How to set a Specific option as selected
<html>
<head>
<script src="jquery-2.1.0.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script>
$('document').ready(function(){
$('#btnSubmit').click(function(){
alert($('#cboLocation').val());
alert($('#cboLocation').find(":selected").text());
});
});
</script>
</head>
<body>
<select name="cboLocation" id="cboLocation">
<option value="">Select Zone</option>
<option value="South">South Chennai</option>
<option value="North">North Chennai</option>
<option value="East">East Chennai</option>
<option value="West">West Chennai</option>
</select>
<input type="button" name="btnSubmit" id="btnSubmit" value="Click Me"/>
</body>
</html>
How to get Selected Item Value
alert($('#cboLocation').val());
How to get Selected Item Text
alert($('#cboLocation').find(":selected").text());