NEST 2018 is a national level entrance exam for class 12 science students who want to pursue scientific study in basic sciences, biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics. National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) 2018 is conducted for admission to integrated five year M.Sc program in NISER and UM DAE CEBS. National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) Odisha, and University of Mumbai Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences (CEBS) Mumbai are premier scientific institutes of the country.
National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) 2018
Get here complete details of NEST 2018 including what is NEST exam, exam dates, application form, syllabus, eligibility, admit card, result.
Important dates of NEST 2018
| NEST 2018 | Important dates |
|---|---|
| Online Application availability | 01 Jan 2018 |
| Last date for online application | 05 Mar 2018 |
| Payment gateway | 12 to 14 Mar 2018 |
| Download of Admit Card begins | 25 Apr 2018 |
| Date of NEST 2018 | 02 Jun 2018 (10 AM to 1 PM) |
| Answer key and question paper will released on | To be announced |
| Announcement of Result | 18 Jun 2018 |
Scholarships available
| INSPIRE program of Department of Science and technology | Rs 60,000 |
| DISHA program of Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India | Rs 60,000 |
| Additional grant for summer internship (per annum) | Rs 20,000 |
What’s new in NEST Exam?
Mode of the exam has been changed now. Until last year the exam was held as pen and paper test. Now it will be held online. Also, the number of exam centres is 106 this year, whereas it was only 60 last year.
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NEST Eligibility Criteria 2018
NEST Eligibility Criteria 2018 for appearing for NEST Exam 2018 and taking admission, has been provided below in the table. Candidates must qualify all three eligibility criteria for NEST 2018 which has been mentioned in the table given below.
Necessary certificates supporting eligibility criteria will be furnished only at the time of admission. Offer of admission will be subjected to verification of all original certificates at the time of admission/counselling. There will be no restriction on appearing for the NEST 2018 examination.
| Qualifying exam | Class 12 |
| Subjects | At least three among Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics |
| Appearing year in QE | 2016 / 2017 / 2018 |
| Minimum marks in QE | 60% (55% for SC, ST, PWD) |
| Age limit | Born on or after 01.08.1998 |
| Age relaxation for SC, ST, PWD | 5 years |
NEST 2018 Application Form
NEST Application Form 2018 was available at www.nestexam.in. Candidates can apply now for the Application form as per schedule mentioned below in the table. The application fee must be paid using net banking / credit card / debit card.
Application fees
| Male (General and OBC categories) | Rs 1000 |
| Male (SC and ST categories) | Rs 500 |
| Female (All Categories) | Rs 500 |
| Persons with Disabilities | Rs 500 |
Candidates should check eligibility criteria before they apply.
It is very important to read the “how to apply” sheet. It contains step by step instructions for filling application form.
There was only one mode of applying: online. Candidates must not attempt to send any other form in offline mode.
NEST 2018 Admit Card
Candidates can download Admit card of NEST 2018 from the official website. Candidates may note that the admit card will not be sent by post to anyone. Therefore it will be one’s own responsibility to check the official website as per the provided schedule and download the admit card. Link to download the admit card will be active only until the day of exam. Hence it is suggested to keep one copy safely until the end of admission process.
NEST Exam Pattern
NEST 2018 exam will be a computer-based test (CBT / online).
The examination will be of 3 hours duration and will start at 10:00 AM onwards. Candidates will not be allowed to enter the examination hall after 10:30 AM. Candidate can leave the examination hall till 11:30 AM,onwards.
| Sections | Type | Subject | Marks | Negative marking |
| Section 1 | Compulsory | General section | 30 marks | ✖ |
| Section 2 | Best of three to be counted | Physics | 50 marks | ✓ |
| Section 3 | Chemistry | 50 marks | ✓ | |
| Section 4 | Biology | 50 marks | ✓ | |
| Section 5 | Mathematics | 50 marks | ✓ |
Examination rules: Candidates must reach the test venue at least thirty minutes before the examination commences.
Use of log tables and calculators inside the examination hall is not allowed. Candidates may bring their own pen, pencils. Exchange/sharing of these items with other candidates is strictly prohibited. Candidates MUST bring their Admit Card and their school photo Identity Card or any other photo ID issued by Government agencies to the examination hall. Any candidate found adopting unfair will be expelled from the examination hall without warning. Mobile phone and other similar electronic gadgets are strictly not allowed inside examination hall.
The questions are designed to test candidates’ subject comprehension and analytic ability. In the subject sections, for certain questions there will be negative marking for incorrect answers. Some questions may have one or more correct answers for which marks can only be earned by marking all correct answers and no wrong answer.
Language of the question paper will be English only.
Answering questions:
The examination will be Computer Based Test (CBT). The candidate will have to enter all the requisite details at the given computer terminal. The questions will be displayed on the monitor. The answers to each question will be provided at the computer terminal using the given electronic equipment. Details of how to answer at the terminal will be provided before the examination. Practice tests for computer-based test will be available for all applicants on application portal, after online registration and complete submission of online application.
