After a month of anxiety among students over unexpected marks in CBSE, glitches in the re-evaluation portal, as well as technical difficulties in some examination centres conducting the Common University Entrance Test-Undergraduate (CUET-UG), the CUET results have now been released, which means that admissions in central universities are set to kick off over the next few days. 

Participating universities and institutions will soon declare the counselling/admission schedule, and the merit list based on the CUET scores and other criteria of the respective university. 

This year, the NTA released results sooner than expected, stating that the timeline has been streamlined, enabling the declaration of results 14 days earlier than the previous cycles. 

Since 2022, central universities have been conducting admissions based on CUET scores, rather than the earlier process of admitting students on the basis of CBSE results. 

Where can students apply for admissions with CUET results? 

The NTA has the names of participating universities listed on cuet.nta.nic.in/participating-universities/. The list includes 49 central universities, 41 state universities, 27 deemed universities, 120 private universities and seven other government institutions. 

The NTA’s role is confined to registration, conducting tests, hosting answer keys, inviting challenges, preparing and declaring results. Merit lists will be prepared by the respective university, or institute. 

What should students do after receiving their results?

The NTA has said that it will share the results with the universities, and has advised students to keep an eye on their desired universities for further details. Many central universities have their own admission portals, where they will soon begin the registration process. 

Some universities had, earlier in the year, released their admission prospectus, where they specified the programmes that they offer, as well as the programme-specific eligibility, based on which, they could choose the subjects that they wanted to appear for in CUET. 

Further details of programmes, along with the seat matrix, and timelines, are yet to be uploaded by universities, and can be expected over the next few days.

What was the process last year?

CUET will be considered across central universities in the country, and every university has its own processes. Candidates can visit their website for further details.

The universities are likely to follow a process similar to the past three years. For instance, Delhi University begins by announcing the opening of the registration window on its Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) portal, which is followed by subject mapping, program eligibility, and preference selection. After this, the university allocates its seats. 

Will board examinations be taken into consideration?

While admissions to central university are heavily dependent on CUET results, the role of the board result varies from one institute to another. 

Some universities require a minimum score, such as 45%-50%, in Class 12 examinations, while others have in the past relied on board results as a tie breaker in a situation where two students have the exact same score. Further details, such as whether the board result will be used as a tie-breaker this year, are yet to be announced by the universities.