TNEA 2026 Rank List Released: Counselling Begins July 13, Cut-Off Scores Expected to Dip

The Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department has released the TNEA 2026 engineering rank list along with the counselling schedule for the 2026-27 academic year. Education experts expect engineering cut-off scores to be slightly lower than last year due to fewer students scoring centum marks in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry.

Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan released the rank list and counselling schedule on Wednesday.

TNEA 2026 Top Rank Holders

The top three rank holders in the general category are:

S. Akshitha – Dharmapuri (Rank 1)

A. Rohith Balan – Tiruppur (Rank 2)

A. Vengada Krishnan – Namakkal (Rank 3)

Under the 7.5% reservation for government school students, the top rank holders are:

S.T. Devadharshini – Salem (Rank 1)

K. Pugazhesh – Tiruchy (Rank 2)

R. Janarthanan – Tiruvannamalai (Rank 3)

Fewer Students Scored Perfect Cut-Off

The number of students securing a perfect 200 cut-off dropped significantly this year.

200 Cut-Off: 52 students (141 last year)

199 Cut-Off: 212 students (717 last year)

198 Cut-Off: 949 students (2,511 last year)

Education experts said the decline was mainly due to fewer students obtaining centum marks in core science subjects.

Over 2.36 Lakh Students in Rank List

More than 2.45 lakh students applied for TNEA 2026 and paid the application fee. The rank list includes 2.36 lakh candidates.

Tamil Nadu currently has more than 2.65 lakh engineering seats across 484 engineering colleges, including 19,657 newly added seats this year.

Students whose names are missing from the rank list can visit their nearest TNEA Facilitation Centre to rectify discrepancies until July 6.

TNEA 2026 Counselling Schedule

The Higher Education Department announced the following counselling schedule:

July 13–14: 7.5% Government School Quota (Special Categories), Persons with Disabilities, Children of Ex-Servicemen, and Sports Quota

July 15–18: Government School Students under the 7.5% Horizontal Reservation

July 20 – August 30: General Counselling for all other candidates

Minister Warns Against Capitation Fees

Minister P. Viswanathan warned engineering colleges against collecting capitation fees or donations from students, stating that strict action would be taken against institutions found violating admission rules.

He also advised students and parents to avoid middlemen who claim they can secure engineering seats for money, emphasizing that admissions will be made only through the TNEA counselling process based on merit and reservation rules.

Education experts have urged students to choose engineering colleges after carefully evaluating placement records, accreditation, infrastructure, faculty, and academic performance instead of relying solely on rank or popularity.