NIFT Entrance Exam

Along with going through the textbooks and solving problem sets, candidates must also solve previous years question papers to prepare for NIFT 2026. One of the main benefits of solving sample papers is that candidate will get to know the difficulty level, types of questions asked, and marking scheme. By analyzing the previous years question papers, candidate may also figure out trends that are followed in drafting question. 

Tips for NIFT exam preparation are given below.

1. Check NIFT exam pattern and syllabus. 
2. Check the topics and plan accordingly
3. Make sure you follow only the updated syllabus.
4. Stay updated with trends, fashion shows, exhibitions, etc.
5. Make a timetable taking into account the difficulty level of each topic.
6. Solve sample papers and previous years' question papers.
7. Practice mock tests.

NIFT cutoff for a participating NIFT is the last rank for which admission is offered in for a particular programme and category. This means, if a candidate fails to score a rank equal to or higher than the cutoff rank, they don't get admission. Typically, a higher ranked institute will invite:

More applications

Higher ranked candidates

This in turn pushes up the cutoff in higher ranked (or popular) institutes. Likewise, a lower-ranked institute will receive comparatively fewer number of applications, and mostly from lower-ranked candidates. This means, cut-off in these institutes are lower making it much easier to get admission.

There are 19 NIFTs that will accept NIFT 2026 Scores for admission purposes. These institutes are known as participating colleges.

However, in addition to the participating colleges, there are other private colleges that will also consider NIFT 2026 scores for admission to their UG and PG design courses. The candidates are urged to go through the list of result-sharing institutes.

One big concern students have regarding the delay in the NIFT exams is that the upcoming admission schedule could be cramped. If that had happened, the student would have had very limited time to prepare for the situation test/ personal interview. The other concern was if a student had failed to qualify in the written exams, he would also have limited time to plan his or her next course of action.

NTA doesn't allow any objection window against the final key. This means, the keys included in the final key are final and officially the correct answers to questions asked in the GAT exam.

The FINAL answer key of NIFT 2026 will be released tentatively in the last week of June 2026.

The candidate can use the answers given in the final key to calculate the number of correct attempts and consequently the probable score.

Note, the NTA will release the recorded responses and NIFT 2026 QP around the 3rd week of February 2026.

The NTA will release the NIFT 2026 answer key (FINAL) in April 2026.

The final key will be released after considering objections filed by the candidate. Note that there is no provision to challenge the final answer key.

So, the keys included in the FINAL answer key of NIFT 2026 will be considered to the correct and official answers.

The last date to file objections against the draft key will be notified on the admission portal.

The draft key will be released in February 2026.

The NTA also releases the recorded responses for the NIFT exam. The recorded responses are the corbon copy of the candidate’s answer sheet.

The recorded responses are meant to bring transparency to the conduct of the NIFT entrance exam. For instance, the candidate can’t be unfairly penalized or awarded marks, as the answer sheets will be in the public.

It is because the candidate can challenge the result if there is an anomaly.

Further, the candidate can use the NIFT recorded responses to correctly calculate their probable scores. 

The NTA will release the NIFT 2026 question paper for the written exam along with the answer key. The question paper will be made available before the declaration of exam results.

The candidate had to download the NIFT question paper 2026 from the NTA NIFT admission portal.

• nift.ac.in/admission
• nift.ntaonline.in
• exams.nta.ac.in/NIFT

To download the question paper, log in to the portal using your candidate credentials. Note that the NTA also released the recorded responses. So, the candidate can use the answer key, recorded response, and question paper to calculate the total number of correct attempts, and eventually, the probable score.