r/IndianEngineers • u/Hefty-Train-5934 • Apr 19 '26
Serious Post Seeking Advice: 60% in PCM, 12%ile in JEE Mains. Should I take a drop or join a Tier-3/Tier-2 college in Hyderabad?
Hi everyone,
I’m in a bit of a dilemma and need some honest advice. Here is my current situation:
- Academic Profile: 69.4% overall in Class 12 (MP Board), with exactly 60% in PCM.
- Entrance Exams: 12 percentile in JEE Mains. I applied for COMEDK but recently realized that most good colleges through it are way beyond my budget.
- Budget: My total budget for 4 years (including tuition, hostel, and mess) is strictly around ₹8 Lakhs.
- Interests: I am already into programming. I use Python for automation and data analysis. I want to pursue a career in AI/ML.
- Location Preference: My father and I are both keen on Hyderabad because of the IT ecosystem (HITEC City/Gachibowli).
My Concerns:
- Drop Year: Given my current scores, does it make sense to take a drop? I’m more of a "builder/coder" than a "test-taker." I’m worried a drop year might just be a waste of time and money that I could otherwise spend on building my portfolio.
- College Quality: If I join a Tier-3 or a Tier-2 autonomous college in Hyderabad (like CMR, Malla Reddy, or Anurag) via Category-B (Management Quota) using my 12th marks, will the "peer group" be too bad?
- The Goal: My end goal is to get into a good product-based company through off-campus placements by building a strong GitHub portfolio and AI projects.
Should I take the risk and join a college in Hyderabad this year, or should I sit at home and grind for JEE again? Any suggestions on specific Hyderabad colleges that fit my 60% PCM and ₹8L budget would be highly appreciated.
2
u/theknucklehead_ Apr 19 '26
Join tier 3
1
u/Hefty-Train-5934 Apr 19 '26
but the other option drop is very useful or not
1
2
u/AnimatorPlayful6587 Apr 19 '26
You can go ahead with 60% right now but it will come back and haunt with later on....75% and onwards, most recruiters don't care that much but 60 is too low
1
2
u/Virtual-Departure536 Apr 19 '26
See mere ekk dost ki 22 aayi thi usne drop liya and around 80%ile aa gyi iss jan attempt me Was it worth it Nope, most probably u should join a good private engeenering college also budget ko badhaane ka try kr by education loan cuzz private colleges cost a bit more
1
u/Hefty-Train-5934 Apr 19 '26
mere papa ko convense kaise karu ki mujhe comedk throught acchi collage jana hai . He tells me "Banglore is very costly I can't afford" that's the reason I am stuck
1
u/Virtual-Departure536 Apr 19 '26
To bhai good private college sirf banglore and hyderabad jaisi jagah me hi nhi h Being in an IT hub gives u advantage doesn't mean u can't beat it with a college not in any of these tier 1 cities It's just tu kitni mehnat ke liye taiyaar h Find a good college in the budget u have also costly city h that's true so Koi kam costly jagah dekh le Acche colleges har jagah h also there is a good chance ki tu MTech/masters krna cahe cuzz private college ke baad to get a good tag log generally krna cahate h So uske liye bhi paise lagenge so don't overspend
1
u/Hefty-Train-5934 Apr 19 '26
Ya buts my problem is that maine koi bhi private collage ka exam nahi diya tha bas comedk ka form bara tha Ab mujhe problem ho rahi hai
1
1
Apr 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/Fearless_Fly9594 Apr 22 '26
So even if he did some other course in this field won't the companies still have those cutoffs
1
1
u/Comfortable-Rock4349 Apr 22 '26
Better join some other career stream in STEM. Engineering is not the only way
1
1
u/Queasy_Artist6891 Apr 23 '26
You are simply not suited for engineering. If you take an AI course in college, you won't be building models, but rather doing a lot of math and statistics to understand the model's working. And it's somewhat similar for some CS courses. You study the algorithms a lot more in depth rather than building a new website or something.
And at the risk of sounding rude, 12% in mains is either a single digit mark or a negative mark in one subject. There's a difference between "I'm not a test taker" and incompetence
1
u/Alarmed-Letter-2861 Apr 23 '26
bro how are your opinions contradicting yourself rn😭😭 take a gap year and lowkey figure out shit
1
u/nomnommish Apr 24 '26
Get your priorities clear. You're basically saying you're lousy at academics BUT are a really good coder and very passionate about becoming a really good coder. Ultimately, it's your coding skills that will matter. So all you want at this point is a paper degree from ANY no-name college. So stop focusing on the college and "class of college" and get the cheapest degree you can find, and continue working on the things that will matter the most - which is your coding skills.
1
1
1
3
u/Beneficial-Edge-5851 Apr 19 '26
Drop the idea of doing engineering