Entrance exams, explained plainly

An entrance exam is a separate test, taken after Class 12, that decides who gets a seat in a professional course. There are more of them than most families expect, and each has one authority and one official website.

We do not print exam dates in this book. They change every year, and a wrong date can cost a student a year. Every exam in Look It Up names its official portal. Check the portal.

What is worth understanding now is the shape of it:

National exams are run by national agencies and used across India. NEET UG is the single entrance for all medical, dental, AYUSH, veterinary and B.Sc Nursing admission. JEE Main is the national engineering exam and the qualifier for JEE Advanced, which leads to the IITs. CUET UG is used by central and many other universities for arts, science and commerce degrees. CLAT is for the National Law Universities.

State exams are run by Karnataka for Karnataka seats. KCET is the state entrance for engineering, farm science, nursing and other professional courses. DCET admits diploma holders directly into the second year of an engineering degree — the lateral entry route. Karnataka's government-quota seats also carry a domicile requirement, which is explained below.

Institute exams belong to one institution or group. COMEDK is run by a consortium of private engineering colleges in Karnataka. NATA is for architecture. UCEED and the NID and NIFT tests are for design.

Professional qualifications work differently again. Chartered Accountancy, Company Secretaryship and Cost Accountancy are not college admissions at all — you register directly with the institute after Class 12, study, and sit their examinations in stages.