Most CUET candidates apply to the same six or seven universities and then find out in September that their percentile was never going to be enough. There are twenty-nine central universities on this list. The bottom half of it admits students that the top half rejects.
The bands below are indicative, not published cutoffs. Read the note at the end before you plan around any number here.
70 percentile and above
The most contested names on the list.
- Jawaharlal Nehru University · Humanities · BA Hons, Languages · Merit
- Jamia Millia Islamia · Mass Communication, Arts · BJMC, BA, BCom · Need and merit
- Aligarh Muslim University · Arts, Science · BA, BSc, BCom · Minority and merit
- University of Hyderabad · Arts, Research · Integrated MA · Merit
- Panjab University · Commerce, Science · BCom, BSc · Merit
- Pondicherry University · Arts · Integrated MA · Merit
- Tezpur University · Humanities · BA, BSc · NSP and merit
65 to 85 percentile
- Central University of Tamil Nadu · Science · BSc · Merit
- Visva Bharati University · Humanities · BA · Merit
- Central University of Rajasthan · Science, Arts · BSc, BA · Merit
- Central University of Punjab · Science · BSc · Merit
- Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University · Arts, Science · BA, BSc · Central schemes
60 to 80 percentile
- Assam University · Arts · BA, BCom · NSP
- Central University of Karnataka · Science · BSc, Integrated MSc · NSP
- Central University of Kerala · Arts · BA · NSP
- Central University of Haryana · Commerce · BCom · Merit
- Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya · Science · BSc · NSP
- National Sanskrit University · Arts · BA, Sanskrit · NSP and merit
- Central University of South Bihar · Commerce · BCom · NSP
- Dr Harisingh Gour University · Arts · BA · Merit
- Mahatma Gandhi Central University · Arts · BA · NSP
50 to 75 percentile
The part of the list almost nobody applies to, and the reason a low percentile does not end the year.
- Sikkim University · Humanities · BA · Merit
- Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University · Arts · BA · NSP
- Mizoram University · Humanities · BA · NSP
- Central University of Odisha · Arts · BA · Merit
- Central University of Andhra Pradesh · Commerce · BCom · Merit
- Tripura University · Commerce · BCom · NSP
- Nagaland University · Arts · BA · NSP
- North Eastern Hill University · Arts · BA, BCom · NSP
On the scholarship column
Every university marked NSP takes applications through the National Scholarship Portal, which is a separate application from your admission and has its own deadline. Merit scholarships are usually applied for at the university itself, after admission.
Missing the NSP window is a common and entirely avoidable loss. It closes months before most students think about it.
What these numbers are and are not
These bands are expected ranges, not official cutoffs. CUET does not publish a single cutoff per university. The actual bar changes every year by course, by category, by seat count, and by how many people happened to apply to that programme that cycle.
Use this to build a shortlist across bands. Do not use it to decide you are safe anywhere. The only figure that decides your admission is the one that appears on that university's own counselling list after the results.