NEST Exam Pattern 2025: Know Marking Scheme & Paper Analysis Here!

The NISER and UM-DAE CEBS releases the NEST exam pattern on their official website. The National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) has four sections - Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics. Each section carries 50 marks. The NEST entrance exam applicants must familiarise themselves with the syllabus and exam pattern. The NISER NEST Exam Pattern primarily contains information about the exam mode, duration, type of questions, total number of questions, marking scheme, and so on. The examination will consist of objective-type questions.

• In the exam, Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs) are asked. Candidates must choose one answer from four options. Check the detailed NEST Syllabus here.
• Multiple Select Questions (MSQs) contain questions with one or more correct answers. Each candidate is required to mark all correct answers. Know about NEST Exam Centre here.
• As per the NEST 2025 Exam Pattern, there will be no negative marking for unattempted questions. Candidate should avoid answering a question he or she is unsure of to prevent negative marking.
• While calculating the NEST result, the marks of the best three subjects will be taken into consideration. 

Continue reading to learn more about the Exam Pattern of NEST 2025, the syllabus, the marking scheme, and much more.

Know about NEST Cut Off details here.

NEST Exam Pattern 2025

The NEST 2025 exam had two formats: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Multiple Select Questions (MSQs). The exam was conducted online or through a computer-based test (CBT). The exam lasted 3 hours and 30 minutes. The entrance exam was given in English. Biology, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics were the four sections from which the questions were asked. The NISER NEST Exam Pattern is as follows:

Refer to the NEST Best Books for Preparation.

NEST Marking Scheme

The NEST 2025 marking scheme varies depending on the section. It also depends on the nature of the questions.

• Negative marking is assigned to all other subject sections, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology.
• According to the exam website, some questions may have one or more correct answers, and marks can only be earned by marking all correct answers and no incorrect answers.
• The number of questions on the NEST 2022 exam changes each year.

NEST 2025 Exam Pattern - Language Option

The questions shall be asked in English for Physics, Chemistry, and Biology sections. There is no other language option for the Mathematics paper, which means that the paper is only available in English. Candidates must practise mock tests in English in order to achieve better results.

Check NEST Admit Card details here.

NEST 2025 Paper Analysis

The national-level entrance exam was held in two shifts, one in the morning (9:00 AM to 12:30 PM) and one in the afternoon (2:30 PM to 6:00 PM). According to expert opinion and student feedback, Chemistry and Biology contained the majority of NCERT questions, while Mathematics was a bit lengthy. 

NEST 2025 Shift 1 Analysis

The detailed question paper analysis for the NEST 2025 Shift 1 can be found here:

NEST 2025 Shift 2 Analysis

The detailed question paper analysis for the NEST 2025 Shift 2 can be found here:

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