Entrance Exams in India
Verified guides to every major entrance exam — eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, and the colleges that accept each score. Sourced from official exam bodies and regulators.
Engineering exams
JEE Main
Joint Entrance Examination – Main
JEE Advanced
Joint Entrance Examination – Advanced
GATE
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
BITSAT
Birla Institute of Technology and Science Admission Test
VITEEE
VIT Engineering Entrance Examination
State Engineering CETs (MHT-CET, KCET, WBJEE)
State Common Entrance Tests for Engineering — Maharashtra (MHT-CET), Karnataka (KCET), West Bengal (WBJEE) and equivalents in other states
NATA
National Aptitude Test in Architecture
Medical exams
NEET-UG
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate)
NEET-PG
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Postgraduate)
INI-CET
Institutes of National Importance Combined Entrance Test
FMGE
Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (Screening Test)
NExT (planned)
National Exit Test
AIAPGET
All India AYUSH Post Graduate Entrance Test
Management exams
CAT
Common Admission Test
XAT
Xavier Aptitude Test
MAT
Management Aptitude Test
CMAT
Common Management Admission Test
GMAT
Graduate Management Admission Test
SNAP
Symbiosis National Aptitude Test
NMAT
NMAT by GMAC
MAH-MBA-CET
Maharashtra Common Entrance Test for MBA/MMS
Law exams
CLAT
Common Law Admission Test (UG and PG)
AILET
All India Law Entrance Test
LSAT—India
Law School Admission Test — India
SLAT
Symbiosis Law Admission Test
MH CET Law
Maharashtra Common Entrance Test for Law
CUET (for Law)
Common University Entrance Test (UG and PG, law programmes)
AIBE
All India Bar Examination (licensure examination, not an admission test)
Pharmacy exams
GPAT
Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test
NIPER JEE
National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Joint Entrance Examination
State Pharmacy CETs
State Common Entrance Tests for B.Pharm/Pharm.D (MHT CET Pharmacy group, WBJEE Pharmacy, and equivalents)
BITS HD
BITS Higher Degree Admission Test (M.Pharm)
Design exams
UCEED
Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design
CEED
Common Entrance Exam for Design
NID DAT
National Institute of Design — Design Aptitude Test (Prelims + Mains)
NIFT Entrance Exam
National Institute of Fashion Technology Entrance Examination (NIFTEE)
Commerce exams
CA Foundation
Chartered Accountancy Foundation Examination (ICAI)
CSEET
Company Secretary Executive Entrance Test (ICSI)
CMA Foundation
Cost & Management Accountancy Foundation Examination (ICMAI)
Science exams
IIT JAM
Joint Admission Test for Masters
NEST
National Entrance Screening Test
CSIR-UGC NET
CSIR-UGC National Eligibility Test (Science stream)
Arts & Humanities exams
Agriculture exams
ICAR AIEEA (UG)
ICAR All India Entrance Examination for Admission (Undergraduate) — now routed through CUET (ICAR-UG)
ICAR AIEEA (PG)
ICAR All India Entrance Examination for Admission to Master's Degree Programmes (AIEEA-PG / ICAR-JRF)
State Agriculture CETs
State Common Entrance Tests for Agriculture & Allied UG Programmes (MP PAT, CG PAT, Rajasthan JET, OUAT and equivalents)
Computer Applications exams
Education & Teaching exams
Hotel Management & Hospitality exams
Diploma & Vocational exams
Study Abroad exams
IELTS
International English Language Testing System
TOEFL iBT
Test of English as a Foreign Language (Internet-Based Test)
SAT
SAT (Digital SAT) — college admission test by College Board
GRE
Graduate Record Examinations (GRE General Test)
School olympiad exams
National and international olympiads for school students — the government-backed science and maths cycle, the international olympiads India fields teams for, talent-search scholarships, and the major private foundation olympiads.
Government-Backed National Olympiad Cycle (Science, Maths & Computing)
The official multi-stage olympiad programme run by academic bodies — IAPT, MTA(I), HBCSE/TIFR and IARCS — under government-supported schemes. These are the only exams that lead to India’s international olympiad teams.
NSE
National Standard Examinations (NSEP, NSEC, NSEB, NSEA, NSEJS)
NSEC
National Standard Examination in Chemistry
IOQM
Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Mathematics
RMO
Regional Mathematical Olympiad (merged into IOQM since 2020–21)
INMO
Indian National Mathematical Olympiad
INO
Indian National Olympiads (INPhO, INChO, INBO, INAO, INJSO)
INPhO
Indian National Physics Olympiad
InBO
Indian National Biology Olympiad
ICO
Indian Computing Olympiad (ZIO/ZCO → INOI → IOITC)
International Olympiads India Fields Teams For
The world-championship olympiads in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, informatics and astronomy. Indian students reach these only through the national olympiad cycle above — there is no direct registration.
IMO (International)
International Mathematical Olympiad
IPhO
International Physics Olympiad
IChO
International Chemistry Olympiad
IBO
International Biology Olympiad
IOI
International Olympiad in Informatics
IOAA
International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics
Government Talent Search & Scholarship Examinations
Scholarship-linked talent exams run by central and state education bodies. NTSE is currently suspended and KVPY has been discontinued — the entries state each scheme’s honest present status.
NTSE
National Talent Search Examination
KVPY
Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (discontinued — subsumed into INSPIRE-SHE)
STSE
State Talent Search Examination (Rajasthan model; several states run equivalents)
SOF Olympiads
Mass-participation school olympiads by the Science Olympiad Foundation, New Delhi — benchmarking contests for Classes 1–12 with ranks, medals and scholarships, distinct from the government olympiad cycle.
SOF NSO / ISO
SOF International Science Olympiad (formerly National Science Olympiad)
SOF NCO / ICSO
SOF International Computer Science Olympiad (formerly National Cyber Olympiad)
SOF IMO
SOF International Mathematics Olympiad
SOF IEO
SOF International English Olympiad
SOF IGKO
SOF International General Knowledge Olympiad
Unified Council Olympiads
Diagnostic, skill-based talent exams from Unified Council, Hyderabad, known for detailed per-student performance reports alongside ranks and awards.
Other Private & Foundation Olympiads
Privately run scholarship and enrichment contests. Useful for early competitive exposure and recurring scholarships, but with no role in official team selection or admissions.