NEST 2026 Cutoff: Check NEST Cutoff & Previous Year Cutoff Marks
National Entrance Screening Test 2026 ( NEST )
NEST 2026 Answer Key Objection
10 Jun '26 - 12 Jun '26
NEST 2026 cutoff will be released online. There are two types of NEST cutoff: Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS) and Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP). Candidates need to obtain minimum marks in each section and the overall admissible percentile. The authority will prepare a merit list based on SMAS and MAP. Candidates whose names are mentioned on the NEST merit list shall be considered for the admission process. Candidates will have to participate in the NEST counselling for admission to the participating institutes. The authority had conducted the NEST exam 2026 on June 6, 2026.
- NEST 2026 Sectional Cutoff SMAS
- NEST 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule
- What is MAP in NEST Cutoff?
- Key Factors of NEST 2026 Cut off
- NEST Merit List
- FAQs for NEST Cut off marks
NEST 2026 Sectional Cutoff SMAS
The sectional cut-off marks known as SMAS are the key parameter for shortlisting a candidate. The merit list of NEST 2026 for NISER and CEBS will be based on percentile scores obtained by the candidates in all the subject sections.
- The total score of a candidate.
- For each section, 20 per cent of the average of the best 100 scores in the section will be the SMAS.
- The numerical value of SMAS varies for each section.
- Candidates should meet SMAS to qualify for the merit list of NISER and CEBS.
- For the OBC category, SMAS would be 90 per cent of SMAS for the General category.
- For SC/ ST/ Divyangjan, SMAS would be 50 per cent of SMAS for the General category.
Commonly asked questions
The NEST cutoff marks refer to the minimum marks required for a candidate to qualify and secure a rank in the merit list of NISER and CEBS. NEST exam authorities will release the cutoff marks for NEST along with the result. Applicants who will secure the NEST cutoff marks will be eligible to participate in the counselling process, which is held separately by NISER and CEBS for admission to their Integrated MSc courses.
SMAS is used frequently in preparing the result of NEST exam.
The full-form of SMAS is the Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score. It is the cut off marks which applicants need to secure for each section of NEST paper.
Since there are different category candidates who appear in the exam hence they have seperate SMAS.
NEST 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule
Take a look at the table below for the complete schedule of NEST 2026 exam
| Dates | Upcoming Exam Dates |
|---|---|
| 10 Jun ' 26 - 12 Jun ' 26 | NEST 2026 Answer Key Objection |
| 08 Jun ' 26 - 12 Jun ' 26 | NEST 2026 Answer Key |
| 24 Jun ' 26 | NEST 2026 Exam Result |
| 25 Jun ' 26 - 25 Dec ' 26 | NEST 2026 Exam Result |
| Jul ' 26 - Sep ' 26 | NEST NISER 2026 Counselling TENTATIVE |
What is MAP in NEST Cutoff?
In addition to SMAS, a candidate is required to have a percentile that is equal to or above a Minimum Admissible Percentile, or MAP, to get a merit rank. Category-wise MAP for NEST 2026 will be announced along with the declaration of results. The following table brings the category-wise MAP or NEST cutoff percentile.
| Category | NEST Cutoff Percentile |
|---|---|
| General | 95 |
| OBC | 90 |
| SC, ST, PWD | 75 |
Commonly asked questions
Applicants who want to take admission in NISER and are from General category need to secure the passing marks in their category.
Since general category cut off marks are higher than other categories hence applicants who belong to this category need to put more effort to take admission.
This year NEST cut off marks for general category for NISER are in between 80 to 90 marks. Though final marks will be decided after the conlusion of the exam.
The MAP is the cutoff percentile overall obtained by the candidates in NEST. The highest MAP is 100th percentile, and for each category, it is 95 percentile for the General category, 90 percentile for OBC category and 75 percentile for SC/ ST/ Divyangjan categories. Applicants are advised to secure the qualifying marks as well as the overall marks to pass the NEST exam.
