UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis (OUT NOW): Check Difficulty Level, Cut Off & Student's Reaction

Summary: UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis helps you understand the type of questions asked, the cut-off and the difficulty level amongst other competitors. 

The conducting body - the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, will administer the national-level examination UCEED online.

Our team at Creative Edge covered the examination live from the examination centre, and this UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis is necessary to comprehend the exam's complexity and trend if you are preparing for 2026 and coming years.

The article covers the difficulty level of each section and the overall UCEED 2026 exam analysis, and UCEED exam analysis of years before that as well, with which you can gain invaluable insights on what to typically expect in this exam.

Download Free Study Material for UCEED 2026 by CreativeEdge

Table of Contents

1. UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis : Highlights & Question Paper Review
2. UCEED 2026 Exam : Types of Questions Asked
3. UCEED Exam Analysis 2026 - Overall Difficulty Level
4. UCEED 2026 Expected Cut Off
5. UCEED Exam Analysis 2026 : Difficulty Comparison with Past 3 Years
6. Previous Years UCEED Exam Analysis

UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis - Major Paper Highlights

Based on evolving competition, here is what the UCEED 2026 exam looked like - including expected weightage, difficulty levels of various sections and key focus areas for both Part A and Part B:

Overall Difficulty Level

• The paper was moderately easy to easy.
• Unlike NID, UCEED 2026 followed the expected paper pattern - no shocks or surprises.
• IIT Bombay maintained consistency in structure and difficulty.

UCEED 2026 Paper Structure (Unchanged)

• Part A: 57 questions
• Part B: 2 questions
• Pattern remained exactly as per previous years.

Good news for students who prepared using past year papers and mocks.

Expected Cut-Off Prediction

• Last year Part A cut-off: 76 / 200
• Since paper was easier this year, expected cut-off: 84-90 marks (estimated)

Strong Advantage for Past Paper Practice

• Many questions were very similar to previous year UCEED papers.
• Some students reported similarities even with 2013-2014 papers (including values).
• Creative Edge students found multiple similar questions from UCEED past year question papers & full length mocks.

Also Check | What is a Good Score in UCEED 2026?

UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis - Types of Questions Asked in Part A & Part B

Here's a detailed breakdown of what type of questions were asked in UCEED 2026 exam, based on students' recall. Official question paper and answer key are yet to be released.

UCEED 2026 Part A - Subject-wise Observations

NAT Questions:

1. Area and Volume (3 questions)
2. Unique Shape Counting (4 questions)
3. Font Analysis (1 question)
4. Surface Counting, and
5. Rearrangement of Numbers.

Only 6-7 questions came from Maths. Level was Class 10 standard. It was a relief for creative students who fear heavy math.

MSQ Questions:

1. Photography and cameras (3)
2. General knowledge (3)
3. Practical and scientific knowledge
4. Observation-based problem

MCQ Questions

1. Gear and pulley
2. GK (Around 5-6 GK questions appeared)
3. NVR
4. Font analysis
5. Animation
6. Logo

Check | Private Universities accepting UCEED Scores

Part B - UCEED 2026 Drawing & Design Questions

Question 1 - Perspective Drawing

• Time mentioned: 5:00 PM lighting scenario
• Light moving towards a vanishing point
• A dog looking backward - scene to be drawn from the dog’s perspective
• Core skill tested: Perspective drawing + depth understanding

Considered a very good, conceptually strong drawing question.

Question 2 - Product Design

Task: Design a bag for carrying toiletries

Students had to solve three user problems:

1. Mixing problem – wet & dry items getting mixed
2. Organizing problem – arranging items properly
3. Forgetfulness problem – users forgetting items

Simple, practical product design problem focused on problem-solving thinking.

UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis - Overall Student Feedback

Students felt:

• Paper was manageable
• Preparation matched the paper well
• Confidence levels were high
• Expected scores should be good

Positive outlook for selections this year.

Also Check | All About UCEED 2026 Counselling 

UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis - Complete Structure & Key Areas

Section	Duration	Number of Questions	Expected Weightage*	Expected Difficulty	Key Focus Areas
Part A (Objective: NAT + MSQ + MCQ)	2 hours	NAT - 14 MSQ - 15 MCQ - 28 Total = 57 questions	~65-70% of total marks	Moderate to Challenging	Visualization & Spatial Ability, Analytical & Logical Reasoning, Observation & Design Sensitivity, Environment & Society, Practical & Scientific Knowledge
Part B (Drawing & Design Aptitude)	1 hour	Drawing - 1 Design Aptitude - 1 Total = 2 questions	~30-35% of total marks	Moderate	Scene creation, Product redesign/problem-solving, Visualization through sketching, Idea execution

*Weightage estimates based on past trends and announced UCEED syllabus changes.

UCEED Exam Analysis 2026 - Section-wise Difficulty Level (Expected)

Following table outlines UCEED section-wise analysis of 2026 exam:

Section	Weightage in UCEED 2026 Exam Part A Section	Difficulty Level	Why	Key Observations
NAT	28% of Part A marks	Moderate	Mix of math + spatial puzzles	Logic & visualization heavy
MSQ	30% of Part A marks	Moderate to Difficult	Negative marking effects	High negative marking risk
MCQ	42% of Part A marks	Moderate	Negative marking effects	Mixed conceptual questions (But negative marking risk also)
Part B		Moderate	Less drawing, more design aptitude	Concept clarity & composition matters

Learn more | UCEED 2026 Preparation Tips by Past Year Toppers

Download Official UCEED Previous Year Question Papers with Solutions

UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis - Number of Good Attempts & Expected Marks Contribution

If we consider the expected Part A cut-off ≈ 80-90 marks (as per past years trends), it means:

• You do NOT need high attempts everywhere
• Accuracy + smart section selection is critical

Section	Total Questions	Ideal Attempts	Expected Score Contribution
NAT	14	10-12	~30-40 marks
MSQ	15	9-10	~25-30 marks
MCQ	28	23-25	~40-48 marks
Total (Part A)	57	42-47	~95-118 marks (super safe)

Also Check | UCEED Exam Pattern

UCEED 2026 Exam Time Management Analysis

Section	Time Suggested	Actual Student Experience
Part A – NAT	40-45 mins	Time-consuming
Part A – MSQ	35-40 mins	Tricky & slow
Part A – MCQ	30-35 mins	Faster scoring
Part B – Drawing	60 mins	Required planning + execution

Students with strong creative ideation and proper composition planning before drawing performed better.

