Entrance Examinations in India, Types, Dates, Links of different Entrance Examinations

Every year, millions of students take the Indian Entrance Examinations to gain admission to India's top universities. With a good score in either of these exams, students can pursue undergraduate or professional degrees at any of India's top colleges.

Various government and private colleges have admission examinations to examine students' skills and knowledge for the yearly intake. On this page, you will find information on all of the examinations as well as links to specific examination pages with full information about the exam's eligibility, syllabus, fee structure, and so on.

Significance of Entrance Exams In India

• The purpose of entrance examinations is to identify skilled and driven talent to get the top minds for admission into India's premier colleges. Admission.
• Examinations measure students' knowledge, inventiveness, and sharpness through a joint or combined written admission examination, group discussions, and personal interviews. 
• Candidates who perform exceptionally well are awarded scholarships provided by the exam's governing bodies.
• Candidates who gain admission to the top colleges have the opportunity to study in one of India's greatest institutes, where they will have a bright future.
• The pattern of examinations, date, location, and style of conduct are determined by the examination's conducting body.
• The Indian entrance examinations are so effective at picking the proper talent that several colleges abroad accept Indian candidates for admission based on their performance in these entrance examinations.

Types of Entrance Examinations in India

Millions of individuals take entrance examinations each year, making these exams extremely competitive. As a result, entrance exams are held separately for each type of educational or professional sector.

These exams are administered by highly regarded government bodies (for example, state-level combined entrance examinations such as the Karnataka Common Entrance Test - KCET), prestigious government organizations (DRDO, BHABHA, ISRO, and so on), and premier government and private colleges (IITs, IISCs, SRM, VIT, and so on).

Aside from the conducting bodies, these tests differ in terms of educational fields, such as the medical field, engineering, pharmacy, hotel management, fashion and textile, law, agriculture, management, and so on.

• State Entrance Examinations

The government bodies of the respective states administer the state admission tests. The purpose of the State Entrance Examinations is to evaluate talent to choose only the brightest minds for admission to the restricted state quota seats. 

• Science and Engineering Entrance Examinations

By performing well in these tests, the candidate can gain admission to Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech), Master of Technology (M.Tech), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc), Master of Science (M.Sc), Doctorate (PhD), and many other courses.

• Medical Entrance Examinations

Candidates who want to pursue a bachelor's degree in physiotherapy, a master's degree in surgery, or a nursing degree take medical admission tests. Students can use these tests to gain admission to the most technologically advanced institutions that provide the greatest knowledge and teachers for learning medical sciences. 

• Management Entrance Examinations

These tests aid in gaining admission to one of the top management universities to pursue degrees such as BBA, MBA, and others. Candidates who are currently studying or have previously pursued undergraduate or postgraduate degrees are generally eligible to take this exam.

• Architecture and Design Entrance Examinations

At the best university, candidates can study B.Arch, urban planning, interior architecture, and a variety of other courses. Candidates who want to study civil engineering, architecture, or design take these tests. By performing well on one of these examinations

• Law Entrance Examinations

Candidates who pass these exams will be able to study BA LLB, B.Sc LLB, MBA LLm, or any other law degree.

• Fashion Technology Entrance Examinations

There are several Fashion Technology Entrance Examinations available for admission to the leading fashion and technology universities.

• Hotel Management Entrance Examinations

The candidate could pursue a career as a chef, hotel manager, catering manager, office manager, events manager, and so on.

• Agriculture Entrance Examinations

Plant biochemistry, animal sciences, entomology, horticulture, agricultural economics, biotechnology, and so on

Top 10 Entrance Exams 2025 : Key Highlights

Entrance exams are the gateway to securing a seat in premier institutes such as the IITs, AIIMs, IISERs, and IIMs in India. Here we have mentioned the top entrance exams in India.

1. UPSC Civil Services Exam 2025: Key Highlights

Exam Name	UPSC Civil Services Exam
Exam Type	Postgraduate
Eligibility	The Civil Services Age Limit for Indian Citizens is between 21 – 32 years.
Application Fees	General/ OBC/ EWS - Rs 100 SC/ ST/ Ex-Serviceman/ PWD/ Female - NIL
Exam Dates	UPSC 2024 Preliminary exam: May 26, 2024 UPSC Mains:  September 20, 2024
Website	https://upsc.gov.in/

2. IIT- JEE 2025: Key Highlights

Exam Name	Joint Entrance Examination
Exam Type	Undergraduate
Eligibility	cleared the 10+ 2 or equivalent from a recognized board. No Age Limit
Application Fees	Male/  Female / General: Rs 1000 and Rs 800
Exam Dates	Between 24 January and 01 February 2024
Website	www.jeemain.nta.nic.in

3. Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2025: Key Highlights

Exam Name	Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE)
Exam Type	Postgraduate
Eligibility	Candidates must be in their third or higher year of an undergraduate degree program or have finished a government-approved degree program in Engineering/ Technology/ Science/ Architecture/ Humanities. No Age limit
Application Fees	Female/SC /ST/ PWD: RS. 900 Others: RS. 1800
Exam Dates	03,04,10,11 February 2024
Website	https://gate2024.iisc.ac.in/

4. Chartered Accountant 2025: Key Highlights

Exam Name	Chartered Accountancy
Exam Type	Undergraduate
Eligibility	Completion of class 12 from a recognized institute in India. Completion of an undergraduate degree in either commerce stream with 55 percent aggregate or another subject with at least 60 percent aggregate. No Age Limit
Application Fees	RS 1500
Exam Dates	14, 16, 18, and 20 June 2024
Website	icaiexam.icai.org

5. AAIMS 2025: Key Highlights

Exam Name	All India Institute of Medical Sciences
Exam Type	Undergraduate AND Postgraduate
Eligibility	An aggregate of 60% in English, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology on 10+2 boards. 17 years of age
Application Fees	General: RS.1600, EWS/ OBC: RS 1500 SC/ ST/ PWD: RS  900
Exam Dates	14th April, 2024
Website	https://www.aiimsexams.ac.in/

6. Common-Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2025: Key Highlights

Exam Name	Common-Law Admission Test (CLAT)
Exam Type	Undergraduate and Postgraduate
Eligibility	UG: Class 12th with minimum 45% PG: 3-year LLB with minimum 50% No age limit
Application Fees	General: Rs. 4,000 SC/ ST:  Rs. 3500
Exam Dates	December 3, 2025
Website	consortiumofnlus.ac.in

7. UGC NET 2025: Key Highlights

Exam Name	UGC NET
Exam Type	Post Graduate
Eligibility	Post Graduation with a minimum of 55%
Application Fees	General: Rs. 1,150 EWS/OBC-NCL: RS 600 SC/ST/PwD/Transgender: RS 325 Age Limit Not more than 30 Years
Exam Dates	June 10 to June 21, 2024
Website	https://ugcnet.nta.nic.in/

8. National Institute of Design (NID) 2025: Key Highlights

Exam Name	National Institute of Design (NID)
Exam Type	Undergraduate and Postgraduate
Eligibility	completed 10+2 or equivalent from a recognized board (AISSE/ICSE/CBSE) with min 50% General EWS category: born on or after 1 July 1991. For Indian Nationals in reserved category: born on or after 1 July 1988
Application Fees	RS 3000
Exam Dates	December 24, 2024
Website	https://admissions.nid.edu/

9. National Defence Academy (NDA) 2025: Key Highlights

Exam Name	National Defence Academy (NDA)
Exam Type	Undergraduate
Eligibility	Candidates who have passed Class 12 can apply for the Army wing of NDA. Those who have passed Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics can apply for Air Force and Naval wings of NDA. Candidates who are appearing in the Class 12 can also apply. Candidates must have been born not earlier than July 2, 2004, and not later than July 1, 2007, are eligible for the exam.
Application Fees	General/OBC category; Rs 100 No fee is required for SC/ST candidates/female candidates/Wards of JCOs/NCOs/ORs category
Exam Dates	The NDA 1 2024 exam will be conducted on April 21, 2024. NDA 2 2024 exam will be conducted on September 1, 2024
Website	upsc.gov.in

10. NEET 2025: Key Highlights

Exam Name	NEET
Exam Type	Undergraduate
Eligibility	12th or equivalent with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology. Minimum age limit:17 years, i.e. they should complete the age on or before 31 December of the year of admission to the Undergraduate program. The upper age limit for NEET-UG is 25 years as of the date of examination.
Application Fees	General category: Rs. 1700 General-EWS and OBC-NCL: Rs. 1600 SC, ST, PH, and Third gender: Rs.1000
Exam Dates	May 5, 2024
Website	www.nta.ac.in

Conclusion

• Choosing a course is simple, but getting into it requires passing an entrance exam.
• Entrance examinations are used to select suitable candidates, and colleges and institutes offer admission to courses such as diploma, post-diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate, research, and fellowship programs based on the candidate's score and ranking.
• Even for admittance to all types of professional degrees, an entrance examination is required. The entrance exam has a wide range of applications since it provides the opportunity to establish a solid educational foundation in today's competitive market.
• The primary goal of administering an entrance exam is to assess a student's ability, sharpness, knowledge, and so on. In the admission exam, the student's aptitude is tested.