Is the NID DAT exam very difficult to crack?

NID DAT, along with NIFT and UCEED are among the most competitive national-level entrance exams in the country. The fact that there are only 425 seats for the B. Des and 347 seats for the M.Des programme makes it very competitive. But that being said, 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 efficient study timetable, get familiar with the syllabus and pattern, and use good books as reference material.

When will the application forms for NID 2025 be released?

NID application form 2025 opened on September 3, 2024. The application form is open online at the NID admission portal -admissions.nid.edu. Candidates who meet the program-specific eligibility criteria may apply before the last date. The NID application form is for admission to the B. Des and M.Des courses offered by participating colleges. The last date to apply for NID DAT 2025 is December 6, 2024 (extended from December 3). The candidate can also edit the submitted application from December 4-9, 2024. The NID DAT 2025 (Prelims) exam will be conducted on January 5, 2025.

When will the NID DAT 2026 Prelims exam be conducted?

The National Institute of Design (NID) is expected to conduct the DAT Prelims exam in the first week of January 2026. The B.Des exam will be held around 10 am - 1 pm; meanwhile, the M.Des exam will be held around 10 am - 12.30 am. The candidate needs to report for the exam at 8 am. Gates' closing time is 9.30 am. The DAT Prelims for the B.Des programme will be conducted in a paper-and-pencil/pen mode. The question paper may include both textual and visual questions. Other details like duration of the exam, marking scheme, etc., will be published in the DAT Prelims admit card. The DAT Prelims exam for the M.Des programme will be conducted offline and include a mix of objective and subjective questions. The paper will have a total of 100 questions.

What is the cutoff for NID admissions?

A. NID cutoffs vary from course to course as well as the reservation category to which candidates belong. In 2019, NID cutoff for B. Des course for general category candidates at NID Ahmedabad was 96.84 whereas the cutoff for M.Des course vary depending on the discipline for which candidates had applied for admissions. Aspirants can view detailed NID DAT cutoffs for past years' exam here. The cut-off depends on a multitude of factors, including the category of the candidate, the seat intake, total applicants, performance of candidate in the NID DAT exam, etc. If any of these parameters change, the cut-off would also change.

How many seats are there for NID admissions?

Total seats offered in B. Des courses at all the NID campuses is 425 seats. For M.Des course, NID seats on offer for admission are 347. The B. Des programme is offered at five institutes - NID Ahmedabad, NID Andhra Pradesh, NID Haryana, NID Madhya Pradesh, and NID Assam. The various faculty members under which the programme is available include Faculty of Communication Design, Faculty of Industrial Design, and Faculty of Textile, Apparel, Lifestyle, and Accessory Design. Meanwhile, the M.Des course is available at NID Ahmedabad, NID Bengaluru, and NID Gandhinagar. Admission to both the B. Des and M.Des courses will be through the NID DAT entrance exam.

Who sets NID DAT question paper?

Questions in NID DAT are drafted by an exam committee formulated by the National Institute of Design. The NID DAT exam is considering one of the toughest in the land, along with other popular entrance exams like NIFT and UCEED. On particular reason why NID DAT is so competitive is there are only 425 seats available for the B. Des programme, while candidates from all over the country can apply. The NID DAT exam comprises two stages. The candidate first appears in DAT Mains, which is a Design Aptitude Test. Those who qualify in that Prelims have to next appear in the that Mains. Note that the final results will be prepared by giving weightage to both that Prelims and that Mains.

What is NID DAT Prelims exam pattern?

NID Entrance Exam comprises that Prelims and that Mains. NID DATA Prelims is a written entrance exam whereas NID DAT Mains comprises an offline based Studio Test (plus an Interview round for the M.Des programme). NID DAT Prelims for the B. Des programme is a paper-and-pencil/pen exam. The question paper may include both textual and visual questions. The language of the test will be English . Note that the test duration and other details related to the exam will be notified to the candidate through the NID DAT admit card. The candidate must follow previous years that Prelims questions papers to get better insights into the exam pattern, including types of questions asked, marking scheme, and difficulty level.