NEST 2018 Exam Centers
This year the exam will be held in 106 cities. The 106 test centres for NEST 2018 are as follows.
| Chirala (AP) | Bokaro (JH) | Jabalpur (MP) | Udaipur (RJ) |
| Guntur (AP) | Dhanbad (JH) | Mumbai (MH) | Jodhpur (RJ) |
| Kakinada (AP) | Hazaribagh (JH) | Nagpur (MH) | Chennai (TN) |
| Kurnool (AP) | Jamshedpur (JH) | Pune (MH) | Coimbatore (TN) |
| Nellore (AP) | Ranchi (JH) | Imphal (MN) | Madurai (TN) |
| Rajahmundry (AP) | Bengaluru (KA) | Shillong (ML) | Salem (TN) |
| Tirupathi (AP) | Dharwad (KA) | Aizawl (MZ) | Tiruchirappalli (TN) |
| Vijayawada (AP) | Hubballi (KA) | Angul (OD) | Tirunelveli (TN) |
| Visakhapatnam (AP) | Mangalore (KA) | Balasore (OD) | Hyderabad (TS) |
| Vizianagaram (AP) | Mysuru (KA) | Bargarh (OD) | Karimnagar (TS) |
| Guwahati (AS) | Udupi (KA) | Baripada (OD) | Warangal (TS) |
| Patna (BR) | Alappuzha (KL) | Berhampur (OD) | Agartala (TR) |
| Chandigarh (CH) | Ernakulam (KL) | Bhubaneswar (OD) | Allahabad (UP) |
| Bhilai Nagar (CG) | Idukki (KL) | Cuttack (OD) | Kanpur (UP) |
| Raipur (CG) | Kannur (KL) | Dhenkanal (OD) | Lucknow (UP) |
| New Delhi (DL) | Kasaragod (KL) | Jharsuguda (OD) | Varanasi (UP) |
| Ghaziabad (DL-NCR) | Kollam (KL) | Khurda (OD) | Dehradun (UK) |
| Greater Noida (DL-NCR) | Kottayam (KL) | Rayagada (OD) | Haldwani (UK) |
| Meerut (DL-NCR) | Kozhikode (KL) | Rourkela (OD) | Roorkee (UK) |
| Noida (DL-NCR) | Malappuram (KL) | Sambalpur (OD) | Asansol (WB) |
| Ahmedabad (GJ) | Palakkad (KL) | Amritsar (PB) | Burdwan (WB) |
| Bhuj (GJ) | Pathanamthitta (KL) | Bhatinda (PB) | Durgapur (WB) |
| Hamirpur (HP) | Thiruvananthapuram (KL) | Jalandhar (PB) | Hooghly (WB) |
| Shimla (HP) | Thrissur (KL) | Ludhiana (PB) | Kolkata (WB) |
| Jammu (JK) | Bhopal (MP) | Mohali (PB) | Siliguri (WB) |
| Samba (JK) | Gwalior (MP) | Patiala (PB) | – |
| Srinagar (JK) | Indore (MP) | Jaipur (RJ) | – |
NEST 2018 Result and Merit List
Marks out of 180 will be used for merit list calculation.
Rules and minimum eligibility criteria for awarding a merit list rank has been mentioned below. Thedocument lists rules employed for the preparation of merit list in National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) as follows:
NEST Cut Off 2018
| Sectional cut off | 20% of average of best 100 marks in that section |
| Overall | 90 out of 180 |
Section–wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS)
SMAS will be “20% of the average of the best 100 scores in that section” . For example, if the average of the best 100 scores in Chemistry section is 40 out of 50, then SMAS for chemistry section would be 40*0.20 = 8 marks. Similarly, for other sections.
Candidate must obtain SMAS score at least in general and at least three other sections.
Minimum Admissible Score (MAS)
MAS is equal to 90 which is 50% of total score.
Number of Seats
| Category | NISER | CEBS |
| General | 101 | 23 |
| OBC NCL | 54 | 12 |
| SC | 30 | 7 |
| ST | 15 | 3 |
| PwD | 3% | 3% |
| Total | 200 | 45 |
| Supernumerary (JK) | 2 | 2 |
| Total intake | 202 | 47 |
NEST Previous Year Question Paper & Answer Key
| NEST 2017 Question Paper Set A | NEST 2017 Question Paper Set B |
| Click Here | Click Here |
NEST 2017 Final Answer Key for A and B Set
NEST Exam 2018 Notification with Exam Date, Application Form Dates, Exam Fee
If you get admission through NEST then you are also eligible to receive annual scholarship of Rs 60,000 either through INSPIRE scholarship of Department of Science and Technology or DISHA scholarship of Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. In addition, recipients of the scholarship receive a grant of Rs 20,000 per annum for Summer Internship.
To know more about NEST Exam 2018, download brochure.
