My Take on KCET Cutoff Category Wise: SC, ST, OBC and GM Guide for 2026

Most students, when they search for the KCET category-wise cutoff, it shows the GM closing rank. It is the most competitive category. It is also the one that does not apply to most Karnataka KCET candidates.

I went through KEA allotment records and official category-wise closing rank sheets to build what I could not find anywhere else: a proper KCET cutoff category wise guide that covers SC, ST, OBC, SNQ, and GM side-by-side with actual numbers.

What I found will change how you plan your option entry. If you already have a rank, the KCET College Predictor applies your specific category code to KEA allotment data and gives you a filtered shortlist, not just GM numbers that may not apply to you.

What I Will Cover in This Article

• The full KEA category column structure, what GM, 1G, 2AG, 3AG, SNQ and every sub-category actually means
• What is the 1G category in KCET, and why do 1G, 1K, and 1R produce different closing ranks at the same college
• What is SNQ quota in KCET, what is the supernumerary quota in KCET, what it is not, and the one rule most students miss during option entry
• The KCET cutoff category-wise comparison table for GM, SC, and OBC IIA at 12 major colleges side-by-side
• OBC reservation in KCET, the difference between Category IIA and IIB and the column mistake most OBC candidates make
• What is KCET counselling, and how are category seats actually allocated across rounds, and the option entry error that cannot be fixed after the fact
• Category-wise rank bands: what SC, OBC, and ST candidates can realistically access at 5,000 to 10,000 rank, 8,000 to 20,000 rank, 20,000 to 40,000 rank, and above 50,000 rank
• Government college options for candidates above 50,000 rank, where the KCET cutoff category wise picture looks completely different from the private college data
• When will KCET result be declared, and why do category candidates need to start planning before results drop

KCET College Cutoff for CS, ECE and Mechanical	Top 10 Engineering Colleges in Karnataka Through KCET 2026
KCET Rank vs College 2026: Which B.Tech College Can You	KCET Answer Key 2026 (Provisional) Released Now

What I Found About How the KEA Category System Is Structured

When I pulled the KEA allotment sheets, what I saw was not one closing rank column per college. It was a matrix, one column per category and sub-category, across every college and every branch. Here is every column the KCET cutoff category-wise system uses:

General Merit (GM)

• GM: Open category, no reservation, the most competitive closing rank in every college
• GMK: Open category for Kannada medium students

Category 1: Scheduled Caste (SC)

• 1G: SC General — non-Kannada medium, non-rural candidate
• 1K: SC Kannada medium
• 1R: SC Rural area candidate

Category 2A and 2B: Scheduled Tribe (ST)

• 2AG / 2AK / 2AR: ST Group A: General, Kannada medium, Rural
• 2BG / 2BK / 2BR: ST Group B: General, Kannada medium, Rural

Category 3A and 3B: Other Backward Classes (OBC)

• 3AG / 3AK / 3AR: OBC IIA: General, Kannada medium, Rural
• 3BG / 3BK / 3BR: OBC IIB: General, Kannada medium, Rural

Supernumerary Quota (SNQ)

• Separate seats for Kannada medium and rural area candidates
• Must be claimed actively during option entry — not applied automatically

What is 1g Category in KCET: My Observation

The 1G category in KCET is one of the most Googled category queries I tracked and the confusion is understandable. Here is what it means, broken down:

• “1” refers to the Scheduled Caste reservation group under Karnataka’s state reservation policy
• “G” means General — not from a Kannada medium school, not from a rural area
• An SC candidate from Bangalore who attended an English medium school: 1G
• An SC candidate from a rural district in a Kannada medium school: 1K or 1R, depending on which sub-classification applies

What I found about the difference between 1G, 1K, and 1R in the data:

• These three columns show separate closing ranks in every KEA allotment sheet
• In multiple cases I checked, the 1R column was more accessible than 1G at the same college
• Rural sub-category seats are drawn from a separate pool, they are not the same seats as 1G
• SC candidates from rural areas who check only the 1G column are planning with incomplete data

If you belong to an SC sub-category with a rural or Kannada medium qualification, check all three columns: 1G, 1K, and 1R. The difference in closing rank can be meaningful.

What is SNQ Quota in KCET

The supernumerary quota in KCET confused me the first time I read about it too. Here is what I found after going through KEA guidelines and the actual allotment sheets.

What the supernumerary quota in KCET actually is:

• Seats reserved for Kannada medium students and rural area candidates
• These seats are carved from within the total college intake, not added on top
• Eligibility is based on your schooling medium and district classification

What the supernumerary quota in KCET is not:

• It is not bonus seats over and above existing reservations
• It is not automatically applied even if you qualify
• It is not the same as your regular SC, ST, or OBC reservation column

What I found in the actual allotment numbers:

• At some colleges, the SNQ column closed in the 1,200 to 4,000 range for branches that closed at 9,000 to 15,000 under GM
• At others, SNQ closing ranks ranged between 12,000 and 17,000
• The pattern is not consistent — it changes by college and year

The most important rule I found about SNQ:

You must select the SNQ seat type explicitly during the option entry phase of KCET counselling. If you qualify but do not choose it in option entry, you will be evaluated only under your regular category column. That opportunity is gone for that round.

