The Common University Entrance Test (CUET) is now the mandatory gateway for admission to all 45 central universities in India, including Delhi University, JNU, BHU, and Jamia Millia Islamia. With over 15 lakh students registering annually, understanding CUET's nuances can give you a significant advantage.
CUET 2026 Exam Structure
Section
Content
Questions
Duration
Section IA
Language (English/Hindi + 11 others)
50 (40 to attempt)
45 min
Section IB
Additional Language (20 options)
50 (40 to attempt)
45 min
Section II
Domain Subjects (up to 6 from 32)
50 per subject (40 to attempt)
45 min each
Section III
General Test
75 (60 to attempt)
60 min
Important:
You only need to appear for sections required by your target universities and programmes. DU typically requires Section IA + relevant Section II subjects + Section III.
How Delhi University Uses CUET
DU has replaced the old cutoff-based system with CSAS (Common Seat Allocation System):
Step 1:
Score well in CUET
Step 2:
Register on the CSAS portal
Step 3:
Fill up to 100 programme-college preferences
Step 4:
Allocation happens based on CUET percentile + preference order
DU Cutoff Trends (CUET Percentile)
College
Course
2025 Cutoff
SRCC
B.Com (Hons)
98.2 percentile
Hindu College
B.A. Economics
97.5 percentile
Miranda House
B.A. English
96.8 percentile
LSR
B.A. Psychology
97.1 percentile
Hansraj
B.Sc. Physics
95.3 percentile
St. Stephen's
Interview-based
95+ percentile
Subject-wise Preparation Strategy
English (Section IA)
This is compulsory for most DU programmes. Focus on:
Reading Comprehension — practice 3-4 passages daily
Grammar — tenses, subject-verb agreement, sentence correction
Vocabulary — read The Hindu or Indian Express editorials daily
Literary terms — understand basic literary devices
Domain Subjects (Section II)
The golden rule:
NCERT is the primary source.
CUET domain questions are designed around NCERT content with application-based framing.
Economics:
Focus on microeconomics foundations and Indian economy (NCERT + Sandeep Garg)
Political Science:
NCERT chapters thoroughly + current affairs
History:
Focus on modern India and world history post-1945
Mathematics:
Practice NCERT examples and exercises; difficulty is between board exam and JEE Main
Accountancy:
NCERT + TS Grewal for practice
General Test (Section III)
Covers:
General Knowledge and Current Affairs (40%)
General Mental Ability and Numerical Skills (30%)
Quantitative Reasoning (15%)
Logical and Analytical Reasoning (15%)
Preparation:
Read monthly current affairs magazines + practice reasoning from RS Aggarwal.
Beyond DU: Other Top Universities Accepting CUET
University
Top Programmes
JNU
International Relations, Languages
BHU
Sciences, Engineering, Arts
Jamia Millia Islamia
Architecture, Mass Communication
Aligarh Muslim University
Medicine, Engineering, Law
Visva Bharati
Fine Arts, Music, Literature
CUET vs Board Exams
Many students ask: should I focus on boards or CUET? The answer is both, because:
CUET content closely mirrors NCERT (which you study for boards)
Some universities still consider board marks for verification
Board marks matter for state university admissions as backup
Strategy:
Prepare for boards first (complete NCERT), then add CUET-specific practice (mock tests, previous year papers) 3 months before CUET.
Common Mistakes
Choosing too many subjects
— Quality beats quantity; 3-4 subjects with thorough preparation outperform 6 subjects with shallow preparation
Ignoring the General Test
— Easy to score but often neglected
Not practising time management
— 45 minutes per subject is tight; practice under timed conditions
Late preference filling
— Research colleges and programmes early; don't rush during CSAS
Explore university profiles and course details on CollegeAfter12 to plan your CUET strategy around specific programmes.