Key Factors of NEST 2026 Cut off
Various factors are taken into consideration to decide the NEST cutoff marks, which are mentioned below.
- Total number of applicants who appeared in the NEST exam
- Difficulty level of the exam.
- The cut-off marks, i.e. SMAS, will vary for each section as well as MAP for NISER and CEBS.
- For NISER, candidates should score equal to or above MAP and in SMAS in the General section and all four sections to secure a rank in the merit list.
- For CEBS, candidates should score equal to and above MAP and in SMAS in the General section and any three of the subject sections to secure a rank in the merit list.
Commonly asked questions
The NEST cutoff marks for session I, for NISER Bhubaneswar are mentioned below:
Category | Biology | Chemistry | Physics | Mathematics |
General | 4.2170 | 3.4805 | 3.6305 | 2.9345 |
OBC | 3.7953 | 3.1325 | 3.2675 | 2.6411 |
SC/ST/PD/JK | 2.1085 | 1.7403 | 1.8153 | 1.4673 |
Applicants who want to take admission in NISER needs to secure the passing marks decided by the authorities for this. The NISER cut off marks can be less than or equall to cut off marks for CEBS.
Since last year passing criteria has been changed hence applicants need to just secure passing marks in any of three subjects. Candidates scoring equal to and above the MAP and in SMAS in three sections will qualify for NISER through NEST exam.
NEST Merit List
The NEST 2026 final ranking of the candidates will be based on percentiles calculated from the total scores. The NEST 2026 merit list will be published based on the following criteria:
1. A candidate is required to obtain a section score that is equal to or greater than the SMAS in at least three sections. Then the candidate is said to be SMAS-qualified.
2. The total score of an SMAS-qualified candidate is the sum of the three best scores from the SMAS securing sections.
3. A candidate is required to obtain a percentile that is equal to or above the Minimum Admissible Percentile/ MAP (announced for NEST 2026) to get a merit rank.
4. A merit rank will be assigned based on the percentile.
5. A tie of rank would be broken by first comparing the sum of the two best section scores.
6. If the tie of rank persists, then the best section score will be considered.
7. If the tie of rank persists, the candidates would be given the same provisional rank at the time of declaration of the results.
8. The tie would be broken during admission/counselling by first comparing the aggregate percentage of Class 12, followed by Class 10.
A candidate with an OBC-NCL/ SC/ST category rank will take a Unreserved (UR) seat if the candidate secures a general rank above or equal to the cut-off in the Unreserved (UR) category.
For example, if the topper of the exam (General rank 1) happens to be an OBC-NCL candidate, he/she would get OBC rank 1, as well. In such a case, he/she would be admitted against the General rank under the Unreserved category (UR) so that all OBC-NCL reserved seats remain available.
Commonly asked questions
The NEST Scoring system is based on the following factors.
- There are four sections of 60 marks each
- Each question carries three marks
- One mark will be removed for each wrong answer
- Candidates have to attempt at least three sections
- Best of the three scores out of four sections will be considered.
Candidates seeking admission to NISER and UM–DAE CEBS for the Integrated MSc programme 2026–31 should be from the regular science stream in classes 11 and 12. All aspiring candidates must write the NEST 2026 examination. Candidates must have passed the Class 12 examination from any recognised Board in India in the years 2024 or 2025, or should be appearing for the same in 2026. Candidates who are appearing for the board examination in 2026 must pass it by the time of admission into the programme.
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FAQs for NEST Cut off marks
Take a look at the frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding NEST cutoff.
The examination conducting body, NISER and UM-DAE CEBS, will release NEST cutoff marks for the applicants who want to take admission in participating institutes. The cutoff marks for NEST will be released along with the declaration of the result. Applicants securing the cutoff marks of NEST will be eligible to participate in the counselling held by the authorities. Applicants need to secure the passing marks in both the overall and individual categories.
