Students thinking how their selected CUET subject question paper’s difficulty level will be decided can scroll down and read this page to know how NTA determines CUET UG difficulty level for each shift.
How NTA Determines CUET UG Difficulty Level?
National Testing Agency administers CUET UG exam every year in multiple shifts and days. Each CUET subject is conducted on more than one day across all exam centres in India and abroad. The CUET UG difficulty level of a question paper is not randomly decided. NTA follows a process to ensure each CUET question paper has same standard and is fair to all candidates.
However, it is not possible to set the same difficulty level for each question paper of a subject. Therefore, the exam conducting agency converts a candidate’s raw scores into percentile using normalization process to calculate the performance of applicants with the same score. Shiksha here explains how NTA decides the difficulty level of CUET UG exam. For current exam session – CUET UG 2026, NTA has closed the registration process.
- Factors Considered by NTA to Determine CUET Difficulty Level
- CUET UG Exam Pattern
- CUET Marking Scheme
- CUET UG 2026 Exam
Factors Considered by NTA to Determine CUET Difficulty Level
Before making paper for CUET exam and deciding on the difficulty level of each paper, National Testing Agency considers a number of factors and take multiple steps to ensure fairness to all applicants. Check below to know the same:
- Blueprint: Before making paper, NTA prepares a blueprint, determining the percentage of difficulty level in one paper. For instance, CUET English paper can be 30% easy, 40% moderate and 30% difficult.
- Expert Panel: Expert question paper setters: experienced teachers, professors, etc., designs question papers based on official CUET UG syllabus. The paper is usually aligned with Class 12 NCERT content. Questions are categorized as easy, moderate and difficult.
- Skills Evaluation: The paper is framed in a way that is tests a candidate’s concept clarity, concept-application skills, and analytical ability.
- Fairness: NTA sets the paper while making sure that no single paper is too easy or too hard, to maintain balance.
- Comparable Difficulty Level: As the Common University Entrance Test is conducted in more than one shift and day, different question sets are required. NTA makes sure that each set of a CUET subject do not have identical difficulty level.
- Confidentiality: NTA also ensures that the question paper is kept confidential until D-day.
- Multiple-Step Review Process: Before finalizing the paper, NTA reviews the questions, paper’s question-wise and overall CUET UG difficulty level, and accuracy to avoid any ambiguity.
Additionally, National Testing Agency keeps below guidelines in mind while creating paper:
- All questions are compulsory for candidates.
- There are 50 questions in each subject.
- The question paper has MCQs with four options each.
- The paper follows CUET syllabus and NCERT curriculum.
- The marking scheme for all questions is same, i..e, 5 marks for every correct answer and -1 for every incorrect one.
CUET Normalization Process
Commonly asked questions
On analysing the CUET UG cut off for the academic year 2025-26, scoring above 700 marks can be considered a good score in CUET UG. Candidates scoring above 700 may fall in the category of 95+ percentile. Candidates can get admission to top central universities like University of Delhi, Banaras Hindu University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and other universities in the desired course. Given below is the range that is considered good for admission:
- Very Good Score: 700 and above
- Good Score: 650 and above
The difficulty level of the CUET exam varies between moderate and tough. Since the CUET UG exam is held for multiple subjects and slots, the difficulty level of the exam varies from subject to subject. Sometimes, the difficulty level may also vary for different slots. While for the well-prepared candidates, the difficulty level will be low, for the underprepared students, the level of difficulty will be on the higher side.
To prepare well for the CUET UG and board examinations, candidates must:
- Start their preparations for CUET UG along with class 12th board examination. This will help students to cover the maximum syllabus for CUET.
- Candidates must make sure to be familiar with the CUET exam pattern and syllabus for the subjects they are planning to opt for.
- Candidates must know weak and strong topics by solving CUET mock tests or previous year question papers.
- Students must make sure to download the CUET question papers and analyse difficulty level of the exam
- Aspirants must select the best books for CUET UG preparation.
