Cracking JEE gets you into an IIT; surviving relative grading, the 75% attendance rule and a CGPA that gates everything is the part nobody warns you about. The academic game at an IIT is specific and unforgiving — your grade depends on how you rank against your class, branch change is being quietly abolished, and the pressure is real enough that it now has a Supreme Court task force. Here's how the system actually works, the real cutoffs, what students do to stay afloat, and where to get help.
How does IIT grading actually work?
Every IIT uses a 10-point CGPA, but with relative grading — your letter grade is set by where you fall in the class distribution (around the mean and standard deviation), not by a fixed mark range. Score 70% in a brutal course where the average crashed and you might still get a top grade; score 85% in an easy one and you might not. In practice only the top ~25–30% of a class get the two highest grade bands. The letter systems differ by campus — don't assume one universal table:
| IIT | Letter system | Top grade = 10 | Minimum pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bombay | AA / AB / BB / BC / CC / CD / DD | AA | DD (= 4); FR / DX = 0 |
| Kanpur | A / B / C / D / E / F | A | D (= 4); F = 0 |
| Delhi | A / A− / B / B− / C / C− / D | A | D (= 4); F = 0 |
A "good" CGPA is widely treated as 8.0+, with 9.0+ strong and sub-7.0 starting to limit options — community norms, not an official cutoff (sources: IIT Kanpur SPGC, IIT Delhi grading wiki). Real students compare notes constantly — threads like "what's the median CGPA of your branch" and "my first-year experience at IIT Hyderabad: expectations vs reality" on r/Btechtards are a useful reality check before you arrive.
Relative grading means you're not fighting the syllabus — you're fighting the class. Beating the median matters more than chasing 100%.
Can you change your branch after the first year?
Sometimes — but it's rank-based, brutally competitive, and increasingly being scrapped. Where it exists, you're ranked by first-year CPI and pick from a handful of vacated seats top-down.
| IIT | Branch change? | The reality | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bombay | Yes | CPI ≥ 8.0 (7.0 for SC/ST/PwD), no backlog; strict CPI order, with seat caps (target branch ≤110%, source ≥85%) | CollegeDekho |
| Delhi | Yes | Eligibility CGPA > 8.0, but landing CSE realistically needs ~9.0–9.6+ — only a few seats vacate | Careers360 |
| Madras | No (from 2024 batch) | Discontinued; flexible 40–50% electives replace switching departments | AskIITM |
| KGP / Dhanbad / others | Phasing out | Several IITs have discontinued branch change to cut first-year stress | CollegeDunia |
The big shift: the famous "grind for a 9+ to escape your branch" path no longer exists at several IITs. If branch matters to you, weigh it at counselling — don't bank on switching later.
The rules that can fail you regardless of marks
Two hard gates catch first-years off guard. Attendance: the common norm is ≥75%, and falling below it can get you debarred from the exam or deregistered from the course — an automatic fail no matter how well you'd have scored (IIT Patna ordinance). CGPA floor: drop below 4.0 at semester end and you're placed on academic probation, with termination of registration if you don't recover in the allowed window (IIT Delhi). Failed courses must be repeated; only the latest grade counts.
What actually works at an IIT?
Tactics IIT students actually swear by — IIT-specific, not generic "make a schedule" filler:
- Previous-year papers (PYQs) are the highest-ROI move. Solve the last ~5 years fully — courses recycle problem patterns and the endsem is the dominant grade lever.
- Optimise for relative position, not absolute marks. Know each course's grade distribution and aim to beat the class median.
- Front-load effort onto high-weight components. Many courses are endsem-heavy — know the exact weightage before you decide what to skip.
- Seniors' notes and tutorials are currency. Build senior relationships (via clubs) — it's an academic asset, not just social.
- Choose electives strategically. With reformed curricula pushing 40–50% electives, well-graded electives are a real CGPA lever — and at IITs that scrapped branch change, they're the substitute.
- Guard attendance like a grade. Since <75% can auto-fail you, treat it as a hard constraint.
The part the brochure leaves out: pressure, and where to get help
This matters more than any grade tactic. Academic pressure at the IITs is serious: 37 student deaths were reported across 11 IITs between January 2019 and March 2024 (Careers360), and the Supreme Court's 2025 National Task Force on student mental health found that most surveyed institutions lacked adequate counselling support. When an IIT Guwahati student died, classmates publicly tied the stress to the 75% attendance rule, backlogs and a course where 42 students failed, and filed 15 reform demands (Careers360). If you're struggling: a low semester is recoverable and it does not define you. Use your campus wellness/counselling centre, talk to someone you trust, and save the national mental-health helpline Tele-MANAS: 14416 (or 1-800-891-4416), available 24×7.