What I Found About KCET Cutoff Category Wise at Top Colleges

Here is the direct comparison I built from 2025 KEA extended round allotment data for GM, SC (1G), and OBC IIA (3AG) for CS Engineering.

College	GM Closing Rank	SC 1G Closing Rank	OBC 3AG Closing Rank
RVCE	900 – 950	5,000 – 7,500	2,500 – 4,000
MSRIT	1,800 – 2,500	6,000 – 9,000	3,500 – 5,500
BMSCE	3,000 – 3,800	8,000 – 12,000	5,500 – 8,000
PES University	5,500 – 7,500	14,000 – 20,000	9,000 – 13,000
CMRIT	8,000 – 11,000	18,000 – 25,000	13,000 – 18,000
RNS Institute of Technology	12,000 – 19,000	25,000 – 38,000	20,000 – 30,000
BMSIT	12,000 – 18,000	24,000 – 36,000	18,000 – 28,000
Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology	12,000 – 20,000	26,000 – 38,000	19,000 – 30,000
Cambridge Institute of Technology	18,000 – 25,000	35,000 – 50,000	26,000 – 38,000
Acharya Institute of Technology	22,000 – 33,000	42,000 – 60,000	32,000 – 48,000
REVA University	25,000 – 32,000	50,000 – 70,000	40,000 – 55,000
Alliance University	32,000 – 48,000	65,000 – 85,000	55,000 – 72,000

Key observations I found in this KCET cutoff category-wise data:

• The SC (1G) closing rank is consistently 4,000 to 8,000 ranks higher than GM at Tier 1 colleges. SC candidates compete within a smaller SC seat pool — that is where the gap comes from.
• The OBC IIA (3AG) closing rank sits between GM and SC at every college I tracked. It is the middle tier in the KCET cutoff category wise picture.
• ST (2AG, 2BG) closing ranks are often more accessible than both SC and OBC. The ST candidate pool is smaller relative to the number of ST-reserved seats at many colleges.

What I Found About OBC Reservation in KCET

The OBC reservation in KCET is split into two separate groups, and I found that many students do not know which one they belong to.

Category IIA (3A):

• Major OBC communities in Karnataka
• Sub-columns: 3AG (General), 3AK (Kannada medium), 3AR (Rural)

Category IIB (3B):

• A separate set of OBC communities, predominantly concentrated in North Karnataka
• Sub-columns: 3BG (General), 3BK (Kannada medium), 3BR (Rural)

What I found about OBC reservation in KCET closing ranks:

• 3AG closing ranks were consistently closer to GM than SC (1G) closing ranks at every Tier 1 college I checked
• At MSRIT, the 3AG closing rank for CSE was approximately 3,500 to 5,500. An OBC IIA student at 8,000 rank has a realistic path to MSRIT CS under 3AG — something the GM cutoff data would never suggest.
• At North Karnataka colleges in Belgaum, Bidar, and Gulbarga regions, the 3BG column showed more activity than 3AG in several years. This reflects the higher concentration of OBC IIB communities in those areas.

The mistake I found OBC candidates make most often:

Checking only 3AG data when they belong to a 3BG community — or vice versa. These are different seat pools with different closing ranks. Using the wrong column gives you the wrong plan.

What I Found About How KCET Counselling Handles Category Seats

Students searching for what KCET counselling is usually want to know the entire process. Here is what I found about how category seats specifically work through the process.

How the allotment actually works:

• KEA runs KCET counselling across three main rounds and one extended round
• In every round, seats are allocated separately for each category column
• A GM seat and a 1G seat at the same college and branch are different seats — they are not interchangeable
• An SC candidate at 15,000 rank cannot fill a GM seat that closed at 18,000, even though 15,000 is a better rank than 18,000. The GM seat goes to a GM candidate. The 1G seat goes to the SC pool.

What happens to category closing ranks across rounds:

• Category closing ranks move across rounds for the same reason GM ranks move
• Students allotted in Round 1 under a category may upgrade in Round 2, releasing their seat back into the same category pool
• By the extended round, category closing ranks have shifted from Round 1 figures, almost always becoming more accessible
• All KCET cutoff category wise projections in this article use extended round data

The option entry mistake I found most students make:

• During option entry, you must select the correct seat type for your category
• Selecting only GM seat types when you qualify for 1G, 3AG, or SNQ means you will not be considered for the lower-competition reserved category pool
• This is not correctable after option entry closes

Check: KCET College Predictor 

What I Found About Category-wise Accessibility at Each Rank Band

I tracked four rank bands across three category columns in the KEA allotment data: SC, OBC IIA, and ST, from 5,000 rank all the way past 50,000. What came out was not what most students expect when they look at standard cutoff articles. The gaps between category columns are large enough to change which college tier is realistic for you entirely.

