u/Lord_Moldyvort

Greetings,

I have a few serious questions about reduction of financial dependency while in college and about MCN scholarships for AY 2026-27 and beyond.

The main questions are in bold letters.

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Is the final eligibility limit for MCN announced yet, or are the numbers still speculative?

When is it typically announced each year?

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This year, during the filling of the preference form, these are the listed family income categories among which one is to be selected:

• <1 LPA
• 1-5 LPA
• 5-8 LPA
• 8-10 LPA
• 10-11 LPA
• 11-12 LPA
• 12-13 LPA
• 13-14 LPA
• 14-15 LPA
• 15-16 LPA
• 16-17 LPA
• 17-18 LPA
• 18-19 LPA
• 19-20 LPA
• 20+ LPA

Plus, during the stage of uploading the ITR/other such documents, it is described that those who do not wish to apply for the MCN scholarship for the first semester will have to submit a self-declaration of the same in PDF format, in place of the financial documents, AND select their family income category as 20+ LPA.

But was the portal like this in previous years too, or was it different?

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I think it is highly unlikely that the BITS authorities would design the preference form portal like this only to contradict their own portal later and state that the eligibility limit is not 20 LPA, because if they did, I think they would face a lot of reputational backlash and possibly legal retribution too.

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Now, my family income (gross, without deduction) is between 19 and 20 LPA. My father is the only working parent.

But it's not as if I can comfortably accept financial dependence. My parents have been intermittently yet extremely abusive (publicly high-functioning, abusive behind closed doors) and controlling in my past (though the worst is behind me, and I am gaining more control now) and I want to estrange myself from them not long after completing college, and build material independence during college.

In fact, the relationship is already broken beyond repair, and the only reason I am still with them is legal dependency, which of course will take time to resolve because I don't yet have housing or income of my own.

I do not want to become subservient to my abusers. But would finances force me to?
They might use money for coercion, that's why I ask.

To me, 32 lakhs' worth of money in fees equates to 32 lakh strings attached, because provision always came with strings attached.
Therefore, I want to minimise dependence to the maximum extent possible, but I also do not want to burn myself out in the process of chasing the merit-only scholarships (which I understand require a consistent 9.5+ CGPA, maybe even more). I have understood that I learn better when I do not experience incessantly high pressure (external or self-imposed). I would rather stay on the right side of the line between discipline and overexertion.

So I feel like MCN would offer me some breathing room. Even if I do not secure it in all semesters, the reduction of dependency will be substantial.

Therefore, I am currently in a state of deep confusion about whether I can make the cut for MCN or not.

But in the event that I am not eligible for MCN, am I consigned to depend on my abusers, or is it required to grind till I ruin my health, or is there a balanced third way?

This question is making me doubt whether prioritising BITSAT prep over "the great government college rat race" (JEE) was a blunder or not, even though I have always performed better in BITSAT mocks than JEE mocks, and my score in BITSAT attempt 1 is substantially better than my JEE Main percentile or my predicted JEE Advanced score in terms of admission prospects.

I am keeping a drop year as the absolute worst-case option.

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Are merit-only scholarships (even 50%) really tough to secure, especially if not a CS student?

How can I take minimal money from my parents over the course of 4 years, beyond the obvious (reducing overspending)? I use zero subscription services because I do not feel the need for any. I am not a spendthrift.

Can I start building my income even before PS/placements? If yes, how? Is it difficult to manage acads (specifically EEE/ENI) along with these income streams?

Are education loans student-friendly, or is it better to treat them like a last resort? In case I do need a loan, can I borrow independently and repay independently later, without involving my parents at all?

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Please note: It's not about college admission alone, it's about the quality of my life.
But also, I am not depressive, suicidal or anything like that. Far from it, in fact. I wish to make correct decisions, that's all.

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In another post on this sub , I have described what I am interested in and want to work in. I had asked a few questions related to that. Please check that out if you wish to know what branch/field I aspire to get into.

Greetings,

Is the final eligibility limit for MCN announced yet, or are the numbers still speculative? When is it typically announced each year?

Have there been revisions every few years or so?

This year, during the filling of the preference form, these were the listed family income categories among which one was to be selected:

• <1 LPA
• 1-5 LPA
• 5-8 LPA
• 8-10 LPA
• 10-11 LPA
• 11-12 LPA
• 12-13 LPA
• 13-14 LPA
• 14-15 LPA
• 15-16 LPA
• 16-17 LPA
• 17-18 LPA
• 18-19 LPA
• 19-20 LPA
• 20+ LPA

Plus, during the stage of uploading the ITR/other such documents, it was described that those who did not wish to apply for the MCN scholarship for the first semester would have to submit a self-declaration of the same in PDF format, in place of the financial documents, AND select their family income category as 20+ LPA.

So I see a chance of the eligibility limit being revised to 20 LPA.

But was the portal like this in previous years too, or was it different?

Now, my family income (gross, without deduction) is between 19 and 20 LPA. My father is the only working parent.

But it's not as if I can comfortably accept financial dependence. My parents have been extremely abusive (publicly high-functioning, and abusive only behind closed doors) and controlling in my past (though, and this is important; the worst is behind me, and I am gaining more control now) and I want to estrange myself from them after completing college (time-sensitive; I would rather not wait till age 30 simply to exist in peace), and build material independence during college.

I do not want to lick the boots of people who almost literally killed me while calling it "discipline" and still believing themselves to be morally right. But would finances force me to?

