What's next after Plus-Two? A comprehensive guide for students

Students who cleared the plus-two (Class 12) exams this year are preparing to join their preferred courses. However, many of these youngsters and their parents wonder whether the course is really suitable for them and are concerned over the employment opportunities available afterwards. Here are a few key facts in this regard.

Fashion technology
Admissions to the programmes in design and fashion technology having good job prospects have started. Students can join these courses based on the entrance examinations conducted earlier.

CUET degree courses
Counselling is currently taking place to the degree courses based on CUET (Common University Entrance Test). Students can apply for the counselling based on the courses.

JoSAA allocation
The joint seat allocation process under JoSAA (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) for admissions to BTech and Integrated MSc programmes in NITs, IIITs and IITs will take place till late July.

CUSAT courses
CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and Technology) has published the results of its entrance exam – CUSAT-CAT 2024. The test enables admissions to BTech, Integrated MSc and other programmes at the institution and the counselling process will start during the third week of June.

MBBS and other medical courses
The results of NEET-UG 2024 (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate) have been announced. The counselling process for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, Agriculture, Veterinary Sciences, Forestry, Forestry and other agricultural courses will start during the first week of July. Students who seek admissions to professional courses in Kerala based on NEET-UG ranks have to upload their NEET-UG score and rank on the website of the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations, Kerala (www.cee.kerala.gov.in). Candidates wishing to join Pharmacy courses had appeared for Paper 1 of KEAM 2024 (Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical exam). Admissions will take place based on the KEAM Pharmacy rank-list to be published during the last week of June.

Architecture, Planning
Meanwhile, candidates seeking to join BArch, the graduate course in Architecture, are waiting for the admissions to start based on the results of Paper 2 of NATA/JEE Main.

Admissions to BPlanning will be conducted based on Paper 3 of JEE Main.

BSc Nursing
NEET-UG score is the criterion for admissions to BSc Nursing programmes in central university institutes, AIIMS, AFMC and JIPMER. However, in Kerala, students are given admission to BSc Nursing based on plus-two marks.

Agriculture, Veterinary

For admissions to Agriculture seats in all-India quota, ranks in CUET-UG are considered.

The 15-percent all-India quota seats in veterinary sciences are filled by the Veterinary Council of India based on NEET-UG ranks. A separate notification will be issued for the purpose.

RIVER admissions
CENTAC (Centralised Admission Committee) carries out the admission for RIVER, Puducherry NRI and other state quota in BVSc & AH programmes at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Veterinary Education and Research (RIVER) based on NEET-UG ranks.

BSc Paramedical
Admissions to BSc Paramedical courses in Kerala are conducted by LBS Centre based on plus-two marks.

Hospitality courses
A joint entrance exam (JEE) is conducted for admissions to select students in hospitality, hotel management and culinary programmes.

Law courses
In Kerala, the state government conducts KLEE (Kerala Law Entrance Exam) for admission to the integrated law courses. Meanwhile, admissions to integrated legal courses in 26 national law universities in India take place based on CLAT (Common Law Admission Test), which is scheduled on December 24.

Medical courses in other countries
NEET-UG cut-off marks are considered to select students for medical courses in the following countries where English is not spoken: China, Russia, Georgia, Poland, Netherlands, Philippines, Nepal Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Bulgaria.

English-speaking nations
Students planning to pursue higher education in English-speaking nations such as the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand should earn the stipulated SAT / TOEFL / IELTS scores.

Things to note
Students and parents should find out the process of counselling and admission procedures related to the courses they wish to join. They have to identify a course that suits the student’s interests, aptitude and career goals. The relevance of the programme also has to be considered.