MHT-CET 2027: December attempt dropped, both after boards

What changed

MHT-CET 2027 will have two attempts. Until this week the plan was a first attempt in December 2026 and a second in April 2027, and CET Cell Commissioner Dileep Sardesai had earlier pointed to a first-attempt window of 15 December 2026 to 15 January 2027.

On 9 October 2026, several education news sites reported that the state has dropped the December attempt after feedback from parents, admission counsellors and educationists. Their concern was timing: a December exam would land just before the HSC practicals in January and the pre-board tests, so students would be preparing for the entrance test and the boards at the same time. Both attempts are now expected after the HSC written papers end.

The outlets word it differently. Some say the December attempt is cancelled; others say it is postponed and describe the final decision as pending. They agree on what matters to you: no MHT-CET exam in December, and two attempts after the boards.

MHT-CET 2027 and HSC 2027 dates so far

HSC dates are the Maharashtra board’s probable schedule of 17 September 2026; the subject-wise timetable is still to come. MHT-CET dates are news reports. We will update this table when the CET Cell publishes its schedule.

Known so far

• No MHT-CET attempt in December 2026.
• Two attempts, both after the HSC written papers (which end on 16 March 2027).
• At least four weeks between the two attempts.
• The better of the two scores is used for admission.
• No change to the syllabus has been reported, and MHT-CET still has no negative marking.

Not announced yet

• The exact dates of either attempt.
• Registration dates, fees and the information brochure.

Both will appear on the State CET Cell’s site, cetcell.mahacet.org. Until then, treat any specific MHT-CET date you see as a guess.

How much of MHT-CET do the boards already cover?

With the boards now first, the useful question is how much of your board revision counts for MHT-CET as well. Board revision means the Std XII book; the Std XI book is not on the HSC paper. So we took every MHT-CET PCM paper we hold from 2023 to 2025 (40 papers, 5,964 questions) and filed each chapter under the Balbharati book it comes from.

About 71% of the marks came from chapters found only in the Std XII book. About 17% came from chapters found only in the Std XI book, and the other 12% from chapters that draw on both. That matches the CET Cell’s own guide of roughly 80% Std XII and 20% Std XI.

So board revision covers roughly seven marks in ten directly. The Std XI chapters are the part the boards will not test: about 34 marks a paper on average. That is the work to plan for, because it will not happen by itself while you revise for HSC.

The Std XI chapters that carry the most questions

Average questions per paper, 2023 to 2025.

How to use the new timeline

Now to January: one syllabus, two exams

Your Std XII chapters are both your board syllabus and most of MHT-CET, so the work counts twice. Practise them as multiple-choice questions as well as board answers: MHT-CET rewards speed on a chapter you know, the board rewards a full written answer. Keep a fixed weekly slot for the Std XI chapters above, starting with the ones at the top of each list.

February and March: the boards

From the practicals in late January to the last written paper on 16 March, the boards come first. This is exactly what the change was meant to give you.

After the boards: Std XI first, then full papers

In the weeks between the boards and the first attempt, close the Std XI gaps first, then sit full timed papers. MHT-CET has no negative marking, so answer every question, even when you have to guess.

Between the two attempts

Use the first attempt as a diagnosis. Fix the chapters it showed up as weak, sit more full papers, and go into the second attempt knowing that only your better score counts.

Sources

• Careerindia: MHT-CET 2027, both attempts after Class 12 board exams (9 October 2026)
• Careers360: Is the MHT-CET 2027 December attempt cancelled? (9 October 2026)
• CollegeDekho: December attempt cancelled, both sessions after Class 12 boards
• Careerindia: Maharashtra Board 2027 HSC and SSC schedule
• State CET Cell, Maharashtra (official site for the final dates)

Method: the book split counts every PCM question in PYQ Vault’s 40 MHT-CET papers from 2023 to 2025. Each chapter is filed under the Balbharati book its questions are mapped to in our syllabus map: one book when at least three quarters of its mapped questions point only there, “both books” otherwise, and by its chapter title where too few are mapped. An automated test re-checks the figures against the live question bank, so they cannot quietly go stale.