MCA Lateral Entry Admission 2025: Eligibility, Application Form, Process, Top Universities/ Colleges

Sakunth Kumar

Updated On: October 24, 2024 02:10 AM

Through MCA lateral entry admission 2025, you can directly get admission to the 2nd year of the course. There are various eligibility criteria for this course, and one of this is that you need to have a BCA degree with a minimum of 50%.

MCA Lateral Entry Admission Process

MCA Lateral Entry Admission 2025: MCA lateral entry is a 2-year programme through which, you can get direct admission into the second year of the course. The MCA lateral entry admission 2025 is conducted based on the entrance exam held by the state government or a designated university. You should note that this course has been mapped out for the students who have already acquired basic knowledge as well as skills related to computer applications. You should be aware of the fact that lateral entry is not available at any National Institutes of Technology, in case you are hoping to get admission there.
Over the course of years, we have seen the rise of MCA in the tech industry. It is so because the course offers extensive skill development to the students, such as networking, software development, etc., and various other things such as research, different entrepreneurial opportunities, adaptability to trends, etc. By taking admission to this course through lateral entry, you can gain a ton of benefits. The MCA lateral entry can get you increased accessibility for further studies, make you more relevant to the industry, and so on. Get to know more details related to MCA lateral entry admission 2025 through the article below.

MCA Lateral Entry Admission Eligibility Criteria 2025

Before filling out the application form for MCA lateral entry admission 2025, you are recommended to go through the official eligibility criteria. If you possess enough eligibility as per the specified criteria, only then you will be able to apply for the course. Go through the eligibility criteria for MCA lateral entry admission in the table below:-

Eligibility Rule

Description

Eligibility Rule 1

Must have a regular BCA degree with a minimum of 50% of marks.

Eligibility Rule 2

Those who have passed B.Sc in Computer Science and B.Sc in Information Technology (IT) are eligible for direct 2nd-year admission to MCA.

Eligibility Rule 3

Those who have passed B.Sc IT/ CS must note that he/ she must have studied Mathematics as one of the subjects in Class 12th.

Eligibility Rule 4

Those who have passed B.Sc IT/ CS in Distance Mode are not eligible for Lateral Entry MCA admission.

MCA Lateral Entry Admission 2025 Application Form

There are a couple of ways through which you can fill out the application form of MCA lateral entry 2025. Further, talking about the complete process of filling out the MCA lateral entry application form, involves selecting the college for admission and taking the entrance exam that is acceptable in that college (directly fill out the application form if there is no entrance exam required/ visit the college directly for offline application form). In the table below, we will be talking about the entrance tests that are conducted for admission to MCA lateral entry:-

Name of the examination

Application Dates

Exam Dates

Counselling Dates

NIMCET 2025

March 6 - April 24, 2025

June 8, 2025

June 9 - July 6, 2025

CG Pre-MCA 2025

March - April 2025 (Tentative)

June 2025

-

AP ICET 2025

March - April 2025 (Tentative)

May 2025

-

TS ICET 2025

March - April 2025 (Tentative)

May 2025

June 2025

OJEE 2025

Jan - March 2025 (Tentative)

May 2025

June 2025

Karnataka PGCET 2025

May - June 2025 (Tentative)

July 2025

To Be Notified

TANCET 2025

Jan 10 - Feb 7, 2025 (Tentative)

March 9, 2025

June 10, 2025

MAH MCA CET 2025

Jan - Feb, 2025 (Tentative)

Feb 2025

April/ May 2025

WB JECA 2025

April - May 2025 (Tentative)

June 2025

Sept 2025

Application Form Direct Admission in MCA 2nd Year

You can visit any of the private MCA colleges/ deemed universities to obtain the application form for direct 2nd-year admission. However, you will have to crosscheck the official website of the college initially to figure out whether the college/ varsity offers direct 2nd-year admission in MCA. Most private colleges offer admission through lateral entry mode. You can either fill out the online application form/ visit the college for an offline application.

