CUET 2023 Exam Analysis: Check Question Paper, Difficulty Level, Section Wise Question Weightage by Testprep Expert Falguni Goswami

CUET UG Exam Analysis 2023: The CUET (UG) 2023 was conducted by NTA in Computer Based Test (CBT) Mode. Across India, over 15.80 lacs candidates at various Examination Centres located in 295 cities across India and abroad.  It is mportant to note that CUET (UG) – 2023 is also being conducted in 24 cities outside India. NTA will conduct the test in three slots per day on the dates mentioned above. 

The exam has been scheduled for more than 1.5 million candidates who have opted for 64,35,050 Test Papers. These candidates have applied for 48,779 unique combinations of subjects across 250 Central, State, and other participating universities / Institutions / Organizations for the Academic session 2023-2024.   NTA will conduct the test mentioned above in three slots per day. In Jammu and Kashmir, a total of 87309 (Eighty-seven thousand three hundred nine) unique candidates have been registered from the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.  

CUET (UG) – 2023 is being held in the Computer Based Test (CBT) mode where result processing will be done through technology with no human intervention. CUET (UG) – 2023 is based on the Class 12 syllabus and the syllabus of NCERT is primarily followed for the domain subjects (i.e., Sec-II). 

Exam pattern: CUET (UG) 2023

A candidate is allowed to opt for a maximum number of 10 tests across all three sections. The section-wise test pattern followed is as below: 

CUET UG Exam Analysis -  21 May 2023 ( Slots - I, II and III)

Sec-I Analysis: Section 1A and 1B Language (in the respective language chosen)

• The duration: Each of these tests is 45 minutes. 
• No of questions: One will have to attempt a maximum of 40 questions out of the 50 questions.
• The questions types: Reading Comprehension (RC), Vocabulary, Antonyms & Synonyms, Choosing the Correct Word, Verbal Ability, and Rearranging the Parts (of a passage or sentence).
  The RC passages are of 3 types: Factual, Narrative and Literary. One passage will have a maximum of 350 words. There were 15 questions based on reading comprehension (3 passages - 5 questions each). Passages were a mix of stories and extracts from poems, which were easy to comprehend.
• Maximum Marks: 200 (5 marks per question), Negative Marking: 1 mark per incorrect answer. No marks will be awarded/deducted for leaving a question unattempted. 

Sec-II Exam Analysis: Domain Tests

• Exam duration: As mentioned earlier, in some subjects duration of the test is 60 minutes.  For all other subjects, the duration of the test is 45 minutes. 
• Questions in each subject: One will have to attempt a maximum of 40 questions out of the 50 questions given. 
• Maximum Marks:  200 (5 marks per question), Negative Marking: 1 mark per incorrect answer
  No marks will be awarded/deducted for leaving a question unattempted.
  These tests (Section 2) will be in 2 mediums: English and a medium opted by you (from any of the 13 languages given in 1A), e.g. if you opt for Bengali medium, you will get your tests in Bengali and English mediums. The difficulty levels of the papers in Domain subjects were moderate to difficult. However, the papers in PCMB were much easier than the JEE Main/NEET paper but slightly more difficult than the class XII Board exams. The NCERT Exemplar books would be sufficient to score well in the exam.

The main issue that students faced was the lack of time. Therefore, students must manage their time well. Candidates can do this by practising sample papers and mock tests as much as possible.

Sec-III Exam Analysis: General Test

Aspirants considered the General Test (GT) easy. Current Affairs was the most important part of the GT. The aspirants stated that a thorough knowledge of current affairs and general knowledge questions are very important to ace this subject. We found that the GK questions, which mainly come from current affairs, historical facts, polity, geographical facts, sports and culture, trouble students more than any other topic/section.

Apart from General Knowledge, Current Affairs, the Sec-III of CUET (UG) had General Mental Ability, Numerical Ability, Quantitative Reasoning (Simple application of basic mathematical concepts arithmetic/algebra geometry/mensuration/stat), Logical and Analytical Reasoning.

Given below is the CUET exam analysis of the no. of questions asked in this section:

Summary of CUET Exam Analysis21 May 2023: [All slots taken together]

How will the CUET 2023 Results be prepared?

CUET 2023 Score cards will give NTA Score (percentile score). Percentile will be calculated for each of the tests in which the candidate appeared, separately.

NTA will first normalize the scores of every student taking part in different slots on different days of the CUET exam. Then the merit list will be based on scores obtained and other affecting factors. The merit list will show a student’s percentile score.

CUET 2023 Cut-off score: Cut off percentile for admission will depend on the participating Universities/Colleges and their various courses.  The top Central universities such as DU, JNU, BHU, AMU, and Jamia Milia will definitely have a higher cut-off, something like 95-99 percentile, in the more popular courses. But some other participating universities may not require a very high percentile for admission. Still, a percentile of 85-90 or above will be considered moderate for the popular courses in most of the Central universities for General Candidates. For the Reserved category candidates, the percentiles for admission in the popular courses in most of the Central universities would be lower. 

Dates of Examination: The CUET (UG) - 2023 is being conducted by NTA on  21, 22, 23, and 24 May 2023 for 808441 candidates and 25, 26, 27, and 28 May 2023 for 771095 candidates respectively. The total count for these 08 days (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 May 2023) is 1579536. (07 and 08 June 2023 will be buffer days). However, after contacting the State administration, the NTA has decided to keep all examinations in the State of Manipur from 29 May 2023 onwards

Common University Entrance Test (CUET) conducted by the National Testing Agency for the 2nd year for admission into Undergraduate Programmes in Central Universities under the Ministry of Education and other participating Universities / Institutions / Organizations / Autonomous Colleges for the Academic session 2023-2024 has started today.

Written by: Mr Falguni Goswami, Founder and Head of Careerbandhu Education

About The Author

Mr Falguni Goswami is the founder and Head of Careerbandhu Education. He is a renowned faculty, career counsellor and an Ex-Indian Air Force veteran with 30+ years of experience. He had spent years in different roles in the institutes like T.I.M.E and Career Launcher.