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Beyond Doctor, Engineer, CA

Part Three: Making it happen, chapter 19

The exams and the 2027-28 calendar

What to sit, when, and the clashes to plan around

Forms open from September to December. Tests run from December to May. Seat allotment, called counselling, follows in June and July. No 2028 notice was out at the time of writing, so every date is projected.

Show exams for

Tap to hide or show a group. Dates are projected from the 2026 and 2027 cycles.

  1. Oct 2027

    • UCAS Oxbridge, 15 Oct
    • UCEED registration

  2. Nov 2027

    • Common App early, 1 to 15 Nov
    • NIFT registration

  3. Dec 2027

    Clash month
    • CLAT, 1st Sunday
    • AILET, 2nd Sunday
    • NID Prelims, 3rd Sunday
    • SLAT, late Dec

  4. Jan 2028

    Clash month
    • UCEED, mid-Jan
    • NIFT, Jan or early Feb
    • JEE Main 1, late Jan
    • UCAS deadline, mid-Jan
    • Common App, 1 to 15 Jan
    • CBSE practicals

  5. Feb 2028

    Board exams
    • CBSE boards from about 17 Feb

  6. Mar 2028

    Clash monthBoard exams
    • Boards continue
    • UCEED result, early Mar
    • NID Prelims result

  7. Apr 2028

    Clash monthBoard exams
    • Boards end, early Apr
    • JEE Main 2, early Apr
    • MAH-AAC-CET, about 10 Apr
    • NATA, Apr to Jun
    • NID Mains, Apr to May
    • NIFT Situation Test
    • NCHM JEE, late Apr

  8. May 2028

    Clash month
    • CMI, about 2 May
    • IPMAT, 1st and 2nd week
    • SET, early May
    • ISI, about 10 May
    • CUET-UG, from about 11 May
    • JEE Advanced, about 17 May
    • IMU CET, late May
    • CBSE result, mid-May

  9. Jun 2028

    • NEST, about 6 Jun
    • IAT, about 7 Jun
    • JIPMAT, about 7 Jun
    • NID allotment, NIFT result

  10. Jul 2028

    • DU admissions (CSAS)
    • DU ECA and sports trials
    • Colleges start, late Jul

Circle these four clashes in red

  • December 2027: CLAT, AILET (both law) and NID Prelims (design) fall on three Sundays in a row.
  • January 2028: NIFT, UCEED and JEE Main Session 1 all come before the boards.
  • March and April 2028: JEE Main Session 2 and the first NATA tests overlap the last board papers.
  • May 2028: CMI, IPMAT, ISI, CUET-UG and JEE Advanced fall within about three weeks.

The main exams

UCEED

About 4,000

Design at the IITs

Mid-Jan 2028

NID DAT

About 3,000

Design at NID

Prelims Dec 2027; Mains Apr to May

NIFT exam

About 2,000

Design and fashion

Jan or early Feb 2028

NATA

About 1,750 a try

Architecture

Apr to Jun 2028, after the boards

JEE Main

Check the bulletin

NITs, IIITs, B.Arch, B.Plan

Late Jan and early Apr 2028

JEE Advanced

Check the bulletin

IITs, IIT B.Arch

Late May 2028

CUET-UG

Check the bulletin

DU, BHU, central universities

Mid-May to early Jun 2028

CLAT and AILET

About 3,000 to 4,000

Law at the NLUs

Early and mid-Dec 2027

IPMAT and JIPMAT

About 2,200 to 5,000

IIM five-year programmes

May to early Jun 2028

IISER IAT

About 2,000

IISERs, IISc

Early Jun 2028

NEST

Check the notice

NISER, CEBS

Early Jun 2028

ISI and CMI

About 1,500 at ISI

Maths and statistics

May 2028

IIT Madras BS

Check the site

Online BS

Any term, from Class 11

Digital SAT

About 10,700 a sitting

Study abroad

Mar to Jun 2027, retake autumn

Other exams fall across the year: NCHM JEE (hotel management) in late April, IMU CET (merchant navy) in late May, CA Foundation (chartered accountancy) in May or September, and ACET (actuarial science) in June or December.

The board exams

Everything must fit around the one fixed block: the Class 12 boards. The 2028 CBSE (central board) exams should run from mid-February to early April, with results by mid-May. Two board sittings a year apply only to Class 10, so plan Class 12 as one sitting.

Pick a few exams, check each real notice, then count the cost.

Official links and free material