[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-56198-en":3,"doc-seo-56198-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":94},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},56198,4398048950312,"Violet","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/400002538284de19e3c?_k=1778320343897328908",8,"Research & Report","India Today Best Colleges Survey 2026 Special Issue","India Today Best Colleges Survey 2026 marks its 30th edition with a special focus on helping undergraduate aspirants make confident choices amid exam uncertainty and shifting job prospects. Using MDRA-supported research since 2018, the survey ranks top colleges across 14 streams via 112 indicators and provides zonal and city-wise shortlists. It highlights value through an RoI index, compares government and private fee differences, and introduces Most Improved Colleges to track rank momentum, including AI-era readiness.","UAE–AED20  \nTOURISM SURVEY & AWARDS: REDISCOVERY OF BHARAT  \n[www.indiatoday.in](www.indiatoday.in) JULY 6, 2026 `150  \nS P EC IA L ISS U E  \nDL ( DS) -03/MP/2022-23-24 ; R N I NO. 28587/ 1975 REG ISTERED NO. DL ( ND) -1 1/6068/2024-25-26 ; L ICENSED TO POST WP P NO. U ( C) -88/2024–26 ; FAR IDA BAD/05/2026-28  \n3 0 TH EDITION  \nBEST COLLEGES OF INDIA  \nARTS l SCIENCE l COMMERCE l MEDICAL l DEN TAL l ENGINEERING l ARCHITECTURE  \nl L AW l MASS COMMUNICATION l HOTEL MANAGEMENT l BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION  \nl COMPUTER APPLICATIONS l SOCIAL WORK l FASHION DESIGN  \nINDIA TODAY-MDRA SURVEY 2026  \nOC Vo lume 5 1-Numbe r 26; Pub l ished on eve ry Fr iday of Advance Week; Posted at L PC De lh i– RMS– De lh i– 1 10006 on Eve ry Fr iday & Satu rday; Tota l numbe r of Pages 258 ( inc lud ing cove r pages)  \nFROM THE  \nEDITOR-IN-CHIEF  \nndia Today’s annual Best Colleges Surveyis marking its 30th edition with this special issue. It performs a  \naIndpmorearentsc,cal fd thuenaictriions ritfanwituhsualdeb,coatemCingollngeaaseadmos-n  \nwhen anxieties are running high among students  \nsions arevery much in the headlines, and not necessarily for the best reasons. Two ofthe main national entrance exams for undergraduate courses saw disruptions this summer. The CUET-UG (Common University Entrance Exam-Undergraduate), which governs admissions to 250-plus universities, was hitby a technological glitch and needed a partial retest. The resultsjust went live—on June 23. Everyone would be scouring the field right now to see which options are open before them. Asfor the June 21 retestin the more controversy-marred NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance TestUndergraduate) exam for medical streams,  \nthe results will come in July. Over the next few days and weeks, millions of students will be facing choices that will change their lives. Our surveywill prove invaluable in allaying anxieties and lifting the fog of confusion. Conducted with reputed market research agency MDRA since 2018, the India Today Best Colleges rankings are long recognised  \nzonal rankings for East, West, North and South, besides city-  \nwise top-threes, so whether an aspiring student is in Patna or Patiala, in Shillong, Shirdi or Sriperumbudur, he or she can find the best option within reach. Geographical spread is only one expression of the expanding gamut of possibilities. Education these days is also a product with a horizontal price spread, and the difference between government and private fees can be enormous, especially in medicine, engineering, law, design and architecture. Parents need to make careful decisions, taking into account their spending capacity and also whether the placements records of collegesjustify the expenditure in fees. Our innovation, the return on investment (RoI) in  \ndex, fills this gap in enlightening ways. Atop private engineering college may deliver an entry-level salary package upwards ofRs 35 lakh per annum but still be beaten on pure RoI by modestly priced government colleges. A ‘cheap’but quality college is delivering a real value of a different sort that we recognise and rank.  \nas the best in the class. The fear ofthe unknown lives and breeds in an information gap. We fill that gap with credible, organised and user-friendly information.  \nThe following pages will bring much-  \nJun. 23, 1997  \nThere’s also a purely quantitative  \nspread. Overall participation has quadrupled to 2,016 since 2018. These are the best from a much deeper field of competition. What students are  \nneeded reassurance to college aspirants. They will notice that quality college education is being rapidly democratised and decentralised in today’s India. Our evaluation method, using 112 indicators for each of the 14 streams we rank, focuses on giving you the best. But we also define‘the best’ along multiple axes, in context-specific ways, in terms of the real value it offers the student in the real world. So, what you get is increasingly notjust a small set of elite institutio","cbCaipQoBa6Q2lGT","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipQoBa6Q2lGT","pdf",73699085,1,286,"English","en",105,"# From the Editor-in-Chief\n## Exam uncertainty and student decision-making\n## Methodology and ranking framework\n## Value focus: fees, placements and RoI\n## Emerging destinations and new categories\n## Implications for freshers and future skills","[{\"question\":\"What is the purpose of the India Today Best Colleges Survey 2026 special issue?\",\"answer\":\"It helps college aspirants reduce confusion and anxiety by providing credible, organized, and user-friendly information for making course and college choices.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the survey rank colleges and what data approach does it use?\",\"answer\":\"The rankings are based on 112 indicators across 14 streams, supported by MDRA research conducted since 2018.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the RoI index contribute to the rankings?\",\"answer\":\"The 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