The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has confirmed how marks will be used to decide the rank for KCET 2026. For students from the Karnataka state board, the highest marks from either their 2nd PUC Exam 1 or 2nd PUC Exam 2 will be used. This rule is called the 'Best of Two' policy. The KEA announced this on its official website, cetonline.karnataka.gov.in/kea/ugcet2026.
How Your KCET Rank Will Be Decided
If you are a student from the Karnataka state board and took the 2nd PUC exams, your KCET 2026 rank will be based on the best score you got in your exams. KEA will look at the marks you received in 2nd PUC Exam 1 and 2nd PUC Exam 2. Whichever exam you scored higher in, those marks will be used to calculate your KCET merit. This means if you did better in Exam 2 than in Exam 1, your Exam 2 marks will be used. If your Exam 1 marks were higher, those will be used.
Extra Chance to Improve Marks
Students who wish to get better marks in their 2nd PUC exams can take the 2nd PUC Exam 2. The KEA has made it clear that there is no disadvantage or penalty if a student takes Exam 2 and scores lower than they did in Exam 1. If your score in Exam 2 is lower, KEA will simply ignore it and use your Exam 1 score instead. This gives students another opportunity to improve their academic performance, which can help them get a better rank in the KCET 2026.
Fairness for Students
The 'Best of Two' policy is intended to be fair for all students from the Karnataka state board. It ensures that students who may have had a bad day during one exam still have a chance to show their best performance for their college admissions. KEA has released a notice about this clarification on their website. Students can also download the PDF version of this notice from the KEA website for more details.
