Out of total 7,226 candidates, only 2,828 managed to clear the test, putting the overall pass rate at 39 per cent
An analysis of the recently held University of Karachi entrance test has revealed that a majority of successful candidates barely cleared the exam, with most of them scoring between 50 and 60 marks out of 100.
According to official data, reviewed by The Express Tribune, candidates who passed the test scored 50–60% marks, while the pass percentage was fixed at 50%.
Out of a total of 7,226 candidates, only 2,828 managed to clear the test, putting the overall pass rate at 39 per cent — a notable improvement from last year’s approximately 25 per cent success rate.
The test was conducted for admission to 20 academic departments for the 2026 session, including Pharmacy, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Media Marketing, and Business Administration.
The detailed breakdown shows:
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50–60 marks: 1,735 students (61.3%)
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60–70 marks: 830 students (29.3%)
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70–80 marks: 243 students (8.6%)
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80–90 marks: 20 students (0.7%)
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90–100 marks: 0 students (0%)
The findings reveal that not a single student scored above 90 marks, while only 20 students — less than one per cent — achieved between 80 and 90. Together, candidates scoring 70 or higher accounted for just 3.6 per cent of all participants, or 263 students in total.
This means that 61 per cent of new admissions this year will come from students who scored 60% marks or below. Sources within the university said that although the pass percentage has improved compared to last year, the number of high-performing candidates remains alarmingly low.
In essence, the data suggests that Karachi University’s admission test continues to challenge even top students — with only a handful managing to reach what the report described as the ‘elite group’ of those scoring above 80 marks, representing just 0.28 per cent of total candidates.
KU conducted its entry test for admission to morning and evening programmes for the 2026 academic year last week. For this purpose, the university had set up 22 examination centres in various departments. According to the university officials, 7,769 applications were received for 1,347 seats across 20 departments. Of these, 7,536 candidates appeared for the test.
The test covered admissions for programmes including Doctor of Pharmacy (Morning and Evening), Doctor of Physical Therapy, BS in Computer Science (BSCS, BSSE, AI), Business Administration (BBA), Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Aviation Technology, Applied Physics, Environmental Studies, Food Science and Technology, International Relations, Mass Communication, Commerce, Public Administration and B.Ed (H), among others.
