What is CUCET?

Before we start telling about the eligibility criteria, and the difference between CUCET and CUET exams, we must know what is CUCET? CUCET is meant by Central Universities Common Entrance Test. It is an All-India Test for admission in various Undergraduate or Integrated courses, Post-Graduate, and research programmes in various Central or State Universities across the country.

CUCET was a major change in the academic year, and under this exam, 54 central universities are present that the students can be enrolled by giving this common entrance test. The CUCET exams will be conducted by NTA( National Testing Agency). Recently, Delhi University hinted that their admission process for the academic year 2021 will be through CUCET and it will also be based on the marks of 12th grade

What is CUET?

CUET stands for Common University Entrance Test. This new form of entrance test is the talk of the town because it is a computerised exam that will be holding the key to being a part of one of the 45 central universities of India, and this exam is conducted by NTA (National Testing Agency), and this exam is usually conducted after the first week of July after the class 12 board exams are over, and the application for this exam can be filled by the first or second week of April.

Why CUET?

Students, as well as their parents, would have seen how in recent years the cut-off for the colleges in different states has been a part of the sky-rocketing trend, that includes Delhi University for its undergraduate courses.

However, the problem with increasing the cut-offs was that India has different education boards, that is, CBSE, CICSE, and different state boards across India, and all of the education boards have different evaluation patterns, which makes it unfair for the students applying to central universities across different parts of India, and this wide diversity tends to cause problems in the enrolment of a student.

Therefore, according to experts, the best way to overcome this obstacle would be a single entrance test that the students will be giving who are applying to these 45 central universities. Since National Testing Agency will be conducting the test, they will prepare a merit list after the CUCET exams and based on the given merit list, the central universities will enrol the candidates.

Universities Covered Under CUCET

The students must be ensured that a number of central universities and colleges are under CUCET or CUET and the central universities include Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Banaras Hindu University, , Aligarh Muslim University, Sikkim University, Mizoram University, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Jamia Millia Islamia, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Central Univerity of Kerala, and many more prestigious colleges.

Difference Between CUCET And CUET

Over the years, the government and the Education Board was trying to come up with a common test that will replace multiple tests so that it will reduce the burden on the undergraduate students and the college authorities as well. They came up with a method and launched CUET, and it would be shocking to some people but this exam is not a new method, as it had been launched earlier in 2010 as Central Universities Entrance Common Entrance Test or commonly known as CUCET under the UPA-II government, but it failed miserably because only 14 central universities had adopted it.

CUET is a revamped version of CUCET and it's now mandatory for all the 45 central universities to adopt this common entrance test. This method was adopted after the announcement of the new National Education Policy (NEP), which advocates the need for a common entrance test for university admissions.

Eligibility Criteria For The Students

The eligibility criteria for the CUET exams primarily depend on the program level of the courses. The CUET eligibility criteria have the academic qualification, percentage of candidate's board result, and his/ her stream. The following are the eligibility criteria for CUET 2022.

·      For Undergraduate Courses: Candidates for admission in the undergraduate course must have passed a 10+2 or 10+3 diploma that has been accepted by the State Board of Technical Education with a bare minimum of 50% marks and the SC/ST candidates must have passed 12th grade with a bare minimum of 50% marks.

·      For Post-graduation Courses: In order to do a post-graduation course the candidate must have done graduation in the relevant course with a bare minimum of 55% marks for admission in the postgraduate courses of his desire. For the minority classes, that is, SC, ST, PwD or OBC category, the minimum requirement for graduation is 50%. However, the students must remember that the eligibility criteria for CUET for the OBC category may vary from university to university.

·      For PhD Courses: In order to pursue a PhD, the candidates must have done a Master's degree in any stream, the general category students must have a bare minimum of 55% marks, 50% for Other Backward Classes, and 45% for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes, and PWD. The students must note that if they have cleared Gate, NBHM, UGC-CSIR JRF, or other prestigious national exams will be exempted from CUET 2022 entrance test but they still need to register for the CUET exam 2022.

Undergraduate Courses Eligibility Criteria

·      Integrated B.A. L.L.B/B.B.A/B.C.A/B.A Integrated B.A. B.Ed/Integrated B.A.LL.B (Hons.): The candidates must have done 10+2 or corresponding in any stream from an acknowledged Board or University with not less than 50% marks for General as well as OBC and 45% grades for SC/ST/PWD applicants.

·      Integrated B.Sc B.Ed (Mathematics): The candidate should have done 10+2 or comparable in Science stream from a known Board or University with not less than 60% marks for General category, 55% results for OBC-NCL category, and 50% grades for SC/ST/PWD aspirants. Also must not have completed 20 years of age as of 1st July of the current year. Candidates must have Mathematics/Statistics, Physics, and Chemistry in 10+2.

·      Integrated B.Sc B.Ed: The candidate must have done 10+2 or comparable in Science stream from a renowned Board or University with a minimum of 50% grades for General/OBC entrants and 45% grades for SC/ST/PWD candidates.

·      Integrated B.Sc (Hons.) M.Sc/Integrated M.Sc in Chemistry: The candidate must have done 10+2 or comparable in Science stream with Chemistry from a prestigious Board or University having a minimum of 50% grades for General/OBC and 45% results for SC/ST/PWD candidates.

·      Integrated B.Sc. M.Sc/Integrated M.Sc in Biotechnology: Minimum 50% aggregate marks or equivalent on grading scale of the Board at 10+2 level with Biology/Mathematics/Biotechnology/Biochemistry. 5% relaxation to OBC/SC/ST/PWD candidates.

