The MHT CET 2025 exam for PCM and PCB groups was held in different shifts from April 19 to May 5, including a special retest on May 5. Since each shift had different difficulty levels, the CET Cell used a normalisation process to ensure results were fair. A student’s score is compared with others from the same shift using percentiles.
However, students noticed that some shifts gave more bonus marks due to more challenging or incorrect questions. For example, the April 23 PCM shift gave 10 bonus marks, while most other shifts gave only 1 to 6. This raised questions about whether the shift affected a student’s final percentile and admission chances.
When comparing cutoff scores and percentiles, slight differences between shifts were seen, especially in high-demand branches like Computer Science and IT. So yes, your shift might slightly affect your chances, but the system tries to keep it fair for everyone.
Students should focus on their final percentile and use last year’s cutoffs to choose the best college during counselling at cetcell.mahacet.org.
What is Shift-Wise Normalisation in MHT CET?
The MHT CET 2025 exam is conducted in different shifts, and the difficulty of the question paper can vary slightly. To address this, the CET Cell uses a percentile-based normalisation method. Percentile scores reflect a candidate's relative performance within the shift and are used to fairly compare students across different shifts.
Why Shift-Wise Cutoff Comparison Matters
While normalisation is applied, a trend analysis of shift-wise performance and cutoffs shows patterns of variation that may impact final ranks. Here's how performance varied across some key PCM exam shifts:
MHT CET 2025 PCB Bonus Marks
In the PCB section, bonus marks range from 1 to 4 in the multiple shifts. As in Shift 1 on April 13th, candidates received four bonus marks for answering 1 question correctly, while in other shifts, like April 17th, Shift 2, candidates earned one bonus mark for each of 3 questions.
Also Check: MHT CET 2025 PCB Exam Analysis
MHT CET 2025 PCM Bonus Marks
In the PCM section of MHT CET 2025, bonus marks varied by shift. The highest bonus was given in Shift 1 on April 23, where candidates received 10 bonus marks for 5 correct answers. Other shifts mostly gave 1 to 6 bonus marks, often split across several questions (like 2+2+2 or 1+1+1+1+1). These bonus marks were added to adjust for the difficulty level of each shift and to ensure fairness.
Was MHT CET 2025 Normalisation Fair?
- Normalisation Effectiveness: Although percentile normalisation smooths out differences, cutoff trends show slight advantages/disadvantages based on shift.
- Retest Impact: The May 5 retest was slightly easier, and many candidates scored 99+ percentile, intensifying the rank competition.
- Student Concerns: Many aspirants on forums like Reddit and Quora observed lower percentile for similar marks compared to friends in other shifts.
PCB Shift-Wise Trends
Here is a comparison of the top 1% performance in PCB shifts, showing similar variance:
Conclusion: Did Your Slot Affect Your Admission Chances?
Yes, to some extent. While the percentile normalisation system ensures overall fairness, the shift you appear in can still influence your final percentile if the difficulty variation is significant. The competition for top branches like Computer Science and IT is so tight that even a slight percentile difference impacts college admission.
Final Advice: Instead of worrying about the shift, focus on the percentile and rank you’ve achieved. Track official counselling updates at cetcell.mahacet.org and use last year’s cutoff data to make wise choices during CAP rounds.
