Competitive exams after Class 10 – The moment you pass your Class 10 examination, you enter into a world full of opportunities. No matter which stream you pick, you have to be prepared to go through some amount of competition. Many students who wish to pursue professional courses like Engineering, Medical, Law, etc., after Class 12, start preparing for their entrance exams just after they pass Class 10. Moreover, there are various competitive exams conducted for students after Class 10 to offer them exciting benefits in the form of cash prizes, scholarships, fellowships, etc.
What types of competitive exams are conducted for students after Class 10? How can students appear for them? What benefits will the students get after qualifying these competitive exams? The answers to all these questions are covered in this article.
Competitive Exams After Class 10
Given below is the list of top competitive exams conducted after Class 12 for which the students start their preparation just after passing Class 10. These are national-level examinations conducted for admissions to Engineering, Medical and Law courses at undergraduate level.
JEE (Main)
JEE (Main) or Joint Entrance Examination is a nationally acclaimed entrance examination for admission into the premier engineering institutions within the country including IITs and NITs. The students who wish to pursue BTech/BArch/B.Planning courses in elite institutions start preparing for this examination after passing Class 10 as they have a vast syllabus to cover. As per the latest update, the JEE (Main) 2021 exam will be conducted 4 times in a year. Know more about the examination in the table given below.
JEE (Main) – An Overview
| S.No. | Particulars | Details* |
| 1. | Name of the exam | JEE (Main) |
| 2. | Conducted by | National Testing Agency (NTA) |
| 3. | Purpose | For admission to BTech/BArch/B.Planning courses in premier institutions |
| 4. | Eligibility | Class 12 passed or appearing students |
| 5. | Application Mode | Online |
| 6. | Application Fee | Up to INR 1,300 (in India) and up to INR 6,000 (for outside India) |
| 7. | Exam Mode | Computer-based Test (CBT) mode |
| 8. | Number of attempts | 3 consecutive years |
| 9. | Exam date | 1st attempt – February (23, 24, 25, and 26 February 2021)
2nd attempt – March (15, 16, 17, and 18 March 2021) 3rd attempt – April (27, 28, 29, and 30 April 2021) 4th attempt – May (24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 May 2021) |
| 10. | Number of papers | Paper 1 (for BTech)
Paper 2 (for BArch and B.Planning) |
| 11. | Types of questions | Multiple-choice questions |
| 12. | Medium of paper | English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu |
| 13. | Duration of the exam | 3 hours |
*The details mentioned above are applicable for the current academic year. They are subject to change.
JEE (Advanced)
The students who qualify the JEE (Main) examination become eligible for the JEE (Advanced) examination. This the second phase of the Joint Entrance Examination for admission in one of the IITs. Class 10 passed students who opt for science streams (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics) prepare for both JEE (Main) and JEE (Advanced) together. The table below highlights the key details of the JEE (Advanced) examination for your reference.
JEE (Advanced) – An Overview
| S.No. | Particulars | Details* |
| 1. | Name of the exam | JEE (Advanced) |
| 2. | Conducted by | IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Kharagpur |
| 3. | Purpose | For admission to BTech/BArch/B.Planning courses in IITs |
| 4. | Eligibility | Class 12 passed or appearing students who have qualified JEE (Main) examination |
| 5. | Application Mode | Online |
| 6. | Application Fee | Up to INR 2,800 |
| 8. | Exam Mode | Computer-based Test (CBT) mode |
| 9. | Number of attempts | 2 consecutive years |
| 10. | Exam date | 03 July 2021 |
| 11. | Number of papers | Paper 1 and Paper 2 |
| 12. | Types of questions | Multiple-choice questions and numerical questions |
| 13. | Medium of paper | English and Hindi |
| 14. | Duration of the exam | 3 hours for each paper |
*The details mentioned above are applicable for the current academic year. They are subject to change.
NEET
NEET or National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is a national-level entrance examination for admission to MBBS/BDS courses. Students who aspire to pursue a career in medical or dental stream appear for this exam after completing their Class 12. However, in many cases, they start preparing for it just after their Class 10.
