The first merit list, declared by Mumbai colleges for degree college (FYBCom, FYBSc, FYBA) students, has shown a substantial rise in entry level marks from the previous year, says a report in a national daily. This could well be troubling news for thousands of students hoping to gain admission into the college of their choice. 

The rise, however, is not due to better performance of students in the Class XII board exams, but because of the 10-day delay in BMM and BMS admissions. Students hoping to take up the increasingly popular management courses have applied for admission to the BA, BCom courses as a safety net. This way, if they fail to secure admission to BMS/ BMM courses, they still have the option of pursuing a BS or BCom degree.

As a result, the number of students applying for admission has drastically risen since last year, forcing colleges to increase the cut-offs.

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South Mumbai's HR College posted an 88 per cent cut-off for commerce. This is a whopping 10 per cent increase over last year. St Andrews College (in surburban Bandra) posted a seven per cent rise at 76.43 per cent, again for commerce. Jai Hind College and Ruparel College have listed a 80 per cent cut-off; K C College, 75 per cent; Raheja College, 75.33 per cent; NM College, 71 per cent and Sydenham College, 83 per cent.

However, the situation is expected to ease once the BMM and BMS admissions begin. Colleges are predicting that a large number of students will pull out once the merit lists for the management courses are declared, effectively reducing the pressure on students intent on a BA or BCom degree.

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Here's a list of cut-offs for some of Mumbai's leading colleges, as per the first merit list:

For Science (first year) students: Ruparel College has listed a 50-62.5 per cent cut-off; K C College, 55-60 per cent; St Xavier's College, 60; Mithibai College, 55 per cent and Jai Hind College -- 48.3 per cent.

For Arts (first year) students: St Xavier's College, 82 per cent (HSC) and 91 per cent (others); Ruparel College, 73 per cent; Jai Hind College, 71.6 per cent; Mithibai College, 65 per cent; K C College, 60 per cent and Raheja College, 42 per cent.

The College of Engineering (Pune) also declared its cut-offs for the new academic year. The cut-off for electronics and telecommunications is 190; computer science, 189 and mechanical engineering, 185.

Do you know what the college cut-offs are in your city? Are you aware of the last date to submit college admissions? If you have information on this year's college admissions, write in to getahead@rediff.co.in, along with your name, age, occupation and contact details. The information you send just might help students hoping to gain admission into their dream college.