NEST Exam 2025 Exam Dates Out, Admit Card, Syllabus, Exam Pattern

The NEST admit card 2025 was issued on June 5, 2025 on the official website. Candidates can download the NEST 2025 admit card by logging in with their credentials on the official website. It is mandatory to carry a printed copy of the admit card along with a valid photo ID on the exam day. The National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) is going to be conducted by the NISER Bhubaneswar and UM-DAE CEBS Mumbai on June 22, 2025. The NEST exam is an undergraduate level exam conducted for the purpose of providing admission to the candidates seeking admission in Integrated MSc courses. As per the official information brochure, necessary certificates supporting NEST eligibility criteria have to be fulfilled at the time of admission. Offer of admission is subject to verification of all original certificates at the time of admission/counseling. Two different merit lists will be created for the NISER and CEBS. Check NEST result updates here.

Read on to know more about the NEST entrance exam application process, admission process, counseling session, syllabus, exam pattern, exam centers, how to download scorecard, answer key and more!

Know the important NEST exam dates here.

What is NEST?

The National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) is a compulsory online/computer based test for admission to the five year Integrated MSc programme in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics, at National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar and University of Mumbai – Department of Atomic Energy Center for Excellence in Basic Sciences (UM–DAE CEBS), Mumbai. Refer NEST Best Books for Preparation to score good marks in this exam.

How to Apply For NEST Exam 2025?

The candidates must remember to check the eligibility criteria before filling in the NEST application form. If the candidate falls short of any one of the eligibility criteria, his/her application will be rejected. The steps to apply for the NEST entrance exam are listed below:

Step 1: Visit the official website, nestexam.in

Step 2: Click on the Applicant Login button to proceed further.

Step 3: Now, the applicants will have to add in the requested information in the space provided. 

Step 4: Once all the data has been added, the candidates will have to pay the application fee using the prescribed methods as mentioned below. 

NEST Application Fee

The application fee for the male applicants belonging in the General and OBC categories is Rs. 1,400/–. The application fee for applicants in the SC/ST/Divyangjan categories and for all female candidates is Rs. 700/–. Payments of the application fee can be made using credit card/debit card/net–banking through online payment gateway. Mastercard/Visa/RuPay cards will only be accepted by the institution. 

NEST 2025 Important Dates

The important dates and events regarding the NEST exam are tabulated below:

NEST Eligibility Criteria 2025

The following eligibility criteria must be met by all the candidates to be eligible for the NEST entrance exam:

• Applicants should pass Class 12 in the Science stream from a recognised board in India with a minimum of 60 percent aggregate (55 per cent for SC/PwD category candidates)
• Applicants should have passed Class 12. Candidates who have appeared for their Class 12(10+2) exams in 2025 are also eligible to apply for the NEST exam.
• Applicants should have studied a combination of three subjects - Biology, Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics in Classes 11 and 12. 
• Age limit: Applicants belonging to the General and OBC categories should be born on or after August 1, 2002, in order to meet the NEST eligibility criteria. The institution will provide an age limit relaxation of five years to candidates belonging to SC/ST/Divyangjan category.
• Candidates must secure a position in the NEST Merit List.

NEST 2025 Admission Process

The admission process at the NID comprises 5 stages. Each stage of the admission process has been briefly explained down below:

• Apply for the NEST entrance examination: Enrollment for the exam is the first step in the admission. The candidates will have to register on the official website of the institution. 
• Get your NEST admit card: If the candidates fulfill all the eligibility criteria, an admit card will be issued to the applicant. The admit card will enable the candidate to appear for the exam. 
• Appear for the NEST exam: After downloading the admit card, the candidates will be allotted the exam center venue where the exam will be held. The candidates have to reach their designated exam center and attempt the NEST exam.
• Download the NEST scorecard: The result and the scorecard will be available to download after the declaration. The candidates can download their respective scorecards from the official website of NID. 
• Counseling round: The counseling session will be held for the candidates who have scored more than the cut off marks as mentioned further in this article. 

NEST Exam Syllabus 2025

The main subjects for the NEST entrance examination are Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Topics for each subject are listed in the following table:

Chemistry 

Download NEST Syllabus here.

NEST Exam Pattern 2025

The marking scheme for the NEST entrance exam is follows: 

• The exam will contain two types of questions: MCQs and MSQs. 
• The NEST exam can be attempted in English only. 
• There shall be no negative marking for MSQs. 
• One mark will be deducted for the MCQs. 
• Every correct answer will help the candidate to gain 4 marks.
• The NEST 2025 will comprise 68 questions in total. 

