What is the NEST Scoring system?

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.

What are the eligibility criteria for candidates seeking admission to NISER and UM-DAE CEBS?

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.

What are the factors considered for making NEST cutoff marks?

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.

Who releases NEST cutoff marks?

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.

What was the starting date of NEST Counselling Process?

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.

What is mode for NEST exam counselling?

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.

What is "Section-wise" Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS) or section wise cutoff marks in NEST exam?

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).

Is it mandatory to submit the Expression of Interest (EoI) during NEST Admission process?

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.

What is NEST cut off?

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.

What is SMAS in NEST result?

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.

What can be NEST cutoff marks this for NISER for General category?

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.

What is the Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP) for NEST?

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.

What were NEST previous year cutoff marks

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

What is the cutoff criteria for NISER?

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 2026 Cutoff: Check NEST Cutoff & Previous Year Cutoff Marks

426 Students Q&A

Registration - 5 Jan '26 - 6 Apr '26

Updated on Mar 11, 2026 15:29 IST

By Vikash Kumar Vishwakarma

NEST cutoff 2026 will be released online. The cutoff of NEST 2026 is the minimum percentile score a candidate needs to obtain in the test. There will be two types of NEST 2026 cutoff: Section Wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS) and overall cutoff or Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP). To prepare the SMAS and MAP, the authority will consider the scores of the best three sections. Candidates whose score in National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) is equal or above the cutoff score shall be considered for admission to NISER and CEBS.
The cutoff will be released after the declaration of the NEST result 2026. Candidates can check the previous year NEST NISER SMAS and MAP cutoff.

Table of contents

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

NEST 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule

Take a look at the table below for the complete schedule of NEST 2026 exam

Dates	Upcoming Exam Dates
Jun ' 26	NEST 2026 Answer Key TENTATIVE
Jun ' 26	NEST 2026 Answer Key Objection Window TENTATIVE
Jun ' 26	NEST 2026 Exam Result TENTATIVE
Jul ' 26 - Sep ' 26	NEST NISER 2026 Counselling TENTATIVE