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Entrance Exam Dates 2026 — Admission Calendar for Pune Colleges

Planning an admission year in Pune means tracking several separate examination calendars at once, run by different bodies that do not coordinate with each other. The state tests are conducted by the Maharashtra CET Cell, the national tests by the NTA and other national agencies, and the university-specific tests by individual institutions — and each publishes its own schedule on its own timeline. Because exact dates shift every year and are announced by notification, this page does not carry dates. What it carries is the structure of the calendar, which is stable: which examinations matter for which course, roughly where in the year each sits, and the official source where the current date is published. That structure is what lets you build a plan in advance and then fill in the dates as notifications appear. The sequencing point worth internalising is that the examination is the early part of the year and the counselling is the part that decides your outcome. Candidates track exam dates obsessively and then miss a CAP registration window, an option-filling deadline or a document-verification appointment — all of which are hard deadlines with no extension. Diary the counselling calendar with the same care as the examination calendar, because more seats are lost to the second than to the first.

⚡ Quick Answer

Exact entrance dates change every year and are set by notification, so check the official portal for each test. The structure is stable: state CETs through the Maharashtra CET Cell, national tests through the NTA and other agencies, and university-specific tests on each institution's own calendar — plus a separate counselling calendar that decides your actual seat.

Which Exam for Which Course

CourseMain entranceConducting body
Engineering (Maharashtra colleges)MHT-CETMaharashtra CET Cell
Engineering (national institutes)JEE MainNTA
MBBS / BDSNEET-UGNTA
MBA (Maharashtra)MAH-CETMaharashtra CET Cell
MBA (national)CAT, CMAT, XAT, MATIIMs and other agencies
Law (5-year and 3-year)CLAT, MAH-CET LawConsortium of NLUs / CET Cell
PharmacyMHT-CETMaharashtra CET Cell
Symbiosis programmesSNAP, SITEEE, SLAT, SETSymbiosis International

How the Year Sequences

  1. 1.Notifications and registration windows open first, typically months before the examination itself.
  2. 2.National tests and state CETs are conducted, in some cases across multiple sessions or shifts.
  3. 3.Results and percentile or scorecard release follow, on each body's own timeline.
  4. 4.Counselling registration opens — separate from the examination registration and easy to miss.
  5. 5.Option filling, allotment rounds, document verification and fee payment run in sequence, each with its own hard deadline.

Every stage after the result is where seats are actually won and lost. An allotment that is not confirmed within its window lapses, and no body reopens it on request.

Building a Calendar You Can Rely On

  • •Track the official portal for each test you are appearing for, not an aggregator that may lag the notification.
  • •Diary registration windows, not just examination dates — registration closes long before the exam.
  • •Add counselling registration, option filling and document verification as separate entries with their own reminders.
  • •Keep documents ready in advance: board mark sheets, domicile, category and validity certificates, income certificate.
  • •Assume no deadline will be extended, and treat any extension that does happen as a bonus rather than a plan.

If You Are Appearing for More Than One

Overlapping calendars are normal — a candidate may sit MHT-CET and JEE Main, or MAH-CET and CAT, in the same season. Check for date clashes as soon as both notifications are out, since neither body will accommodate the other, and register for both anyway where the dates permit. Holding two scores widens your options at counselling and costs nothing but the registration fee.

Where to Confirm

  • •The Maharashtra CET Cell portal for MHT-CET, MAH-CET and the CAP counselling calendar.
  • •The NTA portal for JEE Main and NEET-UG notifications and dates.
  • •Individual university and institute admission pages for their own entrance tests.

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Multiple Bodies

CET Cell, NTA, Universities

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Separate Calendars

They Do Not Coordinate

⚠️

Counselling Too

Where Most Seats Are Lost

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Official Sources

Dates Come From Notifications

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