SAT for IIIT Hyderabad (DASA) & BITS Pilani (ISA) Admissions
If you are an NRI, OCI, PIO, or a child of an Indian worker in the Gulf (CIWG), the SAT can still be your golden ticket to top Indian institutes — but only through very specific routes:
✅ IIIT Hyderabad – under DASA scheme
✅ BITS Pilani – under ISA (International Student Admission) scheme
At EduQuest, we help students prepare for SAT strategically, boosting their scores and guiding them through these competitive admission processes.
IIIT Hyderabad (DASA) – SAT Admission Route
IIIT Hyderabad continues to accept SAT scores under its Direct Admissions for Students Abroad (DASA) scheme, even when most other NITs/IIITs have switched to JEE Main.
📌 Key Details:
- SAT Score Required: Minimum 1070/1600 (Math + ERW)
- Super-scoring Accepted: Best Math + ERW scores across multiple SAT attempts are considered
- Essay Section: Not required
- Deadline: SAT scores must be received by 31 May 2025
- College Board Code: 6997 (for sending official scores)
- Official Link: IIIT Hyderabad DASA Admissions
This makes SAT a very attractive option for international students targeting IIIT-H’s elite Computer Science and ECE programs.
BITS Pilani (ISA) – SAT-Based International Admissions
BITS Pilani offers a dedicated ISA (International Student Admission) channel for:
- Foreign Nationals
- PIO/OCI card holders
- Children of Indian workers in Gulf countries
📌 Key Details:
- Admission Criteria: SAT scores (Math + ERW only)
- No BITSAT Required: SAT completely replaces the entrance test
- Superscoring Allowed: Students can send their best section scores
- Campuses Covered: Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad
- Official Link: BITS Pilani ISA Admissions
This is an excellent alternative for those who want to avoid JEE/BITSAT and still secure a seat in one of India’s top private universities.
ISA vs DASA/CIWG – What’s the Difference?
BITS Pilani offers a dedicated ISA (International Student Admission) channel for:
- Foreign Nationals
- PIO/OCI card holders
- Children of Indian workers in Gulf countries
📌 Key Details:
- Admission Criteria: SAT scores (Math + ERW only)
- No BITSAT Required: SAT completely replaces the entrance test
- Superscoring Allowed: Students can send their best section scores
- Campuses Covered: Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad
- Official Link: BITS Pilani ISA Admissions
This is an excellent alternative for those who want to avoid JEE/BITSAT and still secure a seat in one of India’s top private universities.
- DASA scheme is eligible for an NRI's (Children who were born in India but resides in countries apart from India)
- PIO (Person of Indian origin) is also known as overseas Indians taking those children into account who were born in India but are living in different countries.
- This country shouldn't be Pakistan Afghanistan Bangladesh China Iraq Bhutan Sri Lanka or Nepal.
- Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) is an immigration status authorized for a foreign citizen of Indian origin to stay and work in the Republic of India indefinitely.
Eligibility Criteria
Students who belong to either of the categories mentioned above and are willing to take admission in the prominent institutes of India under the DASA scheme have to fulfill the following eligibility criteria.
Age
- Students who are looking forward to taking admission for DASA 2021 should be born after October 1st, 1995.
- As an identity, they should be having a date of the birth card issued by any government, or as an alternative, they can also show a Secondary Education board or university certificate as proof of their birth date.
Academics
- Applicants should have passed 12th grade from any university that is recognized by AIU.
- They must have three subjects that are compulsory for the evaluation: maths Physics and any one of the subjects from Chemistry/ biology/ biotechnology/ computer science in the 12th and 11th standard.
- The total aggregate of their marks should be 60% and they should be finishing their 12th class by September 2021
- The minimum score of JEE that is considered is 180 +
- The JEE score of all three subjects has to be submitted to the institute that is examining the DASA scheme.
- Applicants must make sure that they submit their marks by June 10th, 2021 because after that they won't be considered for DASA eligibility.
Residential Status
- All the students that belong to foreign nations (NRI, PIO, OCI) can apply for this scheme if they have finished 11th and 12th in any foreign country in the last 8 years.
- If a student belongs to a gulf country he or she is eligible for the CIWG scheme that falls under DASA.
- Countries that fall under the category of CIWG are Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Oman Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE.
- Students are not able to get admission through the CIWG scheme then they can apply for the DASA quota.
What is the CIWG Scheme?
CIWG, children of Indian workers in Gulf countries is a scheme that was launched under the DASA scheme by MHRD, India. Under the scheme students whose parents are working in the Gulf can take admission to NITs and IIITs.
Benefits of CIWG Scheme
- There is a 15% quota that is reserved for students under the DASA Scheme, out of which 5% of the seats are reserved for CIWG category students.
- Students who have applied under this category will also be considered for other categories under DASA. So in case, a student is not able to get an admission from CIWG he or she can get into colleges through DASA
- But to avail of this opportunity students will have to submit the initial fees which are applicable for DASA (Non-SAARC).
- In the institutes, both the categories will be shown as two separate categories of the same applicant.
- If the student gets an admission under the CIWG scheme the remaining amount will be refunded effectively.
Documents required for admission
- Students will have to show proof of either of the parents working in a gulf country.
- A copy of the passport and visa of the parent who is working in the gulf country.
- A copy of the work permit is also required.
- If the parent has a certificate from the organization in which he or she is working can also be submitted but it is not mandatory.
The eligibility criteria and the application process for the CIWG category are the same as that of NRIs and those who fall under the DASA category.
DASA And CIWG Application Process
- The entire application process is online-based. Students will have to make an account on the Dasara website for which they have to use the college board account credentials.
- Once they complete the registration process they will get a unique password and username which they will use to submit the personal and academic details.
- In the application, students will have to submit JEE scores of all the three subjects to the conducting institute Of The year which is MNNIT, prayagraj.
- In the document section passport date of birth proof and documents of 10th 11th and 12th standard will have to be submitted.
- The entire process is completed once you pay the tuition fee for the first semester and proof of the payment will be submitted.
Remember no changes are allowed once you complete the registration process so make sure you fill in all the details carefully.
If students qualify through the merit score they are called for counselling in which the JEE mains score is taken into consideration and a particular merit list is prepared and the institute and program are allotted to the applicant.
Fee Structure as per the Categories
Changes Introduced in DASA and CIWG
- It is announced that from the year 2021 admission for DASA and CIWG will no longer be assessed on SAT- II scores.
- All the foreign national students will have to give JEE main to get admission under the DASA scheme.
- Students will only have to prepare for JEE main to get admission in engineering colleges like NIT and IIIT.
Exam preparation of JEE main can be a little different from SATs as SAT focuses on the basic skills of a student whereas JEE main focuses more on a deeper understanding of the concepts and problem-solving. So students who are willing to take admission under the DASA or CIWG scheme should be paying extra attention and put in extra effort to get admission to their desired college.