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Home / Guides / Which entry test should I take? NUST, NED, UET Peshawar, MUET, Air University, FAST, GIKI, COMSATS, PIEAS, NUMS, IBA and LUMS side by side
Which entry test should I take? NUST, NED, UET Peshawar, MUET, Air University, FAST, GIKI, COMSATS, PIEAS, NUMS, IBA and LUMS side by side
A comparison of twelve universities and tests: the test each one uses, who it suits, the pattern and merit weights that the universities publish, and how to plan more than one application.
Last updated: 1 November 2026
The short answer
Each of these universities has its own way to select students. Some run their own test, some use a test of the National Testing Service (NTS), and some accept the SAT or ACT. The table shows what each university publishes. Where the table does not give a number of questions, the university does not publish it. Read the notice for your year.
Side by side
| University | Test | Pattern published by the university or testing body | Merit weights published |
|---|---|---|---|
| NUST | NUST Entry Test (NET), with a paper for each programme group | Engineering paper: Mathematics 50%, Physics 30%, English 20%. Other papers have their own weights | Test 75%, SSC 10%, HSSC 15% |
| FAST-NU | NU Admission Test, or SAT or NTS | Computing and engineering: English 10%, Analytical skills and IQ 20%, Basic mathematics 20%, Advanced mathematics 50%. Negative marking. No calculators | Not published on the test pattern page |
| NED | NED computer based entry test, with four sections that depend on your HSSC group | 100 marks in 2 hours: four sections of 25 marks each. Pre-engineering: English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry | HSSC Part I 40%, test 60%. The test must be passed with 50% |
| GIKI | GIK admission test, with an engineering and computing exam and a management exam | Sample paper (2013): Part A has 60 Mathematics and Physics questions (+3, −1), Part B has 20 English questions. The syllabus lists the topics | Test 85%, earlier results 15% |
| UET Peshawar | ETEA Entrance Test for BSc Engineering and B Architecture. No test for non-engineering Computer Science and Data Science | ETEA announces the pattern for each test | SSC × 1 + Inter × 4 + Test × 5 (10%, 40%, 50%). Computer Science and Data Science: SSC × 4 + Inter × 6 |
| MUET | MUET pre-admission test for every eligible applicant | Computer based, 100 questions in 60 minutes in four parts of 25. No negative marking, and under 40 percent is not eligible | SSC 10%, HSC Part I 30%, test 60% (CPN) |
| Air University | AU-CBT, with exemptions for qualifying tests such as NAT, NED, MUET and ETEA | English 20%, Analytical 25%, Quantitative 25%, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics 10% each (Pre-Engineering) | Engineering: SSC 10%, HSSC 50%, test 40%. Others: 15%, 35%, 50% |
| COMSATS | NTS National Aptitude Test (NAT-IE, NAT-IM, NAT-ICS or NAT-Other) | 90 questions in 120 minutes: English 20, Analytical 20, Quantitative 20, Subject 30 | Use the merit calculator of COMSATS |
| PIEAS | PIEAS written test, or SAT II or ACT for the reserved seats | 100 questions in 3 hours, no negative marking. English 10 and 30 each in three subjects, depending on your stream | Test percentile 60%, SSC 15%, HSSC Part 1 25% |
| LUMS | SAT, ACT or LUMS Common Admission Test (LCAT, about 3 hours), with the Law Admission Test (LAT) for law | Digital SAT: 98 questions in 2 hours 14 minutes | Read the programme page of LUMS |
| NUMS | NUMS MDCAT for the medical and dental colleges that NUMS admits to | Paper I: 150 questions in 2 hours 45 minutes (Biology 55, Chemistry 40, Physics 40, English 15). Paper II: psychological test, 50 questions in 15 minutes | Read the NUMS notice |
| IBA | IBA entry test for business, economics and related programmes | Latest BBA sample paper (a 2018 file): 50 Mathematics questions in 80 minutes, 45 English questions in 50 minutes and an essay, with +4 and −1 marking | Read the IBA admission policy |
Which routes accept the SAT or ACT
- NUST accepts ACT or SAT scores for a limited number of national and international seats.
- FAST-NU lets undergraduate applicants choose the SAT or NTS as an alternative to its own test.
- PIEAS keeps some seats for applicants with SAT II or ACT scores.
- GIKI considers the SAT II percentile for applicants who send SAT II scores.
- LUMS accepts the SAT, the ACT or its own LCAT for most undergraduate programmes.
How to choose and plan
- Start from the programmes you want, and then look up the test that each programme asks for. Your HSSC group decides your NET paper, your NAT paper and your PIEAS paper.
- Check the eligibility rule first. NUST, GIKI and PIEAS ask for 60 percent marks in earlier results, and GIKI asks for 60 percent in Mathematics and Physics for engineering.
- Group your preparation. Mathematics and Physics at FSc level are common to NUST, GIKI, PIEAS and COMSATS engineering. FAST puts half of its marks on advanced mathematics, and the SAT is a different style of test.
- Write the test dates and deadlines of every university on one page. They come from each university for each year.
- Use the practice questions, the mock tests and the merit calculator on this site for the tests that they cover.
About merit lists of earlier years
NUST says that the closing merit of the earlier session for each programme is published on its website. Other universities publish their own lists on their admission pages. Use them to see how your marks compare, and remember that each year is different.
Practise on this site
Where this comes from
- NUST undergraduate admissions pages, FAST-NU admissions pages, GIKI undergraduate admission pages, COMSATS admissions system, NTS NAT paper pattern, the PIEAS information leaflet for BS programmes and the LUMS admissions pages. Each guide on this site names its sources.
- Check the notice for your own year before you rely on any number.
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