NEET 2021 will be conducted twice in a year from 2021 onwards, as approved by the Health Ministry. Know more about the examination in the table given below.
NEET – An Overview
| S.No. | Particulars | Details* |
| 1. | Name of the exam | NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) |
| 2. | Conducted by | National Testing Agency (NTA) |
| 3. | Purpose | For admission to undergraduate courses in medical and dental streams |
| 4. | Eligibility | Class 12 passed or appearing students |
| 5. | Application Mode | Online |
| 6. | Application Fee | INR 1,500 (for General category), INR 1,400 (for General EWS and OBC-NCL category), and INR 800 (for SC/ST/PwD/Transgender students) |
| 7. | Exam Mode | Pen and paper-based |
| 8. | Exam date | To be announced |
| 9. | Number of papers | One paper (comprising questions from Physics, Chemistry and Biology) |
| 10. | Types of questions | Multiple-choice questions |
| 11. | Medium of paper | Hindi, English, Urdu, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Assamese, Kannada, Odia, Tamil and Telugu |
| 12. | Duration of the exam | 3 hours |
*The details mentioned above are applicable for the current academic year. They are subject to change.
CLAT
CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) is yet another popular competitive examination conducted for admission into undergraduate and postgraduate law programmes. This is a national level examination that offers admission into one of the 22 National Law Universities (NLUs) nationwide. In addition to this, the scores of CLAT exam are also accepted at 43 other educational institutions for admission in undergraduate law programmes. The table below provides a detailed overview of the CLAT examination for your reference.
CLAT – An Overview
| S.No. | Particulars | Details* |
| 1. | Name of the exam | CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) |
| 2. | Conducted by | Consortium of National Law Universities |
| 3. | Purpose | For admission to UG or PG law degree courses |
| 4. | Eligibility | Class 12 passed or appearing students and graduates |
| 5. | Application Mode | Online |
| 6. | Application Fee | INR 4,000 (for General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI candidates) and INR 3,500 (for SC/ST candidates) |
| 7. | Exam Mode | Offline |
| 8. | Exam date | 13th June 2021 |
| 9. | Number of papers | One paper |
| 10. | Types of questions | Multiple-choice questions |
| 11. | Medium of paper | English |
| 12. | Duration of the exam | 2 hours |
*The details mentioned above are applicable for the current academic year. They are subject to change.
Competitive Exams After Class 10
Besides the examinations mentioned above, there are various other competitive examinations that are meant for students who have passed Class 10. Though these exams are not related to your admission in UG courses, they offer exciting benefits to the students in the form of cash prizes, scholarships and fellowships. Given below is the list of top competitive exams after 10 to appear for.
NTSE (National Talent Search Examination)
National Talent Search Examination, also known as NTSE is a national level competitive examination that aims to offer 2,000 scholarships to students of Class 10. It allows the students to pursue courses in the streams of Science and Social Science till doctoral level, and professional courses like Engineering and Medicine till second degree level. Given below is a detailed overview on the examination for the academic year 2020-21.
NTSE – An Overview
| S.No. | Particulars | Details* |
| 1. | Name of the exam | NTSE (National Talent Search Examination) |
| 2. | Conducted by | National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) |
| 3. | Purpose | To award scholarship to meritorious students for their studies after Class 10 |
| 4. | Eligibility | Students of Class 10 |
| 5. | Stages of examination | Stage 1 (State/UT level)
Stage 2 (National level) |
| 6. | Application Mode | Offline through respective State Liaison Officer |
| 7. | Application Fee | For Stage 1 – As suggested by the State Liaison Officer
For Stage 2 – No application fee required |
| 8. | Exam Mode | Offline |
| 9. | Medium of the exam | English, Hindi, Bangla, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Odia, Urdu, Telugu and Tamil |
| 10. | Number of papers | MAT (Mental Ability Test)
SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) |
| 11. | Types of questions | Multiple-choice questions |
| 12. | Duration of the exam | 120 minutes for each paper |
| 13. | Exam date | For Stage 1 – Between 13th December and 21st February 2021 (varies state-wise)
For Stage 2 – 13th June 2021 |
| 14. | Benefits | INR 1,250 per month for Class 11 and 12,
INR 2,000 per month for UG and PG level, and As per UGC norms for research level |
*The details mentioned above are applicable for the current academic year. They are subject to change.