For Delhi University admission through CUET UG, candidates must select the subjects studied in class 12th and those that meet the preferred DU UG course requirements. CUET subject mapping is an important criterion for admission to Delhi University. The key requirements for CUET subjects vary by course. To check the CUET subject combination criteria, candidates must visit the official NTA CUET website.
As the difficulty level of each shift of a CUET subject paper is not the same and slightly different, to maintain fairness among students of each shift, National Testing Agency uses a process called CUET normalization process, in which a student’s raw scores are converted into percentile, using a formula to determine the performance of every applicant with same score.
CUET UG Exam Pattern
National Testing Agency prescribes the exam pattern for Common University Entrance Test in its CUET UG information bulletin. Candidates can check below table for NTA CUET UG exam pattern:
| Particulars |
Details |
|---|---|
| Mode of Examination |
Computer Based Test (CBT) |
| Number of questions |
50 questions (All compulsory) |
| Type of questions |
Multiple Choice Questions |
| Exam Duration |
60 minutes |
| Medium of Paper |
13 languages |
| Level of Syllabus |
Class 12th |
CUET Marking Scheme
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To calculate the raw scores of a candidate, NTA follows a marking scheme. The response sheet of a candidate is calculated after following below scheme:
- Candidates will be awarded 5 marks for each correct answer
- There is a negative marking. For every incorrect answer, 1 mark will be deducted.
- No marks will be awarded or deducted for unattempted questions.
- If more than one option is found correct, 5 marks will be awarded to those who have marked any of correct options.
- If all options are found correct, 5 marks will be awarded to all those who have attempted question.
- If none of the options is found correct/ Dropped, 5 marks will be awarded to students who have attempted question.
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Commonly asked questions
To puruse B.A (Hons.) History from DU, candidates must appear for CUET UG 2026 exam and register for exam online. While filling the CUET online form, candidates must select below CUET Arts subjects:
Combination I: Any one Language from List A + Any three subjects from Domain Subjects
OR
Combination II: Any two Languages from List A + Any two subjects from Domain Subjects
More than 200 CUET participating universities, including central, state, government, private, and deemed institutes offer admission to various undergraduate and integrated courses through Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG). Each CUET college offers the courses across Science, Humanities, Commerce, Management, Law, Engineering, and other streams. Students planning to get admission through CUET exam have to check the courses offered by their target university on their official website, NTA official website, or at Shiksha page.
CUET UG total marks is 250 Marks for each subject. Candidates can choose up to five CUET subjects. Each subject paper has 50 questions which will total to 250 marks for each subject. For every correct answer, candidate will get 5 marks. The CUET total marks will be uniform for all 37 subjects. The Total CUET subjects marks can vary depending on the number of subjects chosen by candidates.
- If three CUET subjects chosen: 750 total marks
- If four CUET subjects chosen: 1000 total marks
- If five CUET subjects chosen: 1250 total marks
The CUET General Test is moderate in difficulty level. The exam is not very difficult if the candidate is prepared well for the exam. CUET General Test assess candidate's basic aptitude, reasoning and general awareness. CUET General Test includes topics like percentages, profit & loss, ratio & proportions, time & work, simple compound & interest and may more topics in class 12th NCERT curriculum.
CUET UG 2026 Exam
NTA conducts Common University Entrance Test (CUET) once a year for UG and PG course admission. CUET UG is usually conducted in May/June and CUET PG in March. NTA has been administering CUET UG exam since 2022. To appear for this entrance exam, candidates have to register on NTA’s CUET UG official website – cuet.nta.nic.in and download the CUET admit card. Only registered candidates who take the hard copy of their hall ticket, along with necessary documents are allowed to enter the examination hall. Over 13 lakh students register for this exam every year.
With CUET UG scores, students can get admission to more than 280 participating universities, including central, state, private, government and deemed universities. After NTA releases the result, candidates who meet the CUET cut off and eligibility criteria of target university are allowed to participate in the CUET counselling process after registering for the college admission.
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