Top 10 Toughest Entrance Exams in India

Have you ever wondered which are the toughest entrance exams in India? Sure there are thousands of them that have mushroomed in the past decade but the entrance exams for premier institutes in India still remain the tough to clear. Let’s check out which ones they are.

 

UPSC Civil services Entrance exams

If there is one exam in India which literally requires you to know everything under the sun, it has to be the Civil Services exam held by the Union Public Service Commission.

You would be expected to start off by clearing a Civil Services Aptitude Test (SCAT) followed by the main test, further followed by a personal interview. Oh by the way, you may have to wait for a year from the date of giving your CSAT to be called for a personal interview – if you clear Round 1, that is!

IIT-JEE Entrance exams

The Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) is one of the toughest engineering entrance exams in the world. It has a success rate of around 1 in 45. More than 17 to 20 engineering institutes including the IITs use the JEE to eliminate and select students. Successful candidates can chose to study engineering, architecture, design, technology, and sciences in colleges that accept a JEE score. This exam attracts the crème de la crème of students and clearing it is supposed to be the height of achievement of an Indian student.

GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) Entrance exams

If you want to get into IIT or IIS, Bagalore you will need to pass the GATE. This exam serves as the eligibility criteria for getting into various ME/Mtech programs offered by IITs. Interestingly, GATE scores are also looked up when you want to get selected for PSU companies which operate under the Indian Government.

CAT Entrance exams

Also called the Common Entrance Test, the CAT exams are meant for getting an entry into premier management and business schools like the IIMs. It tests students in areas of Interpretation, Logical Reasoning and Verbal ability. Apart from the IIMs, the scores of the CAT are also accepted by many other colleges offering MBAs. Did you know, more than 2 lakh students give the CAT each year and only 1500 manage to get the percentile required for the IIMs?

AIIMS Entrance Exams

It is every single medical student’s wish to clear this exam so that he/she doesn’t have to end up paying lakhs of rupees for an MBBS degree to self financed colleges located in remote areas of the country. An autonomous body, AIIMS conducts its own pan India entrance exam, the results of which are also accepted by many other medical colleges.

Imagine how tough the exam would be, if students from all over India are fighting for a limited number of seats.

National Institute of Design Entrance exams

Also called the Design Aptitude Test, this entrance exam can give weak knees to the best of creative design students. If you think you can answer questions like “Draw the world from an ant’s perspective”, then may want to think of applying for this test held at major cities of India. Through this tough entrance exam, the NID Admission Committee aims to test the perception, attitude, aptitude, achievement and motivation of a candidate. In the second round, shortlisted students are grilled with personal interviews and studio tests.

NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test)

NEETs are conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE Board) for getting admissions to undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical and Dental courses across India. While at not the same level as AIIMs entrance, NEET is also regarded as one of the toughest entrance tests in India.

UGC-NET (University Grants Commission – National Eligibility Test)

National Eligibility Test, commonly known as NET is conducted the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. The Test is funded by Central Government’s HRD department. This test is doorway to becoming a research fellow or a lecturer. The good thing is you can still pursue your higher studies and at the same time do some great scientific research!

CLAT (Common Law Admission Test)

As the name suggests, the CLAT or the common law admission tests are done to get admissions for Under-graduate, graduate and post-graduate degree programmes like LLB and LLM.

The irony of the situation is that these exams just keep getting tougher and tougher every year. And the highest percentiles secured keep going up and up and up. Looks like the sky is the limit for these tough entrance exams, literally.