MHT CET College Predictor by Category (OBC/SC/ST/EWS/VJ)

Maharashtra's CAP allotment data doesn't use plain labels like "SC" or "OBC" internally — it uses a compact coded system that combines category, sub-type, and sometimes gender/quota into a single seat-type code, and understanding this coding is genuinely useful if you're reading raw MHT-CET cutoff data (opening/closing rank sheets, official CAP result PDFs, or DTE Maharashtra's seat allotment tables) rather than a simplified summary. The most common codes you'll encounter are variants of GOPENS (General Open, State-level, Home University), GSCS (General SC, State), GSTS (General ST, State), GOBCS (General OBC, State), and GSEBCS (General SEBC/SBC, State) — the trailing "S" typically denotes "State Level" seat type as opposed to "H" for Home University-specific or "O" for Other than Home University seats within the same category. VJ (Vimukta Jati) and NT (Nomadic Tribes, further split into NT1/NT2/NT3 corresponding to NT-B/NT-C/NT-D groups) each get their own code family — GVJS, GNT1S, GNT2S, GNT3S — reflecting how granular Maharashtra's state reservation framework is compared to the simpler SC/ST/OBC/EWS structure used at the national level.

A separate prefix layer captures special candidate types layered on top of category: "DEF" prefixes (like DEFOPENS, DEFOBCS, DEFSCS) mark seats reserved for Defence category candidates within each social category, "PWD" prefixes mark seats for persons with disabilities, "L" prefixes (LOPENS, LSCS, LOBCS, etc.) typically denote Ladies/female-only horizontal reservation seats within each category, and TFWS and orphan/minority codes stand entirely on their own outside this pattern. This layered coding exists because Maharashtra runs both vertical reservation (SC/ST/OBC/VJ/NT/SEBC/EWS — based on social category) and horizontal reservation (women, PWD, defence personnel/wards, orphans — cutting across every vertical category) simultaneously, and each valid combination needs its own cutoff, since a seat reserved for, say, a female PWD candidate from the OBC category is evaluated against a completely different, much smaller applicant pool than the general OBC seat.

For a candidate trying to estimate their own realistic cutoff, the practical takeaway is to always check the cutoff for the most specific applicable code — not just the broad category. An OBC candidate who is also female should check the ladies-specific OBC cutoff (which is typically more relaxed than the general OBC seat) rather than assuming the general OBC figure applies to them, since horizontal reservation within a vertical category often meaningfully changes the realistic cutoff. Similarly, Home University candidates (from the same administrative region as the college) frequently see different — usually more favorable — cutoffs than Other Than Home University candidates for the identical seat type, category, and branch.

EWS (Economically Weaker Section) reservation applies to candidates from within the Open category — meaning EWS is not a caste-based category but an income/asset-based carve-out of Open category seats for candidates whose family income is below the prescribed threshold (₹8 lakh annually) and who don't own specified categories of agricultural or urban assets. Because EWS candidates are drawn from the same broad applicant pool as Open category candidates, EWS cutoffs track fairly close to Open cutoffs — typically only 1 to 3 percentile points more relaxed — rather than showing the large gap seen between Open and SC/ST/VJ/NT cutoffs, since the EWS pool overlaps heavily in academic preparation and coaching access with the general Open pool.

TFWS operates on a different axis entirely from social or economic category reservation — it's a fee-waiver mechanism layered across categories rather than a merit category of its own, described in more detail on our document checklist page. A candidate should never confuse TFWS eligibility with EWS category eligibility; they use separate qualifying criteria (income threshold plus specific college participation for TFWS, versus the central EWS income/asset criteria for EWS reservation), and a candidate can in principle be eligible for one without the other depending on their exact family income bracket and the specific figures each scheme uses.