Many students in India aspire to become an engineer and start their preparation right after passing Class 10. Getting into one of the top engineering institutions such as IITs, NITs, IIITs, BITS Pilani, etc., is far from easy and a lot of engineering aspirants opt for specialised coaching in places like Kota, Rajasthan to ace JEE Main, JEE Advanced and other popular engineering entrances in India.
The southern part of the country is home to several well-known engineering institutions. Tamil Nadu is one of the largest states in India and is a major Engineering & Technology hub with 884 engineering colleges that are currently offering a total of 8,027 courses. Some of the top Engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu based on NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) 2020 Rankings are mentioned below:
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Rank 1 as per NIRF 2020 Engineering Rankings
IIT Madras was established in 1959 and is one of the oldest IITs in India. It has been ranked as the top engineering institute in the country since 2016 by NIRF. The institute offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes across Engineering, Sciences, Humanities and Management streams.
Eligibility:
- Candidate must complete Class 12 from a recognised board such as CBSE, ICSE or equivalent state boards
- Candidate must secure minimum 75% in Higher Secondary Examination (65% in case of SC/ST candidates)
- Qualify both JEE Main and JEE Advanced to get admission in B.Tech programmes in IIT Madras.
Admission Process:
- Based on performance in JEE Advanced, a combined merit list of candidates will be prepared in order of their AIR (All India Rankings)
- Candidates have to register for counselling at the official JoSAA (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) website
- During the counselling, candidates will have to fill the choice for engineering branch and specialisations they wish to pursue
National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli
Rank 9 as per NIRF 2020 Engineering Rankings
NIT Tiruchirappalli was established in 1964, which was started as the Regional Engineering College. Popularly known as NIT Trichy, the institute offers UG and PG programmes in Engineering, Management, Humanities and Architecture through 17 departments. It is one of the top Engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu.
Eligibility:
- Candidate must have completed Class 12 from a recognised board such as CBSE, ICSE or equivalent state boards
- Candidate must secure minimum 75% in Higher Secondary Examination (65% in case of SC/ST candidates)
Admission Process:
- Based on JEE Main AIR (All India Rank), candidates will be shortlisted for JoSAA Counselling
- In the counselling rounds, the candidates are asked to provide choice for the engineering branch and specialisation they want to pursue
College of Guindy, Anna University
Rank 14 as per NIRF 2020 Engineering Rankings
Established in 1794 as a School of Survey, the College of Guindy (CEG) offers before various UG and PG programmes in Engineering, Management, Science and Humanities through six faculties. CEG offers BE/B.Tech courses in 14 specialisations.
Eligibility:
- Candidate must have completed Class 12 from a recognised board such as CBSE, ICSE or equivalent state boards
Admission Process:
- The UG admissions are purely based on the marks secured by the candidates Class 12 final examinations
- Candidates are admitted based through TNEA (Tamil Nadu Engineering Admission), conducted by DoTE Tamil Nadu
- Merit lists are prepared by scaling scores to 200 and ranks are allotted based on their performance in Class 12
Vellore Institute of technology
Rank 15 as per NIRF 2020 Engineering Rankings
Among the most popular Engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) was established in 1984 by G. Viswanathan and has since then established itself as an Institute of Eminence (IoE). The private deemed university has three campuses — Chennai, Amravati and Bhopal — managed by the VIT Group of Institutes.
Eligibility:
- Candidate must have completed Class 12 from a recognised board such as CBSE, ICSE or equivalent state boards
- o Candidate need to secure minimum 60% aggregate in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in the qualifying examination (50% in case of reserved category candidates)
Admission Process:
- The admissions to B.Tech programmes is based on candidates’ rank in VITEEE Exam
- However, due to COVID-19 outbreak, the 2020 B.Tech admissions are based on ranks calculated in Class 12 final examination. Candidates with JEE Main and SAT scores will be given due weightage in the VIT B.Tech admissions 2020
SASTRA (Deemed to be University)
Rank 37 as per NIRF 2020 Engineering Rankings
Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy (SASTRA) Deemed University was established in 1984 as Shanmugha College of Engineering. The University currently offers B.Tech programmes in 14 specialisations.
Eligibility:
- Candidate must have completed Class 12 from a recognised board such as CBSE, ICSE or equivalent state boards
- Candidate must have secured 60% aggregate in Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry/Biology/Biotechnology/Computer Science
Admission Process:
- For admission to B.Tech programmes, 70% of seats are filled based on JEE Main scores and 30% of seats are filled based on Class 12 scores
- Shortlisted candidates based on the merit list will participate in the counselling process to provide choices for course and specialisation and subsequent seat allotment
These are top five B.Tech colleges in Tamil Nadu as per the NIRF rankings, and are also considered to be among the top 50 engineering colleges in India.
The undergraduate engineering admissions for a large number of colleges is regulated through TNEA (Tamil Nadu Engineering Admission), which is organised and managed by Directorate of Technical Education (DoTE), Tamil Nadu. The admission is done through rank list preparation, which is prepared based on candidates’ performance in Class 12 examinations.
Several top-tier colleges also accept scores of JEE (Joint Engineering Entrance) and other national-level exams for admission to B.Tech and BE programmes.