Check the detailed NEST Exam Pattern here.

NEST Admit Card 2025

The admit card for NEST 2025 was made available for download from June 5, 2025 on the official website. Admit cards will not be sent to any candidate through personal mail. Applicants must download their NEST admit card from the official website (post login). The candidates can download the admit card until the day of the NEST examination. The candidates can follow the instructions listed down below to download the admit card:

Step 1: Visit the NEST Official Website, nestexam.in. 

Step 2: Click on the 'Download Admit Card' tab and the candidates were directed to the admit card login page.

Step 3: Enter your User ID and Password provided to you after NEST 2025 registration. 

Step 4: After successful login, click on the tab 'admit card' displayed on the dashboard 

Step 5: Download the hall ticket after inspecting it for any discrepancies. Take multiple printouts. 

NEST 2025 Exam Cities

The candidates must choose 5 (five) centers in order of their preference while filling out the application form. Every effort will be made to allot the center of first preference amongst the 120 centers.The allotment of an examination center by the NEST Committee has to be regarded as final and the request for change of center will, in general, not be entertained. The address of the NEST exam centre and test venue allotted to the applicant, will be mentioned on the admit card.

NEST 2025 Answer Key

NISER will release the NEST answer key once the exam is conducted successfully. To challenge the answer key, the candidates can send an email carrying the subject (Physics, Chemistry or Biology), Question ID (available on the answer keys) and Participant ID (sent to them via answer key email). The candidates will have to send a respective subject-wise email address by marking a copy to the id nest-exam@niser.ac 

Steps to download the answer key are: 

Step 1: Sign in to the registered email id and click on the mail sent by NISER Bhubaneswar

Step 2: On clicking it, candidates can download the answer keys along with their answer scripts

The correct answers to the questions are clearly marked there with a green tick in the answer key. 

Step 3: Download and save the answer key to cross-check it with the question paper of NEST 2025 (also available along with the answer key)

Step 4: In a box on the right, “Question ID” for each question will be there which must be kept a note of

Each candidate has a “Participant ID” which you will find at the top of the answer script, which must be saved in order to raise queries.

NEST 2025 Result and Scorecard

The NID will release the result for all the aspirants who will give the exam on June 22, 2025. The scorecard was made available to the candidates in the second week of July. The steps to download the scorecard are explained below: 

Step 1: The candidates will have to visit the official website of NID, nestexam.in

Step 2: Now the candidates have to enter the Roll number and Application number in the given boxes. 

Step 3: The NISER and CEBS Score links will be displayed separately. 

Step 4: Select the Show Scorecard option to download the scorecard. 

Step 5: Save the result and scorecard for future reference. 

NEST 2025 Cut offs

To be eligible for the counseling the candidates are required to secure marks higher than the cut off marks. The official NEST cut off marks 2025 will soon be uploaded here, once the exam is successfully conducted. 

NEST 2025 Scholarship Programme

Candidates wishing to apply for an annual scholarship of INR 60,000 can also apply for the DISHA programme by the Department of Atomic Energy, after receiving admission to NISER and CEBS. Also, candidates who obtain overall excellent scores up to the end of their programme can directly sit for the admission interview at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

Important Points About NEST 2025

• As per the NID guidelines, the candidates must reach the examination venue at least 90 minutes before the start of the examination.
• Applicants will NOT be allowed to enter the examination hall any later than half an hour (30 minutes) after the start of the examination which is 9:30 AM in the first session & 3:00 PM in the second session.
• Candidates will be allowed to leave the examination hall no sooner than two hours after the start of the examination, i.e. 11.00 AM for first session & 4.30 PM for second session (except when required by medical emergencies).
• The test takers must bring their Admit Card and a valid photo Identity Card to the examination hall.
• Usage of log tables and calculators in the examination hall is not permitted. Applicants must bring their own blue/black pen.
• All kinds of electronic gadgets, including mobile phones, digital/smart watches, storage devices etc., are strictly forbidden inside the examination hall.
• The candidates must carry a properly scanned and cropped recent passport sized photograph to be uploaded. Also, a properly scanned and cropped signature must be in .JPG or .JPEG format only. 

We hope that this article helped gain insights on the NEST exam . The aspirants can also download the free Testbook App from the Playstore to avail benefits such as mock tests, live classes, test series and much more!