Engineering Outlook Report 2024: MHT-CET Most Preferred Regional Entrance Exam; Home Preference Grows, CSE Top Choice

The Shiksha Report 2024 states that students’ preference for B.Tech colleges in their home state continues to be the top choice, however, the preference declined by 12% compared to the previous year. Check other details students prefer while selecting a college or course...

Among the regional or state-level entrance exams for B.Tech courses, the Maharashtra Health and Technical Common Entrance Test (MHT-CET) continues to retain its top position among the most preferred regional engineering entrance exams. Based on the Engineering Outlook Report 2024 released by Shiksha.com, MHT-CET is followed by WBJEE & COMEDK as the preferred regional engineering entrance exam.

The Engineering Outlook Report 2024 sheds light on several key aspects of student choices in terms of entrance exams, key factors in deciding colleges, and other trends in engineering education. The Report 2024 states that students’ preference for B.Tech colleges in their home state continues to be the top choice, however, the preference declined by 12% compared to the previous year. The preference to study anywhere in the country increased by 36% in 2023.

Vivek Jain, Chief Business Officer of Shiksha, highlighted insights from the Engineering Outlook Survey Report 2024, emphasizing the impact of current challenges in campus placements on students' decision-making processes. The report indicates a trend where students are focusing on selective exams and are more open to relocating to their preferred colleges. Factors such as college reputation, acquired skills, placement opportunities, and rankings significantly influence students' choices.”

Key Findings of Engineering Outlook Report 2024

The popularity of exams like LPU-Nest has increased, however, VITEE and Amrita AEEE have become popular in the East and West.

North: The popularity of LPU-Nest and other state-level exams like MHT-CET, WEBJEE, KCET and CUCET significantly improved, whereas, for major exams such as JEE Mains, BITSAT and VITEEE, it reduced compared to the previous year

East: Increase in popularity of prominent entrance exams like VITEE and Amrita AEEE and other regional exams like AMUEEE, AUEET and OJEE

West: Preference for JEE Main, BITSAT and Amrita AEEE grew significantly. Most popular state-level exams like MHT-CET, WBJEE, COMEDK and KCET also gained traction compared to 2022

Central: JEE Main, BITSAT, MHT-CET and CUCET are popular choices among the students from Central India

The report reveals that the average count of entrance exams per student has dropped; More Students Appeared for a Fewer Number of Engineering Exams in 2023. In 2023, the percentage of students appearing for fewer entrance exams (up to 2) grew by nearly 20% compared to the previous year.

The average count of Engineering entrance exams taken in 2023 has dropped across India, except for West India where it slightly increased when compared with 2022.

Location of college

The preference for choosing engineering colleges located anywhere in the country has spiked significantly. Though students’ preference for B.Tech colleges in their home state continues to be the top choice, the preference declined by 12% compared to the previous year. Preference to study anywhere in the country increased by 36% in 2023

Aspirants from East, North, and South are open to pursuing engineering from colleges anywhere in the country and the preference grew by 60-70% compared to the previous year for these regions

Students from West and South India either prefer colleges in their home states or anywhere in their region of residence

Students Prefer Large Cities

Pune has emerged as the Most Preferred City for West India Aspirants Followed by Mumbai and Bangalore. Pune and Mumbai continued to be the top two choices among students of Western India with popularity growing by 54% and 17% respectively for both cities compared to the previous year. Prominent cities like Delhi-NCR and Bangalore witnessed a negative relative lift, whereas cities like Jaipur and Hyderabad witnessed a positive lift.

Kolkata remains the most preferred State for Aspirants in East India followed by Delhi NCR; Bangalore drops from second position to fifth. Kolkata and Delhi NCR are the top choices when searching for B.Tech colleges among students in the Eastern region in 2023. Preference to study in Bangalore dropped significantly by over 50% as Bhubaneshwar and Mumbai emerged as more preferred cities

Delhi NCR, Hyderabad and Bhopal emerged as the most popular choice in Central India witnessing a y-o-y positive lift. Pune, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Allahabad grew in terms of preference compared to 2022.

Prominent capital cities in the South remained the top choice to study B.Tech for students from Southern India in 2023. Additionally, affinity for Coimbatore increased by 61% in 2023 compared with 2022.