NEST 2026 Selection Process: Merit List, SMAS & MAP

The National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) 2026  for admission to the 5-year Integrated MSc programmes in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics at NISER Bhubaneswar and DAE CEBS, Mumbai, will tentatively be conducted in the third week of June 2026. Candidates planning to appear for the exam must be familiar with the NEST 2026 selection process to understand the criteria for admission.

Admission to NISER Bhubaneswar and DAE CEBS, Mumbai through NEST 2026 depends on whether candidates secure a place in the NEST 2026 merit list. The exam authorities (NISER Bhubaneswar and DAE CEBS) follow specific criteria to prepare this merit list, which may seem complex to many candidates. Therefore, this article explains how the NEST merit list is prepared in simple terms, as the selection process depends on it.

NEST 2026 Selection Process: Overview

The selection process for NEST 2026 refers to the procedures that begin with the release of the NEST 2026 result and continue up to the counselling phase. The steps involved in the process are as follows:

1. Declaration of Result

2. Calculation of Section-wise Cut-off (SMAS)

3. Calculation of Overall Cut-off (MAP)

4. Merit List Preparation

5. NEST Counselling

6. Seat Allotment

7. Document Verification

8. Admission Confirmation & Fee Payment

NEST 2026 Result & Merit List

The selection process for candidates depends on the merit list for NEST prepared on the basis of scores obtained by candidates in the exam.

The NEST 2026 result will tentatively be released in the second week of July 2026 at nestexam.in. Considering the individual result for candidates, the NEST 2026 merit list will be prepared.

How to Check NEST 2026 Result

To check the result for NEST 2026, candidates can use the following steps:

1. Go to the official NEST exam website – nestexam.in.

2. Click on the “Login” option and enter the Application No./Login ID and password.

3. Enter the provided Captcha Code.

4. Click on the “Login” option below.

5. Your scorecard will appear on the screen.

6. Download and save it as a PDF.

NEST 2026 Selection Process

As mentioned above, the NEST selection process depends on the NEST merit list. Therefore, the candidates must understand the process of preparing the merit list.

How is the NEST Merit List prepared?

There are three steps considered by the admission authorities to prepare the NEST merit list. These steps are mentioned below:

1. NEST Scoring System

The scoring system of NEST is the primary parameter which is used to prepare the merit list. Check out the details related to it below:

• There are four sections in the NEST question paper, as mentioned below:

• There are four sections in the NEST question paper, as mentioned below. Each section carries 60 marks. This makes the total marks of the paper 240.

• While preparing the NEST merit list, the three best scores out of the four sections will be considered. Thus, among Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics, only the three sections in which a candidate scores the highest marks will be used for merit calculation.

• Using three sections for performance evaluation will make the total marks for NEST 180. The total percentile will be 100.

2. Section-Wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS) for NEST

Candidates must score minimum marks in each section of NEST 2026 as decided by the exam authorities. These section-wise minimum marks are called the Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS).

• To be considered for the merit list, candidates must achieve the SMAS in every section.

• The SMAS for a section is calculated by finding the average marks of the top 100 candidates (with the highest scores in the section) and then taking 20% of that average.

For example, if the average of the top 100 scores in the Chemistry section is 48 out of 60, the SMAS for Chemistry will be 9.6 marks (48 × 0.20).

• For each section, the Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score can be different.

• SMAS for OBC students would be 90% of the respective SMAS for general category students.

For example, if in the Chemistry section, the SMAS is 9.6 for general category students, then the SMAS for OBC students would be 8.64 (90% of 9.6).

• SMAS for SC/ST/Divyangjan (PwD) students would be 50% of the respective SMAS for general category students.

For example, if in the Chemistry section, the SMAS is 9.6 for general category students, then the SMAS for SC/ST/Divyangjan students would be 4.8 (50% of 9.6).

3. Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP) for NEST

In addition to SMAS, candidates are required to score equal to or above the Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP). This refers to the specific category-wise percentile that candidates must achieve in order to hold a place in the NEST merit list. MAP is also known as the NEST overall cut-off. Check out the category-wise MAP below.

How to Check the NEST 2026 Merit List?

The NEST 2026 merit list is likely to be released online along with the NEST 2026 result. Candidates can check it by following these steps:

1. Go to the official NEST exam website: nestexam.in

2. Click on the “Result / Merit List” link.

3. Log in to your candidate account using the registered Email ID / Application Number and Password / DOB.

4. Download and save the merit list PDF for counselling/admission purposes.

Conclusion

The NEST selection process depends on the preparation of the NEST merit list after the release of the result. To secure admission to NISER Bhubaneswar and DAE CEBS, Mumbai, candidates must obtain the Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS) and the Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP), also known as overall cut-offs. After that, they will be selected in the NEST merit list. To complete the admission process, qualified candidates must appear for NEST counselling, get their documents verified, and pay the application fee.