NEST 2026 Pass Percentage: Candidates Appeared vs Qualified

NEST 2026 pass percentage will indicate how many students qualified out of those who appeared in the exam held on June 6, 2026, with the result expected on June 24, 2026.

The National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) 2026 was conducted for admission to the 5-year integrated M.Sc. programme at NISER Bhubaneswar (202 seats) and UM-DAE CEBS Mumbai (59 seats). With tens of thousands of students appearing each year, the pass percentage — the share who qualify through the merit list — is a critical data point for students evaluating where they stand.

• NEST 2026 was held on June 6, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
• Results are expected on June 24, 2026 on the official website nestexam.in.
• The exam is scored out of 180 marks — best 3 of 4 sections, each worth 60 marks.
• In 2024, approximately 27,973 students appeared out of more than 45,000 who registered.
• In 2023, 44,920 students appeared, making it one of the highest-turnout years.
• Only students who clear both the Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP) and Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS) appear on the merit list.
• NISER and CEBS publish separate merit lists with category-wise rankings.

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NEST Year-wise Candidates Appeared vs Qualified

The table below shows the year-wise trend of students who registered, appeared, and the total seats available through NEST. Because the exam does not publish a formal pass/fail count, the seat intake at NISER and CEBS serves as the closest proxy for the number of students who are ultimately admitted.

NEST does not officially publish a pass/fail count. Qualification is percentile-based; only students placed on the NISER or CEBS merit list are eligible for admission to the combined 261 available seats in 2026.

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NEST 2026 Qualifying Criteria

To appear on the NEST merit list, students must clear two independent thresholds simultaneously: the Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP) and the Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS). Failing either disqualifies a student from the merit list regardless of their overall score.

The SMAS for each section is calculated as 20% of the average score of the top 100 students in that section. Students must clear the SMAS requirement in at least 3 of the 4 subject sections to be eligible for the merit list.

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Category-wise Pass Percentage in NEST

Because NEST qualification is percentile-driven, the effective pass percentage varies significantly by category. The estimates below are based on 2024 and 2025 trends and will be updated once NEST 2026 result data is officially released.

A competitive score for actual admission to NISER typically lies between 120 and 145 marks out of 180 for General category students, based on historical merit list trends.

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How NEST Qualification Works

NEST uses a two-stage filter before compiling each institute’s merit list. Understanding both stages helps students accurately gauge their chances:

• Stage 1 — SMAS check: Your raw score in each section is compared against 20% of the average top-100 score for that section. You must clear this in at least 3 of the 4 subject sections.
• Stage 2 — MAP check: Your overall percentile based on the total score (out of 180) must meet the category-specific MAP threshold.
• Merit list compilation: Students who pass both stages are ranked separately for NISER and CEBS merit lists. The two lists are independent — qualifying for one does not guarantee placement on the other.

The total score is based on the best 3 of 4 sections, each out of 60 marks, giving a maximum of 180 marks. Students who excel in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics can qualify without attempting Biology, and vice versa — making NEST uniquely flexible among science entrance exams.

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NEST 2026 Expected Pass Percentage

Based on historical data, the overall pass percentage in NEST is expected to range from 5% to 25% depending on category. For General category students, clearing the 95th percentile MAP means roughly 5 out of every 100 students who appear are considered qualified for merit-list consideration.

For NEST 2026 specifically, the following estimates apply based on previous-year trends:

• Approximately 27,000 to 45,000 students are expected to have appeared in NEST 2026.
• If 28,000 students appeared, an estimated 1,400 General-category students (~5%) would clear the 95th percentile cut.
• Only 261 seats are available across NISER (202) and CEBS (59), making final admission highly competitive even among qualified students.
• The official pass percentage, merit list, and category-wise data will be published with the NEST 2026 result on June 24, 2026.