Top Entrance Exams After 12th (Science, Commerce and Arts) - CUET Alternative 2024

Education is essential for growth and a better future aspect, in India students know the value and importance of education and as compared to past decades the competition has also been increased and it has resulted in a nightmare for students. The competition at All India Level Entrance Exams is much higher and the majority of students are not able to get enrolled in their preferred university or specific specialization, to ensure equal opportunity to every student the university started offering different entrance exams to students and these exams are university specific or program-specific as per the preference of the student. 

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Initially, admissions in central universities were based on the marks obtained in 12 standards and the universities released their cut-off list for the admission process but due to the high competition students were not able to fall under the eligibility criteria of cut-off or the eligible students did not get their preferred specialization. To resolve this problem, the Ministry of Education introduced the CUET (Common University Entrance Test) which is conducted by the NTA (National Testing Agency), it is made mandatory for several central universities to appear for CUET to get enrolled for example, Delhi University regular degree program has made mandatory to appear for CUET or students seeking admission in DU without appearing for CUET can enroll themselves in DU SOL. 

Types of Entrance Exams Other than CUET In India

Entrance exams for graduation in India are conducted after a board examination of 12 standards, students who have appeared in board examinations from a valid school or institution are eligible to appear for entrance exams. These examinations are divided into:

• All India Level Entrance Examinations
• State-Level Entrance Examinations 
• University-Level Entrance Examination 

These examinations are further subdivided into specialization-based entrance examinations, there are different examinations conducted for multiple streams and they are conducted by different conducting bodies. Every year lakhs of students appear for different entrance examinations conducted in India and to make it even simpler most of the universities have opted for CUET score as their eligibility criteria. A few program-specific entrance exams conducted in India are mentioned below:

• Fashion & Design - Students interested in pursuing fashion and design as their career are required to complete their 12 standards from a recognized board with a minimum of 50% marks.

Entrance exams conducted for Fashion and design programs are NIFT (GAT & CAT), NID DAT, and UCEED. 

• Engineering - Students preparing for engineering have to prepare well, as the competition at the entrance exams conducted for engineering is comparatively very high and the majority of students start preparing for it from their 9th standard.

Entrance exams conducted for engineering programs are JEE (PRE, MAIN), IPU-CET (B.Tech), BITSAT, and many more. 

• Agriculture & Hotel Management - Hotel Management and Agricultural programs are in trend nowadays and students seeking admission in this specialization must have a keen interest in hospitality.

Entrance exams conducted for Agriculture and hotel Management programs are the All India Hotel Management Entrance Exam NCHMCT JEE, BUAT, and the National Council for Hotel Management Joint Entrance Examination (NCHM JEE) which is conducted by the same body that conducts CUET i.e. NTA (National Testing Agency). 

• Management - Management is the most opted category of entrance exams that are held in India, this specialization offers the majority of professional degrees like BBA, BCOM, and many more. 

Entrance exams conducted for management programs include CAT, CMAT, and many more. 

• Law - Students wishing to become lawyers, legal analysts, legal consultants, judges, or others must pursue a law program as their future aspect, and with their good score in the entrance exam they will secure their desired seat in their preferred program such as BA LLB, BSC LLB, MBA LLM, etc.

Entrance examinations of law programs include CLAT (Common Law Admission Test), AILET (All India Law Entrance Test), etc. 

CUET alternative or University-specific Entrance Exams 

CUET is conducted to maintain equality among students and offer them an opportunity to get enrolled in their dream central university but every university doesn't need to follow the CUET criteria for the admission process. There are still many universities that conduct their own entrance exam or admission tests for the enrollment process, even though there is a slight similarity between CUET and other university-specific programs, that is their syllabus. The syllabus remains almost the same which includes subjects from classes 9 to 12.  A few popular alternative entrance exams of CUET are mentioned below: 

• BITSAT (BITS Pilani):

BITSAT stands for Birla Institute of Technology and Science Admission Test and it is an online CBT (Computer Based Test) of the renowned Birla Institute of Technology and Science University, with the help it students from around the country get an opportunity to enroll themselves one of the leading engineering universities in the country. 

