The Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani is one of the prestigious institutions in India established in 1964. The BITS Pilani campus is spread across an area of 328 acres. Apart from Pilani, BITS has campuses in Goa, Dubai and Hyderabad.

There are a total of 23 IIT institutions in India. The first IIT institution was set up in 1951 at Kharagpur. Considering the total number of B-Tech seats in all the IIT institutions in India, there were 16, 053 seats in the year 2023. In the NIRF 2023 ranking, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Guwahati and IIT Hyderabad were ranked the best engineering institutions in India.

Difference Between BITS and IITs

While discussing the major difference between IITs and BITS, the first major difference is that BITS is a private institution and IITs are government institutions. Being a private institution the academic fee at BITS is higher than IIT institutions. The selection process at IIT is more difficult than BITS. To get admission to IIT, the candidate has to first clear the JEE Main examination followed by the JEE Advanced examination. In BITS, admission is based on a single entrance examination conducted by the institution. Thus the to get admission in BITS is easier than IIT.

Admission Process and BITS Entrance Exam Pattern

Admission to the various courses in BITS is based on the score obtained by the candidates in the course-specific entrance examination. Students who have secured 75% of marks in physics, chemistry and mathematics can register for the examination. The exam is conducted for 3 hours and has four parts. Part 1 has questions from Physics, Part 2 has questions from Chemistry, Part 3 includes English Proficiency and logical reasoning and Part 4 has questions from mathematics and biology for pharmacy. For each correct answer, 3 marks will be awarded and for each incorrect answer, -1 mark will be deducted. The examination is conducted twice in a year, session 1 in May and session 2 in June.

Zero Attendance Policy

Through the zero attendance policy, there is no minimum attendance needed for attending the examination. Normally colleges make it mandatory to have a minimum of 75% attendance to appear for the examination. Under the Zero Attendance Policy, it is not mandatory for students to attend any classes if they don’t want to. There is no compulsion for the students to attend the classes. With zero attendance, students can appear for the examination.

Zero Reservation Policy

There is no reservation for the students based on their social background. Students from privileged and underprivileged communities are given equal opportunity during admission. Which means that admission is purely based on merit. Students who score the top marks in the entrance examination will be given admission.

Dual Degree Programme

Through the Dual Degree Programme, students can pursue two programmes of study concurrently typically within 5 or 5.5 years. This programme at BITS Pilani is famous for its job opportunities. The most common combination is of a degree from among the Science (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Economics and Finance, Mathematics, Physics) Programmes and from among the Engineering (Chemical, Civil, EEE, ECE, E&I, Mechanical, Computer Science) programmes.

Double Degree Programme

Through this Double Degree Programme, the top 1% of students can enrol to two B.Tech programs simultaneously. Thus students can learn two subjects in-depth. It also enhances the opportunity of getting better placements.