KVPY (Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana)
Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana, KVPY is also one of the popularly known competitive exams that aims to offer fellowships to students in the field of Basic Sciences. The students who have passed Class 10 examination and are willing to pursue a progressive research career in the Science stream can appear for this programme under ‘Stream SA’. Furthermore, the examination is conducted for two more streams namely, Stream SX and Stream SB. To know more about the KVPY 2021, please refer to the table given below.
KVPY – An Overview
| S.No. | Particulars | Details* |
| 1. | Name of the exam | KVPY (Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana) |
| 2. | Conducted by | Indian Institute of Science (IISc) |
| 3. | Purpose | To award fellowships to students studying in Class 11 to undergraduate level |
| 4. | Eligibility | Students of Class 11 (Science), 12 (Science) and 1st year UG programme in Basic Science |
| 5. | Application Mode | Online |
| 6. | Application Fee | INR 1,250 plus bank charges |
| 7. | Exam Mode | Online |
| 8. | Medium of the exam | English and Hindi |
| 9. | Types of questions | Multiple-choice questions |
| 10. | Duration of the exam | 3 hours |
| 11. | Exam date | 31st January 2021 |
| 12. | Stages of selection | Aptitude test
Personal Interview (Due to COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no interview this year) |
| 13. | Benefits | Monthly fellowship up to INR 7,000
Annual contingency grant up to INR 28,000 |
*The details mentioned above are applicable for the current academic year. They are subject to change.
NSO (National Science Olympiad)
National Science Olympiad or NSO is a national level competitive examination conducted every year for students of Class 1 to 12 to judge their academic progress. The students participating in this exam also stand a chance to win exciting prizes, if selected. The selection of the students is done at different levels namely, within school, city level, zonal level and international level. Furthermore, refer to the table given below to know more about the examination.
NSO – An Overview
| S.No. | Particulars | Details* |
| 1. | Name of the exam | NSO (National Science Olympiad) |
| 2. | Conducted by | Science Olympiad Foundation |
| 3. | Purpose | To help students assess their academic growth |
| 4. | Eligibility | Students of Class 1 to 12 |
| 5. | Application mode | Through respective schools |
| 6. | Application fee | INR 125 (including GST) |
| 7. | Exam Mode | Online (Due to COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 8. | Stages of exam | Level 1 and Level 2 |
| 9. | Medium of the exam | English |
| 10. | Types of questions | Multiple-choice questions |
| 11. | Duration of the exam | 1 hour |
| 12. | Exam date | For Level 1 – Between 19th December 2020 and 13th February 2021
For Level 2 – Not yet announced |
| 13. | Benefits | Up to INR 50,000 + Gold medal + Performance Certificate |
*The details mentioned above are applicable for the current academic year. They are subject to change.
NCO (National Cyber Olympiad)
NCO or National Cyber Olympiad is yet another competitive exam conducted by SOF for students of Class 1 to 10. Just like the NSO, this Olympiad too offers exciting awards to students at School level, Zonal level and International level. Know more about this Olympiad in the table given below.
NCO – An Overview
| S.No. | Particulars | Details* |
| 1. | Name of the exam | NCO (National Cyber Olympiad) |
| 2. | Conducted by | Science Olympiad Foundation |
| 3. | Purpose | To help students assess their academic growth |
| 4. | Eligibility | Students of Class 1 to 10 |
| 5. | Application mode | Through respective schools |
| 6. | Application fee | INR 125 (including GST) |
| 7. | Exam Mode | Offline |
| 8. | Stages of exam | Level 1 |
| 9. | Medium of the exam | English |
| 10. | Types of questions | Multiple-choice questions |
| 11. | Duration of the exam | 1 hour |
| 12. | Exam date | Not to be conducted for 2020-21 (Due to COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 13. | Benefits | Up to INR 50,000 + Gold medal + Performance Certificate |
*The details mentioned above are applicable for the current academic year. They are subject to change.