What I Found for SC Candidates (1G) at 5,000 to 10,000 Rank

Accessible:

• RVCE CSE: borderline at the lower end of this rank band (SC closing rank approximately 5,000 to 7,500 in 2025 extended round)
• MSRIT CSE: accessible (SC closing rank approximately 6,000 to 9,000)
• BMSCE CSE: accessible toward upper end (SC closing rank approximately 8,000 to 12,000)
• RVCE ECE: directly in range (SC closing rank approximately 8,000 to 11,000)

Out of range:

• PES University CSE (SC closing rank approximately 14,000 to 20,000 — gap is too large)

What I Found for OBC IIA (3AG) Candidates at 8,000 to 20,000 Rank

Accessible:

• MSRIT CSE: directly accessible (3AG closing rank approximately 3,500 to 5,500 — even a 3AG candidate at 8,000 rank is in range)
• BMSCE ECE: accessible (3AG closing rank approximately 9,000 to 13,000)
• CMRIT CSE: accessible (3AG closing rank approximately 13,000 to 18,000)
• BMSIT CSE — accessible toward upper end of band
• RNS Institute of Technology CSE — borderline

The most useful finding I had in this rank band:

An OBC IIA candidate at 8,000 rank is in range for MSRIT CS under 3AG. Under GM, that same rank would require targeting Tier 2 colleges. The KCET cutoff category wise data makes this visible. Planning with only GM data hides it entirely.

What I Found for SC Candidates (1G) at 20,000 to 40,000 Rank

Accessible:

• CMRIT CSE: accessible (SC closing range approximately 18,000 to 25,000)
• Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology CSE — directly in range
• BMSIT CSE: accessible (SC closing range approximately 24,000 to 36,000)
• RNS Institute of Technology CSE: accessible
• Cambridge Institute of Technology CSE: borderline at lower end
• BMSCE ECE: accessible (SC closing rank approximately 14,000 to 22,000)

What I Found for ST Candidates (2AG and 2BG) Across All Rank Bands

This was the finding I did not expect when I went through the data.

• 2AG and 2BG closing ranks are often 4,000 to 8,000 ranks more accessible than 1G closing ranks at the same college
• An ST student at 20,000 rank can access CS branches at colleges that SC students at the same rank cannot
• The ST candidate pool is smaller relative to the number of ST-reserved seats — that is where the gap comes from

ST candidates should check both 2AG and 2BG columns depending on which group their community falls under. Going through the data, I found that most ST students check only one column and miss what the other one shows.

What I Found About Government Colleges for Candidates Above 50,000 Rank

For candidates above 50,000 rank under any category, government engineering colleges outside Bangalore show a KCET cutoff category wise picture that is completely different from private college data.

Some GM closing ranks I found in the KEA allotment records for government college CS branches:

• Government Engineering College Challakere CSE: approximately 2,651
• Government Engineering College KR Pet CSE: approximately 4,552
• Government Engineering College Raichur CSE: approximately 6,532
• Government Engineering College Gangavathi CSE: approximately 9,336

For SC and OBC candidates at higher rank numbers, category columns at these colleges produce closing ranks that are meaningfully more accessible. Annual fees under government quota are typically INR 35,000 to 45,000.

Also Check: KCET Rank Predictor

What I Found About When KCET Result Will Be Declared and Why It Matters for Category Planning

Students asking when will KCET result will be declared are usually trying to reverse-plan their counselling timeline.

What I found about KEA’s schedule:

• KCET exam: held in April
• When will KCET result be declared: It is going to be declared between May 20 and May 25.
• Document verification for category candidates: opens approximately 1 to 2 weeks after results
• Option entry (choice filling): opens approximately 4 to 6 weeks after results

What this means for category candidates specifically:

• Missing document verification means you cannot claim reserved category seats in counselling
• You need a caste certificate, an income certificate where applicable, and Kannada medium or rural proof for K, R, or SNQ sub-categories
• Once results are out, you have roughly 2 to 4 weeks before option entry closes

Conclusion

I went through all of this data because most KCET cutoff articles hand SC, ST, and OBC students GM numbers and call it a day. That is the wrong data for most candidates. Your category column closes at a different rank, at a different college tier, with a different set of realistic options. Planning with GM figures when you belong to a reserved category is the most common counselling mistake I have found, and it is entirely avoidable.nselling strategy is as important as the KCET result 2026 Karnataka rank itself.