NID DAT Merit List 2025 - Release date, Shortlisting, Seat Allotment
National Institute of Design Entrance Exam 2026 ( NID Entrance Exam )
Registration - 11 Sep '25 - 1 Dec '25
The merit list will be prepared based on the performance of the candidate in DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. The NID DAT 2025 merit list will be used to shortlist candidates for counseling and seat allotment.
The National Institute of Design (NID) will release the merit list of NID DAT 2025 at the time of the declaration of final results for the NID DAT 2025 exam. The final results for the B.Des program will be announced on May 16, 2025; meanwhile, results for the M.Des program will be announced on May 6, 2025. Candidates who are included in the merit list will be eligible to participate in the NID DAT 2025 counseling and admission process. Only such candidates who have appeared in both DAT Prelims and DAT Mains will be included in the NID DAT 2025 merit list. The merit list will be category-specific. The NID DAT 2025 exam will be held on January 5, 2025. The online application form for NID DAT 2025 has closed.
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- NID DAT 2025 Admission Schedule (OUT)
- Preparation of NID DAT 2025 merit list
- Types of NID DAT 2025 Merit Lists
- NID DAT 2025 Counseling
- NID DAT Merit List 2025 - FAQs
NID DAT 2025 Admission Schedule (OUT)
| Event |
B.Des |
M.Des |
|---|---|---|
| Conduct of NID DAT 2025 (Prelims) exam |
Jan 5, 2024 |
Jan 5, 2024 |
| Declaration of DAT Prelims Results |
April 1, 2025 |
Feb 17, 2025 |
| Rechecking request for DAT Prelims |
April 1-2, 2025 |
Feb 17-18, 2025 |
| Conduct of DAT Mains |
April 26-May 4, 2025 |
March 3- April 6, 2025 |
| Declaration of DAT Mains Results |
May 16, 2025 |
May 6, 2025 |
| Submission of campus preferences |
May 16-18, 2025 |
- |
| Payment of Token Fees & Uploading of Documents |
May 27-30, 2025 |
May 6-7, 2025 |
| Issue of provisional seat allotment letter |
June 10, 2025 |
May 20, 2025 |
The NID Entrance Exam is considered to be one of the toughest design entrance exam conducted in the country. In NID DAT, more weightage is given to subjective, drawing related questions. Thus, candidates need to be extremely creative and have a clear understanding of their concepts when appearing for the NID exam.
For preparing the final results for the B. Des program, the DAT Prelims will be allocated 40% weightage, while DAT Mains will be given 60%.
During the DAT Mains, which comprises a Studio Test, the candidate is tested hands-on and have to show their drawing abilities, creativity, innovativeness, and material-handling ability.
Preparation of NID DAT 2025 merit list
The merit list for NID DAT 2025 will be prepared by giving weightage to DAT Prelims and DAT Mains.
Weightage carried by DAT Prelims and DAT Mains
| Exam Component |
DAT Prelims |
DAT Mains |
|---|---|---|
| Weightage |
40% |
60% |
Also Read:
Types of NID DAT 2025 Merit Lists
There will be two merit lists for NID DAT 2025.
- DAT Prelims merit list - This merit list will be prepared based on the scores of the candidate in the DAT Prelims exam. Candidates included in this merit list will be eligible to appear in DAT Mains. But note that DAT Prelims merit list will not be considered for counseling and seat allotment.
- Final merit list - The final merit list will be prepared based on the performance of the candidate in the DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. Consequently, if a candidate fails to appear in DAT Mains, he or she will not be included in the final merit list. The allotment of seats to B.Des and M.Des courses will be based on the respective merit lists.
Both the DAT Prelims and Final Merit lists will be prepared category-wise - General, General-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD, and Overseas.
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Declaration of NID DAT 2025 results
The results for DAT Prelims will be announced separately for B.Des and M.Des.
DAT Prelims results for the M.Des program will be announced on February 17, 2025. This will be followed by the declaration of results for B.Des program on April 1, 2025.
Candidates who qualify in DAT Prelims next have to appear in DAT Mains.
In case any candidate has any doubts regarding their results can also request for re-check.
NID DAT 2025 Counseling
It is not mandatory to take coaching to get a good rank in NID DAT. It is because the entrance exam will test the creative, drawing, and innovative skills of the candidate. Now, a coaching institute cannot exactly teach you to be creative or become innovative. Instead, with a little effort these skills can learn these skills yourself. Also, a major thrust of the design aptitude test is to evaluate the drawing skills of the candidate. So, make it a point to work on your design skills, including learning how to draw lines, shadow, figure, gesture, cartoon drawing, etc. When practicing drawing, also keep a tab on the drawing speed, as it will help you complete the paper in the allotted time.