Can I ask for recheck of DAT Prelims result?

Requests for rechecking the answer booklet of the that Prelims has to be submitted online at admissions. Nid. Edu. Rechecking is restricted to whether all the answers have been marked, and whether there has been any mistake in the totaling of marks for each question in Part II of answer booklet and transferring the marks correctly onto the first cover page of the answer booklet. No other re-evaluation of the answer script or other work done by the candidate as a part of the examination will be carried out. To recheck window will open soon after the that Prelims results are announced. Note that the candidate will have to pay a certain fee to submit a request.

What aspects will be covered by NID DAT exam analysis?

The NID DAT exam analysis will cover the following points: Sectional difficulty - The difficulty level will be evaluated on a scale of easy, moderate, and difficult. Overall difficulty - The overall difficulty will be calculated by considering the sectional difficulty. The previous years difficulty level will also taken into context. The weightage of questions - The part of the analysis will examine the distribution of questions (or weightage) across various topics. Good attempts - This will be an indication of how many questions you need to attempt to be in contention for a seat. Expected cut-off - The candidate needs to meet the cut-off criteria to get admission.

What was the difficulty level of NID DAT 2023 (Prelims)?

As per inputs given by candidates, the difficulty level of Part A was moderate, whereas Part B was moderate. Overall, the paper was easy compared to the previous edition. Part A of the question paper includes a number of questions from GK. As for some students, the paper was lengthy. The question paper included one question on perspective drawing, one question on the storyboard, and one question on problem-solving. Considering that the paper was easy compared to the previous year, the cut-off could go higher. Note that if the cut-off goes higher, the candidates will get need better marks to have a good chance of admission.

NID DAT Exam Analysis 2026 : DAT Prelims Overall & Sectional Difficulty, Student REACTION & Reviews

559 Students Q&A

Registration - 11 Sep '25 - 1 Dec '25

This exam is conducted for courses given below:

BDes, GDPD MDes

Updated on Sep 12, 2025 16:46 IST

By Sayeba Naushad, Assistant Manager

NID DAT Exam Analysis 2026: The NID DAT 2026 (Prelims) exam will be conducted on December 21, 2025 for B.Des and M.Des. Candidates who will appear in the exam can follow the NID DAT 2026 analysis. The exam analysis will be available for the M.Des and B.Des courses.

Our representatives will visit the NID DAT exam center 2026 and bring the DAT Prelims exam analysis. The exam analysis will provide insight into the NID DAT 2026 question paper, including the section-wise and overall difficulty level, weightage, good attempts, and expected cutoff.

In the previous edition of the exam, candidates expressed that the difficulty level of the M.Des exam was moderate, even though the paper was a bit lengthy. Meanwhile, the difficulty level of the B.Des exam was easy to moderate; again, some students found the paper to be a bit lengthy. Also, test takers believed that it is not required to take up coaching to do well in the NID DAT entrance exam.

Q: What is the difficulty level of NID DAT?

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.

Q: When will the NID DAT exam analysis be released?

The exam analysis for NID DAT 2025 exam will be released soon after the exam is over.

Note that the NID DAT Prelims 2025 exam will be conducted tentatively in December 2024.

The exam analysis will be available immediately after the exam. Shiksha. Com sends their own representatives to cover the exam, who interacts with exam takers and gather inputs. The exam analysis will cover all the details of the exam, including the types of questions asked, sectional and overall difficulty level, topics covered, what questions were asked, etc. The analysis will also check whether there were any technical issues during the exam. The candidate will also be asked whether there were any questions asked that was outside the official syllabus.

Q: What is the eligibility criteria for NIFT 2026?

The eligibility criteria may differ depending on the course opted by the candidate. For instance, candidates seeking admission to the B. Des course needs to have passed 10+2 exam from a recognised institute and should be less than 24 years as of August 1, 2026. Relaxation of 5 years in the upper age limit applies for candidates belonging to SC, ST and PwD candidates.

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