuations or even slight increases, defying the typical downward trend usually seen by the third list; college principals noted that while a drop in cut-offs is only expected from subsequent merit lists onwards, many premier colleges may not have many seats left by then.Stream-wise data highlighted that the Commerce stream witnessed the highest demand by a vast margin, accounting for 33,227 of the total allotments, followed by Science with 21,645 allotments, and Arts 5,843.A total of 27,589 students were allocated their first-preference college.“Our cut-offs have actually increased partially because of the great demand for Commerce particularly. Especially in Mumbai, people prefer the stream because it allows students to pursue other degrees or exams simultaneously, like Chartered Accountancy, which is almost impossible to do along with any other stream,” said Vinita Pimpale, principal of R A Podar College. “Just like last year, cut-offs have remained stable and any meaningful drop in cut-offs will come from the fourth list onwards.”Among premier institutions, St Xavier’s College Arts cut-offs increased roughly 1% from the second list to touch 93.2%, Science by almost 2% to 91.60%, while Commerce increased marginally to 90%. Meanwhile, H R College’s Commerce cut-off dipped maginally to 93%. Other city staples maintained significant competitive pressure; R A Podar College recorded a high Commerce cut-off of 95.8%, while Mithibai College maintained steady thresholds across the board with 86% for Arts, 91.4% for Commerce, and 86.8% for Science. SIES College of Commerce and Economics also held steady, with 87.00%, exactly the same as the second list.“The cut-offs are dependent almost entirely on how many seats are left and we have already filled 97% of our available seats,” said Parag Ajgaonkar, principal of N M College, which registered a Commerce cut-off of 93.6%. “The cut-offs have largely remained stable for us with very light fluctuations and any meaningful drop in cut-offs will only come in the fifth round, but by then we usually have 4-5 seats left altogether.”Students who were allotted seats in this round—including those under the in-house and minority quotas—have a window between June 23 and June 25 to physically visit their respective colleges and secure their admissions. For the 63,171 eligible candidates who did not secure an allotment in this list, the process will shift to an “Open for All” round. This upcoming phase will be determined purely on Class 10 merit scores without social or special reservations, requiring unallotted students to modify and lock their option forms accordingly.