Candidates are advised to be thorough in their preparation when they plan to appear for NID that. Being regular in studies is a must when appearing for NID Entrance Exam. NID that Prelims comprises both objective- and subjective-type questions. The NID Entrance Exam preparation plan that candidates can follow includes: Know the NID exam pattern and marking scheme well Get well-versed with the NID that syllabus Prepare a time-table and strictly adhere to it Attempt NID previous year question papers Solve NID sample papers and mock tests Keep revising.
Candidates who are included in the final merit list can participate in the counseling process.
As part of the counseling process, B.Des candidates will have to submit campus preferences. However, M.Des candidates don’t have to select any campuses.
The allotment of seats will be made based on the merit rank of the candidate in NID DAT 2025. Candidates who are allotted seats will have to pay the token fees and upload relevant documents to confirm their seats.
NID DAT Merit List 2025 - FAQs
Q. When will the merit list be released for DAT Prelims?
A. The merit list for the DAT Prelims will be released at the time of declaration of prelims results for the B.Des and M.Des programs. DAT Prelims results for M.Des will be announced on February 17, 2025; meanwhile results for B.Des program will be declared on April 1, 2025.
Q. Can I appear in DAT Mains if I am not included in the DAT Prelims merit list?
A. Only such candidates who are included in the DAT Prelims merit list are eligible to appear in the DAT Mains exam. This means, the merit list is used to shortlist candidates for the next admission round.
Q. What is the basis on which the DAT Prelims merit list is prepared?
A. The DAT Prelims merit list will be prepared by counsidering scores of the candidate in DAT Prelims. Candidates who are included in the list can next appear in DAT Mains.
Q. How many types of NID DAT 2025 merit lists are there?
A. The National Institute of Design will release two merit list. First, it will release the DAT Prelims merit list to shortlist candidates for the next round, DAT Mains. The 2nd and final merit list will be used for counselinga and seat allotment.
Q. When will the final merit list for NID DAT 2025 be released?
A. The final merit list of NID DAT 2025 will be released soon after the declaration of NID DAT 2025 final results. Candidates who have appeared in the DAT Prelims and DAT Mains exams will be included in the final merit list.
Q. On what basis will the final merit list of NID DAT 2025 be prepared?
The final merit list for NID DAT 2025 will be prepared by considering the performance of the candidate in DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. The weightage carried by the two exam components has altready been notified by the National Institute of Design.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 2 months ago
The NID DAT 2026 notification will provide information about eligibility, application process, fees, exam dates, exam pattern, and selection process. The notification provides details of seat capacity at each NID campus for both B.Des and M.Des.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
NID DAT 2026 notifications will be available on the official website of NID at admissions.nid.edu. Official notification of the NID entrance exam is all set to be out by the first week of September 2025. The notifications will be out for UG and PG programmes.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
National Institute of Design is expected to release the NID DAT 2026 Applications by the first week of September 2025 for B.Des and M.Des programmes. The registration for NID DAT 2026 will be on the official website of NID. Candidates can fill out the application form by registering, filling in info
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
One can follow these tips for NID 2026 preparations:
- Know your NID Syllabus.
- Understand the exam pattern of NID DAT.
- Make the NID DAT 2026 preparation plan.
- Books to refer.
- Practice till you are perfect using mock tests and previous year's papers.
- NID DAT Exam Day Strategy.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
Yes, there are placements in NID campuses. NID has separate Placement cells for the placement process. Placement in NID completely depends on the performance of the student during the selection interview. Some of the top recruiters of NID are:
- Malabar Gold & Diamonds
- J.P.Morgan
- Tcs
- The Asian Heritage F
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
NID Ahmedabad has a good record of placements. NID Ahmedabad consistently leads in placement outcomes among NID campuses. In 2025, the average package was around ?21.3 LPA and the highest package was around ?30 LPA. The Total offers made were 620.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
Yes, there are a multitude of benefits of solving previous years’ question papers and sample papers. For one, they will help the candidate get an idea of the types of questions asked, difficulty level, weightage, etc. This exercise of solving a sample paper is a must for NID candidates. Past years’
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
It is not at all necessary to take coaching to get a good rank in NID DAT. It is because the entrance exam will test the creative, drawing, and innovative skills of the candidate. Now, a coaching institute can’t teach you to be creative or become innovative; instead, with a little effort these skill
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
If the candidate prepares well and with the correct strategy, then the NID DAT exam can be cracked. Among the first things the candidate needs to do is prepare a practical study timetable, get familiar with the syllabus and pattern, and get the book combination right.
When studying, make it a habit t
S
Contributor-Level 10
NID evaluates aspirants based on their knowledge, creativity and aptitude for design. Experts share that NID is one of the most challenging design entrance exams conducted in the country. However, if prepared well, the difficulty level of NID Entrance Exam is medium. On of the main reasons why NID is such a competitive exam is there are very limited number of seats. For instance, there are only 425 seats available for the BDes programme through NID. In contrast, the NIFTs offer 2748 seats.