• VITEEE Vellore Institute of Technology:

VITEEE stands for Vellore Institute of Technology Engineering Entrance Examination and it is among the most famous engineering entrance examinations in India. VITEEE is conducted for bachelor programs at the university, although the university offers different undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral-level programs. The university offers its entrance exam and the admission process of the university is not based upon the CUET or 12 standard scores. 

• LPU NEST Lovely Professional University:

Lovely Professional University conducts its entrance examination called NEST stands for (National Entrance and Scholarship Test), the examination is conducted through online mode and it is conducted once a year and offers 150+ programs to students in multiple specializations. Lovely Professional University is a private university established in 2005 and is situated in Chaheru, Phagwara, Punjab, India. The university was established by the Lovely International Trust. 

• UPCET Uttar Pradesh Combined Entrance Test:

UPCET stands for Uttar Pradesh Combined Entrance Test and the exam was earlier known as UPSEE (Uttar Pradesh State Entrance Examination). The examination is conducted by NTA (National Testing Agency) and clearing the exam offers multiple [programs that are offered under Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) priorly it was known as UPTU and is the most prestigious university for students in UP. 

• GGSIPU CET Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test:

The Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test (GGSIPU CET) is among the second-most famous and known universities in Delhi after the University of Delhi. Students willing to enroll in the GGSIPU university are required to appear and qualify for the national-level CET examination conducted by the university. Or they can enroll themselves in the university based on their merit score. 

Universities without CUET or any Entrance Exam

If a student does not want to appear for any entrance exam or admission test or they are not willing to enroll in a regular degree program still, there are various alternatives to opt for. These options include certification programs or enrolling in a degree through online or ODL (Open and Distance Learning) mode.

A degree through distance education offers multiple advantages to students and enough spare time for skill upliftment; meanwhile, they can prepare for competitive exams. The majority of distance education universities allow students to directly sit in exams without attending any classes and they have an affordable fee structure as compared to private and regular universities.

Top Trending Online Degree Courses without CUET
UG Programs	PG Programs
Online BBA	Online MBA
Online BCA	Online MCA
Online BCom	Online MCom
Online BSc	Online MSc
Online BA	Online MA

The majority of distance and online learning programs allow direct admission without any test or exam. For example Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), DU SOL( Delhi University School of Open Learning), Jain University Online, DY Patil University Online, Sastra University Online, and many more.

The Pattern of Entrance Exams

The entrance examinations including CUET, state-level examination, national level examination, and university-specific examination have the majority of things in common. A few commonalities and patterns of entrance exams are mentioned below:

• Approximately every entrance exam consists of objective-type questions with MCQs. 
• The syllabus of the entrance exam mostly consists of subjects studied in 9 to 12 standards.
• While marking the MCQs students must make sure they only have one correct answer.
• With the post-COVID effect, a majority of universities conduct their admission test pr entrance exam through online CBT (computer-based test).
• Every examination has a slightly different pattern, students appearing for different examinations make sure they go through the examination pattern before appearing for it.
• Some examinations have negative marks for every incorrect answer, so before marking any answer be confident. 

Mode of Entrance Exam in India

Entrance exams in India were conducted offline through pen and paper but with the advancement in technology and the latest upgrades in education, the mode of examination is updated and slightly changed from the previous mode. The majority of entrance exams are mentioned below:

• Offline mode - This is the primary mode of examination that is conducted through pen and paper similar to board examinations. Many universities allot centers for their entrance examination and students have to reach the center on time with their admit card and required documents and essential things as per the university guidelines. 
• CBT mode - It is the latest variation added to the entrance examination mode. CBT stands for Computer Based Test under which students have to mark their correct answer to MCQ on their desktop or laptop and sometimes the software gives an instantly calculated result after the submission of the test.
• Online mode - this is the most preferred mode as per the student's requirement, it is suitable for students residing in remote places as their traveling, accommodation, and other expenses are nil under this mode and they attempt the exam according to their convenience. A student needs a good internet connection, a webcam attached to their system, and a computer/laptop with the required specifications.

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