What is The Difference Between CUCET and CUET?

Let us separately know what are CUCET and CUET and how are they different yet the same…

What is CUCET (Central Universities Common Entrance Test)?

CUCET, also known as the Central Universities Common Entrance Test, was a national-level exam started in 2010. The Central University of Rajasthan held this exam for candidates who wanted to be admitted to the undergraduate and postgraduate courses of the Central universities in the country. The Central University of Rajasthan successfully conducted CUCET for 10 years during which there were 12 participating universities.  However, by the year 2021, the exam-conducting body was changed to the National Testing Agency (NTA). For that year, NTA held the CUCET exam and from the next year onwards, that is 2022, this exam’s name was revised to CUET (Central University Entrance Exam). 

What is CUET (Central University Entrance Test)?

In the year 2022, the former CUCET changed to CUET (Central University Entrance Exam). Every year, since 2021, the National Testing Agency is responsible for conducting the CUET exams. The prestigious 44 Central universities of India participate each year.  Thus, by qualifying in the CUET exams, the students can get admitted to the undergraduate and postgraduate courses of those universities. There are two types of CUET exams conducted each year namely CUET UG and CUET PG. The CUET UG allows candidates to take admission to undergraduate courses whereas CUET PG helps candidates to get admitted to postgraduate courses. 

How is CUCET Different From CUET? 

As mentioned earlier, CUCET and CUET, although being the same carry some minor differences that you should be known of. Given below are certain factors on the basis of which the differences are provided:

1. Conducting Body

For 10 years, the exam-conducting body for CUCET was Central University of Rajasthan from 2010 to 2020. In 2021, the National Testing Agency conducted the national-level CUCET. In 2022, when the name of CUCET changed to CUET, the exam-conducting body was NTA. Since then the NTA has been conducting the examinations. 

2. Participating Universities

For 11 years when CUCET was conducted, there were only 12 Central Universities that participated. However, when the exam was renamed to CUET, the number of participating universities rose to 250 including public and private universities. To be more specific, 44 Central Universities participate in CUET every year.

3. Mode and Medium of Exam 

The application procedure for both CUCET and CUET has always been online. But, the mode of exam varies. During CUCET, the mode of exam used to be offline. Candidates had to visit the examination centre and take the exam. From 2022, the mode of exam for CUET changed to online. Candidates can easily take online exams.  However, there’s a restriction which is when a certain course receives more than 1,50,000 applications, the mode of exam for that particular course is being taken offline, that is, through the examination centre. 

4. Eligibility Criteria

For CUET:

• The eligibility criteria for appearing for the CUET examination are different for each university and every course. 
• The candidate must qualify for their Class 12 examination to apply for CUET undergraduate courses. 
• There is no minimum aggregate released by NTA for appearing for CUET. However, the participating universities release an entry-level score to gain admission into that particular university and course. 
• There is no restriction on the age for registering for the CUET exam.

For CUCET: 

• To apply for the CUCET, the class 12th score of the general category applicants should score a minimum of 50%. 
• Applicants under the SC/ ST category needed to score at least 45% in their Class 12th examinations. 
• The eligibility criteria to apply for the CUET were laid down by the exam-conducting authority. 

5. Exam Pattern

There were slight differences in the exam pattern conducted during the CUCET and CUET exams. They are as follows:

• The question paper type of both the exams were objective type MCQs. But, the exam mode varies. During CUCET, the exam mode was offline and the pen and paper mode was adopted. In comparison to this, NTA (National Testing Agency) conducts the CUET exam in online mode. 

• The medium of exam for CUCET was limited to English. However, for CUET, the medium of exams expanded to 13 languages.

   

In Short  CUET is just the revised version of CUCET which has now been adopted by all the 44 private and public participating universities. Every year the National Test Agency (NTA) conducts the examinations. If you are planning to register for CUET examinations for UG (undergraduate) or PG (post-graduate courses) this year, make sure to read all the important guidelines and major updates. We hope we have cleared your doubts regarding the difference between CUCET and CUET.