Gandhinagar: The results of the Class 12 Board Examination have been announced by the Gujarat Board, and with this, the exercise for admission of students into colleges will begin. Similar to last year, the Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS) portal of the Education Department will serve as a single-window system for students seeking admission to B.A., B.Com., B.Sc., and over 100 other undergraduate programmes across government, grant-in-aid, and private universities throughout the state.

Key Admission Phases and Dates

The admission process is divided into multiple rounds. It is critical for students to adhere to the following schedule:

• • Registration Round 1: May 7, 2026 (11:00 AM) to May 28, 2026 (11:59 PM)
• • Admission Offers Round: Technical processing of merit lists will take place from May 29 to June 1. Offers will appear on the student dashboard at midnight on June 1, 2026.
• • Admission Round 1 – Confirmation & Consent: June 2 to June 6, 2026
• • Admission Round 2 – Offers & Confirmation: June 8 to June 13, 2026
• • Admission Round 3 – Offers & Confirmation: June 15 to June 20, 2026
• • Admission Round 4 – Offers & Confirmation: June 22 to June 29, 2026

The Step-by-Step Admission Process

To secure a seat, students must follow these five essential steps:

• Quick Registration: Complete the initial registration on the GCAS portal. You must provide a personal mobile number and email address to receive OTPs and updates via SMS/WhatsApp.

• Profile & Preferences: Fill in educational details and select your preferred university–college–programme combinations.
Note: If your marksheet shows grades only, you must upload a Conversion Certificate along with it.

• Check Admission Offers: Log in to the portal after each round to check if you have received an offer based on your merit and preferences.

• Confirm Admission & Consent: If you accept an offer, confirm it online. If you wish to be considered for a higher preference in the next round, you must provide “Consent” on the portal.

• Reporting to College: Visit the allotted college during working hours with original documents and one set of self-attested copies. Final confirmation is completed at the college using an OTP.

Understanding Preferences and the “Consent” System

The GCAS portal uses a specific logic to manage student choices:

• Preference Deactivation: Once an admission offer is received from any college, all lower-order preferences in the list will be automatically deactivated by the system. (For example, if you have given 10 preferences and receive an offer from your 4th choice, then preferences numbered 5 to 10 will be removed from consideration in the next round.)

• The Consent Rule: If you accept an offer but still wish to be considered for higher-ranked choices in subsequent rounds, you must click the “Consent” button. Failure to do so will “freeze” your current choice, and you will not receive better offers even if seats remain vacant.

• No Repeat Policy: A student will not receive the same admission offer from the same college/university repeatedly. However, if the student modifies preferences as per the GCAS schedule, the offer may be renewed based on institutional rules and merit.

Registration Fees and Categories

During registration, students must choose between Undergraduate (Regular) for standard programmes or Undergraduate (for BAOU) for distance learning through Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University.

Non-refundable fees:

• General & SEBC categories: ₹300
• SC, ST & EWS categories: ₹150

Student Support and Resources

GCAS provides several tools to assist students during the application process:

• AI Agent Helpline: Students can call +91 7969799680 or use the chatbot on the portal to get instant information regarding colleges, cut-offs, and programme details.

• Know Your College (KYC): A dedicated tab on the homepage helps students search for specific programmes and universities.

• Free Help Centres: Students can visit designated “Free Form Filling Centres” for in-person assistance.

Important Rules to Remember

• Data Accuracy: Students are solely responsible for the accuracy of the information and documents uploaded. Providing false information can lead to disqualification.

• Exclusions: Programmes governed by ACPC, ACPDC, or ACMPC are not covered under the GCAS portal.

• Cancellations: If a student wishes to cancel a confirmed admission, it can be done via OTP on the portal. However, fee refunds are handled directly by the respective university or college as per their rules; GCAS does not manage refunds.

DeshGujarat