The NEST exam counselling will be done in online mode only. The exam conducting authority will release the dates of counselling in official notification after the conclusion of the exam.
Applicants are advised to check the NEST exam counselling schedule and visit the centre along with their academic as well as category related documents.
The NEST 2026 Counselling is likely to begin in the second week of July. There will be around four rounds of counselling. The number of rounds will depend on the number of remaining seats. Candidates passing the NEST exam will be eligible for the admission process.
There are various factors which are taken into consideration while deciding the NEST cutoff marks. Some of them are mentioned below.
- Total number of test takers
- Total number of seats
- Difficulty level of the exam
- Minimum qualifying marks.
The Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score or SMAS refers to the section-wise cut-off marks in NEST. The factors to calculate SMAS in NEST are given below.
- The total score of each candidate will be the sum of his/her best three scores out of the four sections.
- For each section, 20 per cent of the average of the best 100 scores in that section will be considered as SMAS. For example, if the average of the best 100 scores in the Chemistry section is 48 out of 60, then SMAS for the Chemistry section would be 48*0.20 = 9.6 marks, similar to other sections.
- SMAS for different sections can be of different numerical values.
- SMAS for the two sessions, for any particular section, can be of different numerical values.
- SMAS for OBC students would be 90 per cent of the respective SMAS for the general category Students. For example, if in the Chemistry section, the SMAS is 9.6 for general category students, then the SMAS for OBC students would be 8.64 (90 per cent of 9.6).
- SMAS for SC/ST/Divyangjan students would be 50 per cent of the respective SMAS for general category students. For example, if in the Chemistry section, the SMAS is 9.6 for general category students, then the SMAS for SC, ST, and Divyangjan students would be 4.8 (50 per cent of 9.6).
If a students fails to submi the expression of interest, it will be considered as they are no longer interested to get admision to NEST NISER institute and there seat will be given to another deseving students. Therefore, it is manadatory for students to submit the Expresison of Interest (EoI) before deadline.
NEST Exam
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
In such a situation, you have to prioritise which exam you want to appear for. You might have prepared for months for the exam. Based on your preparation, you have to decide which exam you can easily qualify for and get admission to the desired course and college.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
The rank needed to get a seat at this institution would depend on the category you belong to and the round you are applying in.
According to the NISER Bhubaneshwar NEST cutoff 2025 for the General AI category, the maximum cutoff accepted was 1972. Students can see the table below to know the maximum
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The total marks for NEST exam is 240 marks. However, the exam authority will consider marks out of 180 to prepare the merit list.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Candidates can calculate their NEST scoring based on marking scheme. NEST questions will carry 3 marks per answer. Negative marking is done for wrong answers.
Total Marks = 3 * Correct Answers - Wrong Answers
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
The process for downloading the NEST response sheet PDF is mentioned below.
- Go to NEST 2026 website, nestexam.in
- Click on Login button
- Enter the application no./login Id and password
- Click on the NEST response sheet
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
Students can check the NEST answer key through login portal. They will have to provide their application number / login ID, and password to download NEST 2026 answer key.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
Yes, the NEST response sheet was released on June 10, 2026, alongwith the answer key. Students can check their NEST response sheet through the login portal.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
Yes, Nest Academy of Sports Management (NASM) is a good college. The flagship programmes available at the college are Masters in Sports Management & Bachelor / Bachelor (Hons.) of Sports Management. The college provides good placements to students.
L
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
The process to retrieve the NEST password is mentioned below
- Go to NEST 2026 website.
- Click on the Login link.
- Then click on forget password.
- Provide the user id and click on "Get Password".
- Enter new password.
- Click on the Change Password button.
- Use your new password to log in.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
The following candidates are eligible to apply for NISER 2026.
- Candidates who have completed class 10+2 from a recognised board with at least three out of four disciplines - Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology.
- Obtained 60% marks (55% for SC, ST and Divyangjan categories) in aggregate.
V
Contributor-Level 10
3 Institutes accepting NEST
4.6
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