·      Integrated M.Sc in Biochemistry/B.Voc in Biomedical Sciences: The candidate must have done 10+2 or equal in Science field with Biology from a known Board or University with a minimum of 50% marks for General and OBC candidates and 45% results for SC,ST, and PWD candidates.

·      B.Tech in Electrical Engineering: The candidate must have done 10+2 or comparable in Science stream with Chemistry from a familiar Board or University with a minimum of 45% grades for General, and OBC aspirants and 40% marks for PWD, SC, and ST candidates. Physics and Mathematics must be compulsory in 10+2 along with Chemistry/Biotechnology/Computer Science/Biology and Electronics.

·      Integrated M.Sc in Economics: The entrant must have done 10+2 or alternative with English and Mathematics from a known Board or University with a bare minimum of 65% grades for General, and OBC students and 60% percentile for SC/ST entrants.

·      B.Voc: It is necessary for the applicant to have passed a 10+2 pass from an acknowledged board with a bare minimum of 45% grades in aggregate. Students with NSQF certification levels may also apply. Students who have passed an equivalent exam from a polytechnic in the same.

·      B.Sc in Textiles: The candidate should have done 10+2 or alike with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics from a standard Board or University with the minimum criteria of 60% marks for General as well as OBC applicants, and 55% marks for SC/ST contenders.

·      B.A in Social Science: The candidate must have done 10+2 in any discipline with a minimum of 55% marks in cumulative, there would be 5% reduction to aspirants who are a part of SC/ST/PH categories.

·      B.Sc in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics/B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering: The candidate have got to do 10+2 or the same with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics from an accepted Board or University having a minimum criteria of 50% grades for General as well as OBC applicants and 45% aspirants for SC, and ST candidates.

CUET Exam Pattern

CUCET or CUET will be multiple choice questions based, and it will be a computer-based test solely dedicated to NCERT textbooks. And, incorrect answers will carry negative markings. The paper will have three sections – Section A: The Language Test, Section B: The Domain Specific Test, and Section C: General Test for vocational/ open eligibility/ cross-stream test, and needless to mention this section is optional.

· Section A (The Language Test): The candidates will have to give a language test in one of the 13 languages, that is, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Urdu, Assamese, Bengali, Punjabi, Odia, and English.

· Section B (The Domain Specific Test): Candidates need to pick a total of six domains out of the 27 domains that were offered that they wanted to study at an undergraduate level. The domains include the major subjects such as Mathematics, Accountancy, History, Economics, Computer Science, etc. and also other relatively minor subjects such as performing arts, affine arts, agriculture, teaching aptitude, and other subjects.

· Section C ( Vocational/ Open Eligibility/ Cross Stream Test): This third section is optional and it has two subsections. The first sub-section includes a general aptitude test whereas the 2nd section will be a language test where the appearing candidates can choose from the 19 uncommon languages (Foreign languages) that were not included in Section A, the languages included in this section are as follows Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Santhili, Sindhi, etc.

CUET Test Centres

The appearing candidates must not worry as CUET test centres are located in 543 cities in India and 13 cities abroad. Candidates will have the freedom to enter four of their preferred CUET exam locations while filling up the CUET application form. There is a high probability that NTA will try to allot in the candidate's preferred city. The candidate will be informed on their admit card. Candidates must be careful while filling up the form because once allotted, the exam centre can not be changed.

CUET Exam Day Guidelines

Candidates who will be appearing for CUET must read the exam day instructions mentioned on the admit card carefully, and candidates must carry these documents to the allotted exam centres on the day of the exam.

1.    CUET Admit Card: Students must remember that they must carry the CUET admit card to the exam centre because candidates who will fail to carry their admit cards will not be approved to appear in the CUET exam.

2.    ID Proof: Candidates must bring valid ID Proof to the exam centre such as a Driving License, PAN Card, Passport, Voter ID, Aadhaar Card, etc.

3.    Photo: It is advised to the candidates that they must carry a passport size photo to the exam centre, and it should preferably be the same while filling out the CUET application form.

Candidates must remember the things mentioned in the above paragraph, and they should be aware of the things that they can't carry inside the exam hall, some of the things include calculators, mobile phones, eatables, watches, etc.

CUET Preparations

CUET is an all-India entrance exam that is extremely competitive, and candidates who will be appearing in the exam must have a proper strategy to score well in the CUET exam. Appearing candidates can follow these strategies while preparing for the entrance exam.

1.    The first step toward preparing for the CUET exam is to go through the exam pattern and structure of the test.

2.    After the students have gone through the pattern and structure, they should get the best CUET exam preparation books, so that they can gain clarity in the three sections of the question paper.

3.    The candidates should solve previous year's question papers to understand their areas of weakness and strengths, and they should talk to their mentors about their weaknesses.

4.    After working on their strengths and weakness, candidates should regularly give mock tests to analyse their performance, and solving more papers would give them more exposure to the question patterns and types.

CUET Result

The result of CUET 2022 will be released in the first week of August, candidates can download their results by clicking on the link provided on the website. The CUET result will display the result and additional information such as the details of the candidate, section-wise and overall scores, percentiles, and cut-offs.

CUET Cut-off

The CUET 2022 cut-off will be released along with the result. The cut-off refers to the minimum marks one has to secure in order to qualify for the exam. While NTA will release the qualifying cut-off, participating institutes will release separate cut-offs for each programme offered by them. The CUET cut-off marks will depend on the factors such as the difficulty level of the exam, number of test-takers, and seats, among others.