NET is the entrance exam for undergraduate admission to NUST. Here is what you need to know about it.
The NUST Entry Test, written NET, is the admission test for undergraduate programmes at the National University of Sciences and Technology. It is conducted by NUST itself, not by a board or a third party, and it is the single largest component of your admission merit at 75%.
NET is compiled from the HSSC prescribed textbooks used across Pakistani boards. It runs as 200 multiple-choice questions in 180 minutes with no negative marking, so a blank answer and a wrong answer cost you exactly the same thing. There is never a reason to leave one empty.
You do not sit one universal paper. There are 5 NET papers, and your programme decides which one you sit.
NUST publishes each paper as a set of weightings. Every paper totals 100%, and every programme maps to exactly one of them.
NET-Engineering is Mathematics 50%, Physics 30% and English 20%.
All Engineering disciplines, All Computing disciplines (BS CS, SE, AI, Data Science), BS Bioinformatics, BS Mathematics, BS Physics, BS Chemistry, BS Food Science.
Biology 50% · Chemistry 30% · English 20%
Life-science and applied-science degrees.
Quantitative Mathematics 50% · English 50%
Business, humanities and social-science degrees.
Design Aptitude 50% · Mathematics 30% · English 20%
B Architecture and B Industrial Design only.
Mathematics 50% · English 50%
BS Mathematics, Physics or Chemistry applicants from non-standard academic backgrounds.
Merit is a weighted aggregate, not the NET score alone. NET carries 75% of it, which is why a strong board result cannot rescue a weak test.
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| NUST Entry Test | 75% |
| HSSC Part-I, A Level or DAE | 15% |
| SSC or O Level | 10% |
Both, and the city you pick decides it. Islamabad and Quetta run the computer-based test. Karachi and Gilgit run the paper-based test.
| City | Centre | Mode | Result turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Islamabad | H-12 Campus | CBNET, computer based | ~24 hours |
| Quetta | NUST Balochistan Campus | CBNET, computer based | ~24 hours |
| Karachi | DHA City Campus | PBNET, paper based | 5 to 7 working days |
| Gilgit | APS Jutial | PBNET, paper based | 5 to 7 working days |
If you are sitting CBNET, the interface is part of the exam. Our simulator reproduces it, because a student who has never seen the save-and-next flow loses minutes to it on the day.
A separate form and a separate fee of Rs 5,000 every time. Registering once does not enter you into the rest.
You cannot sit the same paper twice inside one series, so a bad day costs you that series and nothing more.
NUST takes the highest NET score across the series you sat when it generates merit.
An early series gives you a real score with a real interface, and later series can only improve it.
NET-2026 is over and Series-4 was the last one. NET-2027 Series-1 registration is expected early Oct 2026, which is our estimate from the NET-2026 pattern and not a NUST announcement. Every published date lives on the schedule page.