CollegeDekho’s Single Application Form for MCA Lateral Entry Admission 2025

Instead of submitting a separate application form for multiple private colleges, you can fill out a single application form on CollegeDekho. Through CollegeDekho’s CAF (Common Application Form), you can fill out one form and select multiple colleges by paying the registration fee. Please click on the link below –

MCA Lateral Entry 2025 Admission Process (State Wise)

The admission process for MCA admission through lateral entry varies from one state to another. As most states conduct an entrance exam for MCA admission, you will have to register for the centralized counselling process after clearing the entrance exam. You can click on the links below to learn about the counselling/ admission process of various entrance exams:-

MCA through Lateral Entry Direct Admission Process 2025

If you do not have a valid score in any of the entrance exams/ aiming for hassle-free direct admission, you can directly visit the college for admission. Deemed Universities also grant direct admission to MCA through lateral entry. The admission is granted as per the marks scored in Class 12th and BCA/ B.Sc CS or IT. After the selection process and seat allotment, you can pay the fee and confirm their admission. You can check the list of government/ private MCA colleges by clicking on the links below. Almost all these colleges grant direct 2nd-year admission to MCA.

Institutes Offering Lateral Entry MCA Admission

There are several institutes that accept admissions for MCA lateral entry. You should know that the fee & the placement stats vary based on the colleges. You can go through the list of the institutes offering lateral entry MCA admission 2025 from the table below:-

Name of the MCA College

Admission Procedure

Average Fees

Average Placement Offer

Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research, Pune

Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET) followed by GD and PI

Up to INR 6 Lakhs

INR 6.5 LPA

Christ University, Bengaluru

Based on Merit

Up to INR 4 Lakhs

INR 6 LPA

Loyola College, Chennai

Based on Merit

Up to INR 2 Lakhs

INR 4 LPA

Stella Maris College, Chennai

Based on Merit

Up to INR 1 Lakhs

INR 4.6 LPA

Women’s Christian College, Chennai

Based on Merit

Up to INR 0.8 Lakhs

INR 3 LPA

St. Joseph’s College, Bengaluru

Based on Merit

Up to INR 0.9 Lakhs

INR 2 LPA

Madras Christian College, Chennai

Based on Merit

Up to INR 0.75 Lakhs

INR 4 LPA

Goswami Ganesh Dutta S.D. College, Chandigarh

Based on Merit

Up to INR 0.95 Lakhs

INR 3.5 LPA

Entrance Exams for Lateral Entry MCA Admission 2025

There are various entrance exams that are conducted to grant admission to MCA lateral entry. However, to take the exam, you must be eligible enough. Please note that the state-level exams for MCA and lateral entry MCA are the same. The mode, duration, and dates of the exams vary and you are recommended to be mindful of everything. You can click on the link below for the list of entrance exams:-

Benefits of MCA Lateral Entry

There are several benefits that you can gain after you take admission in MCA lateral entry. As discussed above, you can through lateral entry, you can get admission directly into the second year. This brings a couple of advantages such as making you industry-ready, saving you time and money, complete utilization of your knowledge and skills, etc. Let’s discuss the benefits of MCA lateral entry admission below:-

  1. Time Efficiency: By directly getting into the 2nd year, you can focus on the advanced topics and complete your MCA course in a shorter timeframe.
  2. Various opportunities: By graduating sooner, you will be able to enter the workforce a bit earlier, get various opportunities, and learn various new skills.
  3. Focussed studies: The lateral entry programs are usually more focussed which allows the students to specialize in the areas that they are interested in, such as data analytics, AI, etc, right from the start.
  4. Growing industry demands: The sector of tech is continuously expanding and consistently demanding freshly skilled graduates. You can build your skills as per the industry’s needs during your graduation and build your employment journey then.
  5. Networking opportunities: Being an MCA student can allow you to make new and valuable connections within the tech industry that can later help you in your career for various opportunities and collaborations.

