CUET Passing Marks 2025: What You Need to Know to Secure Admission

Every year, lakhs of students aspire to get admission to central universities for undergraduate studies through the Central Universities Entrance Test (CUET). This year, around 15 lakh students registered for CUET UG 2025. This year, the number of registered candidates has increased by 1 lakh. This rising number of applicants reflects the growing popularity and competitiveness of the exam.

Amid this stiff competition, many candidates often wonder about the passing marks for CUET—is there a fixed minimum score to qualify, or how much do you need to secure admission, and if you’re in the same boat, this blog is for you. To put your mind at ease: there is no fixed passing mark for CUET 2025. Instead, each participating university sets its criteria for shortlisting candidates. For students aiming for top universities that accept CUET scores, the subject-wise cut-off generally ranges between 200 to 240 marks.

This blog aims to clear these doubts by explaining what CUET passing marks mean, how cut-offs are determined, and what you should realistically target in your CUET preparation and D-day to get admission into your dream college. So, without any delay, let’s begin.

CUET Passing Marks 2025: Marks Classification

NTA has not set any qualifying percentage or passing score. However, from this year, participating universities will declare CUET qualifying percentile. Hence, your success in CUET only depends on meeting or exceeding the CUET 2025 Cut-Off set by your chosen university and course. To provide you with a general idea about CUET Passing Marks 2025, we have prepared a marks-wise classification in tabular format. Let’s check:

Read: CUET UG 2025 Total Marks

CUET Passing Marks 2025: Top Percentile Statistics

Top percentile statistics for CUET 2025 have not been released yet. However, from previous years’ data, students can get an idea of this year’s expected statistics.

CUET UG 2024 witnessed record participation, with over 14 lakh candidates appearing for the exam across a diverse range of subjects. English and the General Test had the highest number of students. Over 7.19 lakh students took English, and 5,685 scored 100 percentile. On the other hand, more than 6.7 lakh students appeared for the General Test, but only 36 got a perfect score, showing it was much tougher.

CUET Exam Pattern: Let’s Understand

To score better in the CUET exam, it is important to understand the paper pattern and the scoring system. Here’s the CUET UG 2025 Exam Pattern for your reference:

• The exam consists of one language subject (English/ Hindi) along with domain-specific subjects (like Political Science, Economics, Accountancy) and an optional General Test.
• Each subject contains 50 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) except the General Test, which consists of 60 questions.
• Each correct answer awards 5 marks to the students, whereas each wrong answer leads to a penalty of 1 mark.
• The maximum score per subject is 250.
• Students can appear for up to five subjects, with one language paper being mandatory.
• The total maximum score can go up to 1250 marks, depending on the number and combination of subjects chosen.

The aggregate (total) marks you obtain in the exam will be considered for admission decisions.

What Do CUET Cut-Offs 2025 Look Like? Insights from Previous Years’ Data

Since CUET 2025 data is not yet available, the 2024 NTA report and university admission cut-offs provide the best insight into what students should expect.

In 2024, the exam saw nearly 10 lakh candidates appear, with many achieving full marks (200/200) in individual subjects. For instance, over 800 students scored a perfect 200 in English, while hundreds did the same in Political Science and Business Studies.

Here’s a quick summary of CUET 2024 score trends among top performers:

However, the cut-offs for top universities were extremely high. For example:

• Delhi University’s SRCC B.Com (Hons) program had a cut-off of 798 out of 800.
• BA Economics (Hons) at St. Stephen’s College had a cut-off close to 796.
• Other reputed colleges like Hindu College and Miranda House had cut-offs ranging between 790 and 795.

This data shows that to secure admission in highly sought-after courses, students generally needed to score well above 780 marks in the CUET exam.

Why Do Universities Set Such High Cut-Offs?

The CUET score is used by central universities like Delhi University, Banaras Hindu University & Allahabad University, among others, to allocate limited seats to a massive pool of applicants. With the growing number of test-takers and the increasing awareness of CUET as the primary entrance exam, the competition rises, leading to high cut-off trends.

The following are the factors based on which universities set the cut-off score:

• Number of applicants for a course
• Difficulty level of the exam that year
• Performance distribution of candidates
• Reservation policies and category-wise seat allocation

Therefore, while you don’t need to “pass” CUET in the traditional sense, you do need to score at or above the cut-off mark to have a realistic chance of admission.

How to Interpret CUET Scores for Your Admission Goals?

Since CUET cut-offs vary widely depending on the university and course, it is important to research the historical cut-off trends of your preferred institutions. Here are some broad benchmarks based on 2024 admissions:

If you aim for courses like B.Com (Hons), BA Economics, or B.Sc. at DU or BHU, a score close to 790 or higher can greatly improve your chances. For less competitive programs like B.Sc from not-so-reputed universities, a score between 600 and 700 might suffice.

Are There Category-Wise Relaxations in CUET 2025 Cut-Offs?

Yes, most central universities apply category-wise relaxation in their cut-off marks to ensure fair representation for reserved categories such as SC, ST, OBC, and PwD candidates. However, this does not mean a significantly lower performance is acceptable.

For example, in 2024:

• The general category cut-off for BA Political Science at DU was around 796.
• For OBC candidates, it was approximately 770.
• For SC/ST categories, cut-offs were around 720 to 740.

While these relaxations help reduce the pressure, candidates from reserved categories still need to score well above 700 marks for admission to competitive courses.

What Happens If You Score Below the CUET 2025 Cut-Off?

If your CUET score is below the university’s cut-off for your desired course, unfortunately, you will not be eligible for admission to that program. However, this does not mean all hope is lost.

Many central universities offer multiple courses with varying cut-off requirements. Additionally, some universities or colleges accept CUET scores for admission into vocational or less sought-after programs with lower cut-offs. Therefore, it’s important to:

• Apply to multiple universities and courses
• Keep backup options open with programs that have lower cut-offs
• Explore state or private universities that accept CUET scores but have more lenient criteria

Final Thoughts 

In conclusion, it is important to remember that CUET does not have fixed passing marks; instead, each participating university sets its cut-off scores. Data from recent years shows that top universities often set cut-offs in a very narrow and competitive range—for example, Delhi University’s popular programs frequently have cut-offs between 780 and 799 out of 800. Given this trend, aiming to score at least 10 to 15 marks above the previous year’s cut-off is a prudent strategy to improve your chances of admission. This buffer helps account for fluctuations in difficulty and increased competition.

Additionally, since CUET employs negative marking (minus 1 mark for every wrong answer), accuracy is critical, and it is better to attempt fewer questions confidently than to risk losing marks due to guesswork. Understanding the specific cut-offs for your desired courses and regularly reviewing updated data released by the NTA and universities will enable you to set realistic targets. Ultimately, thorough preparation, combined with exceeding past cut-offs by a comfortable margin, will position you well to secure admission through CUET.