22Sep 2026
Next deadline
Entrance exams: what is live
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
Entrance Exams
University Exams
The Common University Entrance Test replaced board-marks cutoffs as the basis for admission to central universities, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. It is now the main route into a large and growing set of institutions, including state, deemed and private universities that have joined it.
Its defining feature at both levels is choice. Candidates select which subject papers or which subject paper code to sit, and that selection must match the requirements of every programme and university they intend to apply to. It is the one entrance examination where the most consequential decision is made before any studying begins — and where getting it wrong cannot be corrected later.
Entrance exams · checked 19 September 2026
Entrance exams this month, from the official portals
Notifications, application windows, exam dates, answer keys and results as the conducting bodies published them, each with its source and a link to the exam guide.
The two examinations
CUET UG and CUET PG
| CUET UG | CUET PG | |
|---|---|---|
| For | Undergraduate admission | Postgraduate admission |
| Level | Class 12 NCERT syllabus | Graduate level, by subject code |
| Selection | Languages, domain subjects and a general test | One or more subject paper codes |
| Marking | +5 / −1 | +4 / −1 |
Both use forgiving marking schemes — five marks against one at undergraduate level, four against one at postgraduate — which means a blind guess among four options is at worst break-even and any narrowing makes it clearly worthwhile. Candidates who skip conservatively out of habits formed on harsher papers are giving away marks the scheme is offering them.
The critical decision
Choosing your papers correctly
Universities specify which papers or which code they require for each programme, and the requirements are not uniform — one university’s economics programme may require mathematics while another’s does not, and the same programme name at two institutions may accept different postgraduate codes. Compiling those requirements before registering is the most valuable hour of the whole preparation, because a candidate who selects the wrong combination discovers it when applications open, with no remedy.
Before you register
- List every programme and university you might apply to. Not just your first choice.
- Find each one’s paper or code requirement in its own admission information. Do not infer it from the subject name.
- Choose a combination that satisfies all of them. Within the permitted maximum, erring towards one extra paper rather than one too few.
- Check whether the general test is required. Some programmes, particularly interdisciplinary ones, require it and nothing in class 12 prepares you for it.
Exam guides
Also in this group
University Entrance
Explore
Everything under Entrance Exams
University Entrance
International Exams
Questions
University Exams — FAQs
When are CUET 2027 and CUET PG 2027?
CUET PG 2027 is proposed for 1–5, 8, 12–20 and 24–25 March 2027 in NTA’s examination calendar of 16 September 2026, with the bulletin expected in December. CUET UG 2027 is not in that calendar; on the 2026 timetable — registration 3 January to 4 February, examination 11–31 May and 6–7 June, result 23 June — expect registration in January 2027 and the examination in May 2027.
How do I choose which CUET papers to take?
By compiling the requirements of every programme and university you might apply to before you register, since each specifies what it needs and the requirements are not uniform. This is the single most consequential decision in CUET preparation, because a candidate who selects a combination that does not satisfy their preferred programme finds out when applications open, with no remedy available. Read each university’s own admission information rather than inferring from subject names.
Is CUET based on the class 12 syllabus?
The CUET UG domain papers are, and they follow the NCERT syllabus closely — which means board preparation and CUET preparation are largely the same work. The difference is format: boards test descriptively while CUET asks objective questions with close distractors, so a student who knows the subject well can still score poorly without objective-question practice. The general test is the exception, drawing on general knowledge, reasoning and arithmetic that class 12 does not cover. CUET PG is at graduate level and follows the published syllabus for each subject code.
Should I guess in CUET?
Yes, more than instinct suggests. CUET UG awards five marks for a correct answer against one deducted, and CUET PG four against one — both among the most forgiving schemes in Indian entrance examinations. A blind guess among four options is at worst break-even and any genuine narrowing makes a guess clearly worthwhile. Candidates who skip conservatively out of habits formed on harsher papers are leaving marks unclaimed.
Start Your Competitive Exam Preparation Today
Choose your exam, learn smarter, practice consistently and track your preparation with Brolly Exam Prep.
Already practising? Create Free Account to track your preparation.