How this is sourced
- Grading and rules come from IIT ordinances and official academic pages where available; the "top 25–30% get the top grades" figure is directional (community-sourced), not an official quota.
- Branch-change CGPA floors (8.0/7.0) are official; the CSE "~9.0–9.6" cutoffs are reported, year-to-year community figures — treat them as indicative, not published.
- Mental-health figures are from Careers360 reporting and the Supreme Court task force; presented to inform and point to help, never to alarm.
Last updated: June 2026. Surviving the grind? Wear it with pride — see our IIT merch collection.
What current IIT students actually say about CGPA and grading
The recurring threads on r/Btechtards and the per-IIT subs paint a more nuanced picture than the panic suggests. From a "median CGPA of your branch" thread (26up / 42 comments, Jan 2026), the framing students themselves use:
"The median CGPA for our batch is hovering around 8.1, which feels pretty high. I'm curious to see how strict or lenient grading is at other Tier 1/2/3 colleges. College Tier: Tier 1. Branch: Top Circuital. Median CGPA: ~8.1." — OP, r/Btechtards
That 8.1 median at a top circuital branch is the actual benchmark to plan around — not the "you need 9+ to survive" coaching narrative. The thread's replies cluster around 7.5–8.3 medians for circuital branches at older IITs, and 7.0–7.8 for non-circuital.
On the realistic difficulty of staying above 8.5 (the IIT Delhi DEPC threshold for MnC, with 9.1–9.2 needed for CSE), from r/IITDelhi (3up / 26 comments, June 2026):
"It should not be too hard, just focus on studies and forget about hangouts for 1st year." — u/Leading_Candy_4608 (8 upvotes)
Worth noting: the DEPC (Department Change) path at IIT Delhi is exactly the "grind for 9+ to escape your branch" route that several IITs have now quietly scrapped. Plan as if it doesn't exist; treat it as a bonus if your IIT still offers it.
Counter-evidence the other way — from r/IITK (11up / 5 comments, June 2026), a 7th-semester student with a 6.4 CGPA worried about placements asked about non-tech roles (BD, consulting, finance). The comments push back that branch + CGPA + role intent compound; a single number rarely tells the whole story. Below ~7.0 CGPA the SDE filter drops most product companies; non-tech and core remain accessible.
Frequently asked questions
What CGPA do you need to clear the placement filter at IITs?
The widely-cited cutoffs are ~6.0 for service IT (TCS, Infosys, Wipro), ~6.5 for product (Flipkart-style), and 7.0+ for finance, quant and most US-tech roles (Goldman Sachs, Google, Microsoft). Below 7.0 a meaningful number of automated filters drop you before resume review; below 6.0 most product placements close. These vary by cycle.
Is branch change still possible at IITs in 2026?
Only at some, and shrinking. IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi still run branch change (high CGPA threshold + strict rank order + limited vacated seats). IIT Madras discontinued it from the 2024 batch and replaced it with 40–50% flexible electives. IIT Kharagpur, IIT Dhanbad and several others have phased it out. Treat counselling-time branch choice as final.
What is a "good" IIT CGPA?
8.0+ is the widely-treated "good"; 9.0+ is strong; below 7.0 starts limiting product / consulting / finance options. These are community norms, not official cutoffs. Branch matters — a 7.8 in a CSE class with 8.1 median is below average; a 7.8 in a metallurgical class with 7.5 median is above. Always check your branch median, not just the absolute number.
How does relative grading actually work?
Your letter grade is set by where your absolute score falls in the class distribution — typically anchored to the mean and standard deviation. A common pattern: top ~10–15% get the highest grade (AA / A / S), next ~15–20% the second band, and so on. This means a difficult course where the average crashes lets you pull a top grade with 65–70%; an easy course where most students hit 85+ requires 90%+ to differentiate. Always read the course handout for the exact distribution policy.
Will my CGPA matter after I graduate?
Mostly only for your first job. After 2–3 years of work experience, recruiters look at projects, scope and impact rather than CGPA. The exception is graduate school (MS/PhD) and a small set of finance / quant firms that re-check transcripts at lateral hire. Plan for the first-job filter; don't sacrifice mental health for a 9.5.