What is USAT?

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USAT stands for Undergraduate Studies Admission Test. It is a test for students who are about to start their higher education in undergraduate programs. The test is organized by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) through the Education Testing Council (ETC), which is similar to other testing organizations like NTS, PPSC, and FPSC. ETC is under HEC’s control and is responsible for conducting USAT in Pakistan. The test is accepted across the country and is based on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) pattern, which is an international test used for admissions worldwide.

HEC-USAT covers a variety of subjects, including Engineering, Allied Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Information Technology (IT), and Management Sciences. Students who pass USAT are eligible for admission to universities across Pakistan that accept the test.

Why USAT when there are already many undergraduate tests like NAT, ECAT, MDCAT, NET, etc.?

The reason is that all these different tests across Pakistan can be very confusing for students. It’s frustrating that each university has its own test, and if a student wants to apply to five different universities, they might have to take five different tests. This is overwhelming and unnecessary.

To solve this problem, HEC introduced the Undergraduate Studies Admission Test (USAT) to create a single national test that all universities would accept. However, when it was first introduced, universities were not required to accept USAT, so many didn’t, and students still had to deal with multiple tests.

Now, HEC is starting to enforce the purpose of USAT by asking universities to accept it for admissions in relevant fields. This will make things easier for both students and universities, and USAT has now become the first step towards higher education in Pakistan.

USAT Categories (Subjects)

USAT has 6 categories (subject combinations) for students to assess students according to their precious qualifications. These 6 categories are listed below:

  1. USAT-E
  2. USAT-M
  3. USAT-A
  4. USAT-CS
  5. USAT-GS
  6. USAT-Com
  1. USAT-E

                This category is for candidates with backgrounds of Pre-Engineering. The test will have 20% questions on English/Verbal reasoning, 25% on Quantitative reasoning, Physics 10%, Chemistry 10%, Mathematics 10%, Argument based essay writing 15% and Narrative based essay writing skills 10%. The total marks for the test will be 100, and candidates should prepare accordingly.

  1. USAT-M

This category is for candidates with backgrounds of Pre-Medical. The test will have 20% questions on English/Verbal reasoning, 25% on Quantitative reasoning, Physics 8%, Chemistry 8%, Biology 14%, Argument based essay writing skills 15% and Narrative based essay writing skills 10%. The total marks for the test will be 100, and candidates should prepare accordingly.

  1. USAT-A

This category is for candidates with backgrounds of Arts & Humanities. The test will have 20% questions on English/Verbal reasoning, 25% on Quantitative reasoning, Islamyat 10%, Pakistan Studies 10%, General knowledge 10%, Argument based essay writing skills 15% and Narrative based essay writing skills 10%. The total marks for the test will be 100, and candidates should prepare accordingly.

  1. USAT-CS

This category is for candidates with backgrounds of Computer Science. The test will have 20% questions on English/Verbal reasoning, 25% on Quantitative reasoning, Physics 8%, Computer Science 14%, Mathematics 8%, Argument based essay writing skills 15% and Narrative based essay writing skills 10%. The total marks for the test will be 100, and candidates should prepare accordingly.

  1. USAT-GS

This category is for candidates with backgrounds of Commerce. The test will have 20% questions on English/Verbal reasoning, 25% on Quantitative reasoning, Mathematics 10%, Statistics 10%, Economics 10%, Argument based essay writing skills 15% and Narrative based essay writing skills 10%. The total marks for the test will be 100, and candidates should prepare accordingly.

  1. USAT-COM

This category is for candidates with backgrounds of Commerce. The test will have 20% questions on English/Verbal reasoning, 25% on Quantitative reasoning, Accounting 10%, Commerce 10%, Economics 10%, Argument based essay writing skills 15% and Narrative based essay writing skills 10%. The total marks for the test will be 100, and candidates should prepare accordingly.