A complete guide to Engineering/CS University Admissions in Pakistan

PERSONAL FEEDBACK OF FRESH GRADUATES FROM TOP PAKISTANI UNIVERSITIES IS FINALLY AT ONE PLACE!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiyHMvy03S68ThO-3DTsabQ/playlists​

Hello XPC-ians!
All of this is from my personal experience. If you think I misguided somewhere, kindly let me know in the comments.

A little background: I am currently a 5th semester student of Computer Science at Information Technology University with O and A Level certifications. I too have been through the exhaustive and extensive process of applying to Pakistani universities and giving those illogical and weird tests. Since every year people seek guidance for universities so I decided to make a complete guide to answer all questions at one place.


=> I have decided to study from Pakistan. Now what?
Universities admission open after your A level exams except likes of LUMS and PIEAS etc.
Since funding is the most important issue for most students, I am going to classify universities according to the funding available and other aspects.


If you decide to study at a public sector university, then do not forget to check out for PEEF. If you get a PEEF, you technically study free for 4 years only if you maintain a CGPA of 2.5.

Remember, O Level + A level = No PEEF. O Level + FSC = PEEF. Because apparently our government thinks that those who do A level are extremely wealthy and no way they deserve a PEEF.

*Universities are in no specific order

FOR ENGINEERING/CS:

=>LUMS.

Funding

Everyone's dream university irrespective of studying engineering or business.

We all know that LUMS is a place only where rich kids study but that's not necessarily true because LUMS offers generous scholarships and financial aid. Even if you think you cant afford LUMS, still do apply if your grades are good and aim for financial aid streams.

1. You can apply for 100% financial aid when you are submitting an online application. Their application is quite lengthy and requires almost everything from your house bills to number of smartphones in your house. Please read posts from toxicdevil in this thread:
   Thread Link
2. You can apply for NOP and if you get accepted, all types of costs would be waived but there are conditions and there's a complete process before you get accepted.
   http://old.lums.edu.pk/nop/
3. Student loans are also available from different banks e.g. MCB which have to be paid back with interest in a specific time span.

Admission:

Everything is available on their website plus I am only condensing information in this thread. The procedure is standard. You apply and now give SATs (previously used to be LCAT and SSE test). There is a lot of information available on internet of how to prepare for SATs.



=>NUST

Funding:

1. NUST also provides financial aid and here are the details: Link
2. NUST supports Deferred Payment and here are the details: Link
3. Other scholarships at NUST: Link

Admission:

If you are an A level student, you need to study physics, chemistry and maths from the FSC books otherwise you are not likely to score well. You may need to cram stupid things like the name of scientist who discovered the atom etc. I have given the test and it was baseless. Literally, tidbits and sentences turned into questions from the book. You would need to score around 140+ with almost an 80% equivalence (O/A Level) to have fair chances of ending up the engineering school of NUST. NET can only be aced if you study FSC well and it's better you take atleast two NETs (NET1 and NET2). If you don't score 140+, take NET3 too. The 140 mark line is subject to merit. Please google to get sample papers and past Merit lists etc.
*If you score a 2350+ in SAT2 then you can apply on the basis of SAT seats and thus bypass the stupid entry test.



=>PIEAS

Funding

1. PIEAS offers USAID need based scholarships and some others: Link

Admission:

Admission at PIEAS is more in favor of A level students since their test is more logical than simply pasting answers through rote learning. Here is a sample paper of their test, you'll have better idea once you see it. Link.

PIEAS is also a competitive university so like NUST and LUMS, you would need a good test score and atleast 75%+ in your equivalence to improve your chances.




=>FAST

Funding

1. FAST is quite generous in scholarships too and you can see them here: Link
2. The merit scholarship holds only if you get a CGPA of 3.0 or higher which is hard to get in FAST.
3. FAST offers PEEF so if you can not afford FAST and have good academic record, you definitely should apply for PEEF.

Admission:

FAST's test is hard generally and you lose more marks because of the negative marking. It is somewhat a mixture of NUST and PIEAS's test. It has different sections like basic maths, advanced maths etc. No calculators are allowed so things get a bit tricky here. Again, it's difficult to get into FAST but if you score around 55+ in their test which are scaled to 100 (correct me if I am wrong) then your chances are fair because they have higher weightage for test marks. You can apply to FAST on the basis of NTS and it's recommended you give NTS twice, once to get to know the pattern and to score higher the next time. 85+ score would be enough.

~My verdict on FAST: Please read my posts in this thread to have deeper knowledge about FAST
*About NTS: NTS is not a really hard test. It tests your knowledge on science subjects, English and analytical skills. It's recommended that you buy the NTS Sample Papers of Dogar Publishers. That's the best and the only way to prepare for NTS.