Is it possible to take minimal money from them or not?

To me, 32 lakhs' worth of money in fees equates to 32 lakh strings attached, because provision always came with strings attached.

I want to minimise dependence to the maximum extent possible, but I also do NOT want to burn myself out in the process of chasing the merit-only scholarships. I experienced burnout once during JEE grind and never want that to repeat again. From that experience, I understood that I learn better when I do not experience constant high pressure (external or self-imposed), Balanced and consistent effort helps me learn very well.

I feel like MCN would offer me some breathing room. Even if I do not secure it in all semesters, the reduction of dependency will be substantial.

So I am currently in a state of deep confusion about whether I can make the cut for MCN or not.

This question is affecting my ability to focus on exam prep (particularly BITSAT), especially in these last few days, so much that I am doubting whether prioritising BITSAT prep over the "great government college rat race" (JEE) was a blunder or not, even though I have always performed better in BITSAT mocks than JEE mocks, and my score in BITSAT attempt 1 is substantially better than my JEE Main percentile in terms of admission prospects.

I feel like it will all have been for nothing if I don't make the cut for MCN.

But is it all that bleak?

Am I doomed to depend on my abusers if I am not eligible for MCN, or is it required to grind till I ruin my health, or is there a balanced third way?

Please note: It's not about college admission alone, it's about the quality of my life.
But also, I am not suicidal or anything like that. Far from it, in fact. I have an intense will to live well.

Greetings seniors,

I am an aspirant targeting EEE as my first choice with EIE/ENI being my second preference. My specific interests are in renewable electrical energy generation, transmission and control systems. I also wish to develop skills relating to AI/ML integration in power systems and open-source software tooling.

I am not rejecting software entirely, I am just not interested in treating as the main focus rather than using it as a tool. (So no SaaS, full-stack development, etc.)

I do NOT want to pivot to IT/finance.

I intend to move to Germany for an applied Master's and work in the industry. I do NOT want to pursue theory-heavy research. Companies such as Siemens Energy (which is German) interest me more than GAMMA/JPMC/Goldman Sachs.

I have checked the course descriptions of both EEE and ENI. Both seem to be literally the same in the first and second years.

My questions are:

How huge is the divergence in third year, specifically considering a career path such as the one I hope to take?

Can electives bridge the gap caused by the divergence, or would additional self-directed learning be required too?

Is it practically feasible to engage in self-directed learning, considering schedules?

How do PS1/PS2/placement offers differ between both branches, if at all?

Does the academic rigor differ very much between both branches (quizzes, midsems, compres)?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how does EEE/ENI course flow compare to JEE prep, where 10 = as intense and all-consuming as JEE prep? As in, do I get to take breaks and decompress?
(I was once burnt out by JEE prep in 11th grade. I used to study, study and study without recovery and I thus felt my natural curiosity for certain things decline. But since then, I have been recovering. I am still learning the balance between discipline and overexertion, but I definitely do not feel as mentally foggy and hopeless as I used to when the burnout was at its peak.)

Is getting a 9.5+ (or even 9.0+) CGPA in EEE/ENI consistently, right from first semester, a superhuman task? Does it require chronic sleep deprivation? Or is it manageable if I have the interest and I put in the effort required consistently?

Are the academics at Goa uniquely tough? I actually prefer Goa over Pilani, because I am from coastal Karnataka and therefore well-adjusted to the same coastal weather.
I would rather choose a campus I can live well in for four years. I can tolerate humidity better than a 50 degree celsius annual range of temperature. Plus, in my perception, the prestige factor of Pilani would not really matter to me specifically because I do not wish to pivot to IT/finance anyway (kindly correct me if this point is wrong). Moreover, the degree after four years, irrespective of campus, is awarded under the same name of BITS Pilani, if I'm not mistaken.

But do the acads at Goa work against the location advantage?

I scored 249 in session 1 of BITSAT, and I am targeting an improvement in session 2. The issues I face are not conceptual, they are in execution, and I am actively fixing them. Plus, my chances of scoring well in BITSAT are higher than in JEE Adv., because I simply perform better in the BITSAT format.

Like I said earlier, I am interested in the use of open-source software tooling for energy systems. I already use Fedora Linux as my main and only OS on my laptop, and although I have practically negligible knowledge of engineering-relevant computer programming (does ICSE class 10/CBSE class 12 CS count? I highly doubt it), I have been familiar with open-source software for years now.

Can I use Linux in college as my main OS or would I have to dual-boot with Windows (which I really don't want to do)? What skills related to my interests can I develop, and how? How much time and effort do they require in college?

Yes, I know some questions may seem excessive, but some adverse childhood experiences have made me hyper-conscious of everything (feeling like I have to "think 5 steps ahead all the time"). But this time I thought I'd ask my doubts here instead of holding them in like I often used to earlier.

I need to know what I'm signing up for. I have some clarity already on my overall branch/career choice, but I still wish to have these specific doubts clarified.

Greetings,

I have got a rank of ~17.1k in SRMJEEE (although I don't understand how it can be that high since I attempted all questions, and was confident in the majority of them).

Anyways I am looking at EEE (no specialisations) in the main campus as my first preference.

1. Is it possible for me to get this in the first round?
2. How good is the program? I would prefer BITS or Manipal over SRM, but I gave the exam, right? So, I'm asking.

My requirement is that I want to get into EEE core roles (industry, NOT research) because I am interested in them specifically. I do NOT want to pivot to software/finance later.