MCA Lateral Entry: Future Prospects and Career Opportunities

The graduates of MCA lateral entry have a number of future opportunities waiting for them, such as software development, cybersecurity, cloud computing, etc. There are also various opportunities for higher studies that they can pursue after they have completed MCA lateral entry. Let us talk more about the future prospects and career opportunities of MCA lateral entry below:-

Job Opportunities for MCA Graduates

Name of the job

Job roles

Expected Salary for fresher

Software Development

Software Developer, Full Stack Developer, Mobile App Developer

INR 2-16 LPA

Data Science and Analytics

Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Business Intelligence Analyst

INR 3.6 - 20.3 LPA

Web Development and Design

Web Developer, UI/UX Designer, Frontend/Backend Developer

INR 4-6 LPA

Cybersecurity

Security Analyst, Ethical Hacker, Cybersecurity Consultant

INR 2.7 - INR 11.5 LPA

Cloud Computing

Cloud Solutions Architect, Cloud Engineer, DevOps Engineer

INR 12 LPA

System Administration and Networking

System Administrator, Network Engineer, IT Support Specialist

INR 1.7 - INR 8 LPA

Higher Studies Opportunities for MCA Graduates

Name of the Course

Fields

PhD Programs

Computer Science, Information Technology, etc

Certifications

Cloud Computing

AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Google Cloud Professional

Project Management

PMP, Agile Certified Practitioner

Cybersecurity

Certified Information Systems Security Professional, Certified Ethical Hacker

Data Science

Certified Analytics Professional, Data Science Professional Certificate

About MCA

Master of Computer Applications (MCA) is a three-year professional postgraduate degree for students interested in learning more about computer application development. Developing programming skills in a contemporary language will assist with this. The MCA programme combines both theoretical and practical knowledge. Students who complete an MCA degree learn how to use the available resources to create better, faster apps and software programs to help achieve higher technological goals.

MCA Lateral Entry Admission 2025: Conclusion

At the end, we would like to say that MCA lateral entry is an amazing opportunity for the students who directly wish to take admission in the 2nd year of the course and want to give their professional career an early start. This course not only saves one’s money and time but also allows them to hone their skills in various areas such as data science, software development, etc. If you are also one of the students who does not want to follow the old school way of pursuing the full-fledged MCA course and then getting a job, then you are more than encouraged to enrol into MCA lateral entry program. Not only its industry demands are increasing but also are its financial offers.

Stay tuned to CollegeDekho for the latest updates on MCA admission 2025.

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FAQs

What is the lateral entry for Anna University MCA?

No, there is no lateral entry MCA admission at Anna University. 
 

How do you do lateral entry in MCA?

In order to get admission to MCA Lateral Entry, candidates are required to have a regular degree of BCA or B.Sc in Computer Science or B.Sc in Information Technology (IT) with a minimum aggregate of 50% marks. 
 

What is the fee to pursue an MCA course?

The average fee to pursue the MCA course is INR 2 to 3 LPA.

Can I do MCA remotely through distance education?

Yes, candidates can do MCA through distance education. 

Who is eligible for pursuing the MCA course?

Candidates who have done their BCA are eligible to seek admission to the MCA course.

What is the salary after the MCA course?

As per reports, the average annual salary of an MCA graduate is INR 7 to 8 lakhs per annum.

Can I join the MCA course without an entrance exam?

Yes, several universities offer direct admission to the MCA course. Candidates must fulfill the minimum eligibility criteria to take admission to their preferred college.

Which entrance exam is best for MCA?

Different universities conduct different entrance exams to offer MCA Admission. To seek admission to the NITs in India, candidates must qualify for NIMCET.

 

Does MCA have entrance exams?

Yes, to seek admission to the MCA course candidates must qualify for an entrance exam. However, there are several universities that offer direct admission to the MCA course. Several states also conduct their own entrance exam to offer MCA Admission.

 

 

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