Continue Reading (Part-2 of Guide)

 

=>COMSATS

Funding

1. COMSATS offers both need based and merit based scholarships: Link

Admission:

Getting into COMSATS is not that hard like the universities mentioned above. You need a good percentage in O/A level or Matric/FSC and need to get around 80+ marks in the NTS test to secure your admission in COMSATS Lahore.

~My verdict on COMSATS: It's no longer a name in IT industry that it used to be. Their rector's PhD thesis was plagiarized and their dual degree program with Lancaster University disputed with some policies of HEC etc. So COMSATS is not recommended at all for CS now. I know 5-6 people who left COMSATS and spoke low of it.



=>UET

Funding

1. You don't need funding because UET is quite cheap compared to all other universities but still you can apply for PEEF and you can also avail the HEC need based scholarships.

Admission:

UET's ECAT is quite hard to ace especially if you have done O/A level then it's really tough. Unless you have like straight A*s in both O and A level and you get somewhat 200+ in your ECAT only then you can see your name in UET's Mechanical or Electrical department. Believe me, I know people who have given ECAT three times still couldn't get into UET (thank God!). You should study FSC thoroughly from FSC books and revise the important A level concepts too. There's plenty of helpful stuff available on internet for ECAT which you can Google.


~My verdict: PLEASE DO NOT JOIN UET!

Most of you would be wondering that why am I asking not to join perhaps the most legendary and the only highly ranked Pakistani university? Well because UET is pathetic. Simple as that. I am sorry if I offend any UETians but UET is like 5mins away from my home and around 10 of my friends are studying there. Not even a single one is satisfied. Poor teachers. Poor facilities. Poor management. There is literally not a single good thing I can list about UET now. If you join UET because of its legacy then remember you'll regret it forever. If you think I am lying then you can contact any UETian and ask for his honest advice.




=>ITU

Funding

1. ITU is generous in scholarships and financial aid. PEEF is the best thing to happen if you get accepted.
2. ITU gives merit based scholarships to everyone who achieves a CGPA of 2.8+ each semester.

Admission:

ITU's admission procedure is standard. You apply. You take their test, more info available here about the test: LINK
Once you have passed the test with atleast 50% marks, you have to give an interview if you're shortlisted. The breakdown is: Academics -40% , Test - 40%, Interview-20
If your overall aggregate is 70+, you have good chances of landing at ITU.


~My verdict: Well I am studying there but I assure you that my opinion won't be biased. Straight away, our university is based on 2 floors so forget about an amazing campus life (though ITU's gotten a 100 acre campus near Paragon City which would be completed in 3 years) but there are many tech related opportunities here. You are literally studying at the hub of Pakistan's IT industry (Arfa Software Technology Park) so you can do a lot even while you're studying. I am fully satisfied by ITU especially by the faculty. In 4 semesters, I have only encountered 1/2 bad teachers.

_____________________________________________________

Summary:
If you don't have money to even afford a local private university, it's better you do FSC instead of A level which would let you achieve PEEF. O level plus FSC would be a good combination.
If you want to join an affordable university for CS with good quality of education, you can join NUST, FAST or ITU.
If you want to join an affordable university for Engineering with good quality of education, you can join NUST, PIEAS or even FAST (for EE)
Class apart:
LUMS

*These are the only universities I know about in great detail and are generally famous. It doesn't mean you ignore the likes of UCP, PU, IST, FC, GC, UMT etc.
I hope it answers many confusions and queries that people seek answers to every year. If you have questions, please let me know.

 

That is some real guidance. (Y)

 

Thank you, Anum!

 

Can i get admission in any of the above universities, if I haven't given O level exams in Pak Studies, Islamiat and Urdu? (I am a Pakistani national living in Saudi Arab who hasn't studied these subjects). Thanks.

 

Absolutely. For international students, they see your equivalence certificate which is a must when you are applying for Pakistani universities (even the locals who do O/A level are required).
You can check my thread on the equivalence here:
https://www.xtremepapers.com/commun...o-getting-your-equivalence-certificate.35322/

and I recommend you check their websites as well since the requirements vary somewhat. Also 6 subjects are required minimum to be eligible.

 

1 Can you tell me the SAT 1 score required to get admission in LUMS?
2 I have heard that NUST only reserves few number of national seats for guys appearing for SAT II.Is it true?

 

1. No as such number. Higher the score, the better. 1350+ out of 1600 can increase your chances fairly.
2. Yes, that's true. Don't apply through those seats if your SAT2 marks aren't 2150+ out of 2400 because a lot of people get 2400/2400 and apply through the reserved seats. Again, higher is better.

 

Thanks brother!

 

Brother can you tell me anything about IBA.(BS accounting and finance or BBA)
It would be a huge help.

 

Brother can you tell me anything regarding IBA???

 

Brother can you tell me anything regarding IBA???

 

Bro I've heard That Pak Army makes you engineer......... Is it true? If you know anything about it kindly reply.
Reply plz.