The Higher Education Commission has opened online registration for the Undergraduate Studies Admission Test, giving thousands of students across Pakistan a fresh chance to secure the score they need for admission to a bachelor’s degree programme. The test will be held on December 13, 2026, and candidates have until November 22 to complete their applications through the commission’s online portal.
The commission’s Education Testing Council will conduct the test, which is held every few months. Its score is accepted by public and private universities around the country for entry to undergraduate programmes, and many students will need it before a university will even look at their application. That makes the December sitting important for those who missed an earlier round or want a better score.
HEC USAT 2026
The Undergraduate Studies Admission Test, usually known simply as USAT, is a standardised test built on the pattern of the international Scholastic Aptitude Test. It is now held every three months in test centres in major cities.
The test is open to students who have completed their Higher Secondary School Certificate, or an equivalent qualification involving twelve years of education. Students who have appeared in their final intermediate examinations and are still waiting for their results can also register. What matters is that the candidate picks the right test category, because it has to match both the student’s academic background and the admission requirements of the university and programme they want to join.
USAT 2026 Test Categories
The commission will run the test in six categories, one for each broad stream of study. USAT-A covers arts and humanities, USAT-COM covers commerce, and USAT-CS covers computer science. The remaining three are USAT-E for pre-engineering, USAT-GS for general science, and USAT-M for pre-medical students. Between them, the six categories cover almost every undergraduate field a student might apply for, from literature and business to medicine and software.
Each category shares the same overall structure, but the subject-specific questions change to match the stream. A pre-medical student is tested on the science that matters for a medical degree, while a commerce student faces questions suited to business and accounting. The shared reasoning sections stay the same for everyone, so the test measures general ability as well as subject knowledge.
Passing Marks and Score Validity
The test carries one hundred marks in total, and the commission has set the minimum qualifying score at fifty. The paper is split into two parts. The first part holds seventy-five multiple choice questions and runs for one hundred minutes. It covers verbal reasoning, with twenty questions on English grammar, vocabulary and comprehension, quantitative reasoning, with twenty-five questions on arithmetic, algebra, geometry and statistics, and thirty questions of subject-specific knowledge tied to the candidate’s chosen category.
The second part tests writing. Candidates get forty minutes to write essays worth twenty-five marks, with an argument-based essay carrying fifteen marks and a narrative essay carrying ten. The essays can be written in either English or Urdu, and each one should run to between four hundred and five hundred words. This section carries a quarter of the total marks, so a weak essay can drag down an otherwise strong paper.
A passing score stays valid for two years. Students can use it when applying to any university that accepts USAT for undergraduate admission, and it is also valid for two years for the commission’s undergraduate scholarship applications, subject to the relevant scholarship requirements. But passing the test does not, on its own, guarantee a university place. Each university still applies its own admission policy and merit requirements, and the test score is only one part of that decision.
How to Apply for USAT December 2026
Applications must be submitted online through the official Education Testing Council registration portal at etc.hec.gov.pk. Candidates first register on the portal, then fill in their personal and academic information and select the relevant USAT category for their intended degree programme. The form has to be completed and submitted in full, because the commission will only consider submitted applications and will not accept forms left in draft or incomplete.
After the form is submitted, the test fee must be paid through the 1Link and 1Bill invoice payment service, using the consumer number generated by the portal. The payment can be made through a participating bank, an ATM or a mobile banking app. Once the payment is made, candidates must select the Verify Online Payment option on their ETC dashboard so that the payment is confirmed against their application.
The December sitting comes at a useful moment. University admissions for the next academic session are already on the horizon, and a fresh USAT score gives students a stronger hand when applications open. For those who sat an earlier test and fell short of fifty marks, it is a second chance without a long wait. The deadline, though, is firm: November 22 leaves less than two weeks, so anyone planning to sit the test should apply early.
