BITS Pilani opens scholarship doors wider, offers full fee waiver to top 1,000 rankers

BITS Pilani will offer full tuition fee scholarships to candidates securing ranks among the top 1,000 in its entrance examination from 2027, expanding financial assistance for high-performing students from families with an annual income of up to Rs 20 lakh.

The scholarship will cover tuition fees for all four years of undergraduate study, provided recipients maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 7.5 at their respective campuses, Group Vice Chancellor V Ramgopal Rao told PTI.

The scholarship will be automatically included in the admission offer, eliminating the need for selected candidates to submit a separate application after securing admission.


"The scholarship is built into the admission offer, and students do not need to apply for it after joining, so top performers can choose BITS Pilani based on aspiration and opportunity, not affordability. In 2026, the number of eligible top-500 rankers who joined BITS Pilani increased by 50 pc, and the BITSAT score needed to be in that group went up from 314 to 324," Rao was quoted as saying.

Scholarship expansion follows rise in top-ranker admissions

The institute said its earlier scholarship initiative for top 500 rankers had already resulted in a higher number of such candidates joining its campuses in 2026.

Rao said the impact also extended to candidates ranked between 501 and 1,000, who were not covered under the earlier initiative but joined in greater numbers. Overall, admissions from candidates in the top 1,000 ranks increased by 50% during the year.

The expanded scholarship programme is aimed at extending this financial support to a larger pool of high-ranking candidates, while making affordability less of a constraint in their choice of institution.

Rs 190 crore disbursed in scholarships and fee assistance

BITS Pilani disbursed approximately Rs 190 crore through scholarships, fee waivers and fellowships across its First Degree, Higher Degree and PhD programmes in the academic year 2025-26.

Of this, around Rs 101 crore was allocated to undergraduate First Degree students through merit-based, merit-cum-need and international student scholarships.

The institute said this financial assistance reached one in every four students across its campuses.

BITS Admission Test (BITSAT) is an online, computer-based examination used for admission to integrated first-degree undergraduate programmes, including Bachelor of Engineering (BE), MSc and Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharma), across BITS Pilani campuses.

(With inputs from PTI)