Check | How Many Seats Are There in UCEED 2026?

UCEED Exam Analysis 2026 - Category-wise Expected Cut-Off Prediction for UCEED 2026

Category	Expected Cut-off Range	Reason
OPEN	88-95	Rising competition, 2025 trend
EWS	75-80	Consistent with 2023-25
OBC-NCL	72-78	Historically stable
SC	45-50	Moderate difficulty expected
ST	38-44	Follows trend

Accuracy > attempts remains the winning strategy.

Expected Number of Applicants for UCEED 2026 Exam:

Inform students what competition might look like:

• 2024 → 13,000+
• 2025 → 14,000+
• Expected 2026 → 15,000 - 16,000+

Read More | Expected UCEED 2026 Cutoff (Category-wise)

Download Most Important UCEED Part-B Drawing Questions

UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis - Part-A Topic-wise Weightage Breakdown (Based on Past 5 Years)

Check UCEED topic trends over past 5 years and how frequently questions come from them:

Topic	Question Frequency	Difficulty Level	Trend vs Previous Years
Visualization and Spatial Ability	High	Moderate-High	↑ Increased
Quant and Numerical Ability	Medium	Moderate	→ Stable
Logical Reasoning	Medium	Moderate	→ Stable
Environmental & Social Awareness (GK)	Low to Medium	Easy	↑ Increased in 2025 paper
Basic Applied Science + Design Sensitivity	Low to Medium	Easy	↓ Slightly Reduced
Verbal Ability	Very Low	Easy	↓ Reduced

Must Read |  Expert Tips on How to Avoid Negative Marks

UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis: Difficulty Comparison with Previous Years (2022–2026)

Year	Overall Difficulty	Key Pattern Insight
UCEED 2022	Tough	High logic intensity
UCEED 2023	Tough	Visualization dominant
UCEED 2024	Moderate to Tough	Balanced paper but tricky and time-consuming questions
UCEED 2025	Moderate	High time pressure but increased number of direct answering GK questions for easy marks.
UCEED 2026	Moderate - Tough	CAT + visualization focus

Also Check | UCEED Placements 2026

UCEED Exam Analysis 2025

The Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design (UCEED) 2025, conducted by IIT Bombay, was held on January 19, 2025. This year, the UCEED exam witnessed several significant modifications, influencing both the structure and the content of the exam. Was UCEED 2025 tough?

While some students struggled with the NAT section of Part A of the paper, others found the drawing section more challenging. It depends on the individual and their personal aptitude for different type of questions asked in the exam.

Here's a comprehensive UCEED 2025 exam analysis, incorporating these changes and feedback from applicants and educational platforms.

UCEED 2025 Exam Analysis: Comprehensive Review of Difficulty Level and Student Feedback

Section	Components	Difficulty Level	Highlights
Part A	Numerical Answer Type (NAT)	Easy to Moderate	Questions required basic mathematical knowledge; some were slightly tricky.
	Multiple Select Questions (MSQ)	Easy	Tested conceptual clarity; candidates found this section straightforward.
	Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)	Moderate	Required deeper analytical thinking; moderate-level complexity.
Part B	Drawing and Design Aptitude	Moderate to Challenging	Tested creativity, visualization skills, and time management; tasks were detailed and time-consuming.
Overall Difficulty		Easy to Moderate	Balanced difficulty; preparation across sections was key for success.
Student Feedback		Varies by Section	Logical reasoning was easier; spatial ability and some mathematics questions were challenging.

Check | Official UCEED 2026 Answer Key - Direct Download Link

Attempt FREE UCEED Full-length Mock Tests for 2026 

UCEED Rank Analysis 2025

UCEED Category	IIT Bombay		IIT Guwahati		IIITDM Jabalpur
	Opening Rank	Closing Rank	Opening Rank	Closing Rank	Opening Rank	Closing Rank
Open Category	1	20	22	59	48	75
OBC-NCL Category	3	14	14	39	15	46
SC Category	1	7	4	15	17	23
ST Category	1	6	4	17	6	23

Check | UCEED Marks vs Rank

UCEED 2025 Category-wise Overall Cut-off Marks:

Open	OBC-NCL/EWS	SC/ST	PwD
74.35	66.92	37.18	37.18

Pro-Tip | Don’t just aim for “good marks.” Aim for cut-off proof preparation + rank-specific targets. This is how CreativEdge students consistently crack IITs.

Check | Seat allotment procedure through UCEED exam

Key Modifications Introduced by IIT Bombay in UCEED 2025:

1. Change in Duration:

• Part A (Aptitude): UCEED exam analysis of 2025 shows that the objective section (Part-A) has been extended to 2 hours.
• Part B (Drawing and Sketching): Allocated 1 hour.

2. Revised Marking Scheme:

• Part A: Now carries a weightage of 200 marks.
• Part B: Assessed for 100 marks.

3. Addition of Questions:

• Part B: An additional question related to design aptitude, making a total of 2 questions for this section.

Read More: UCEED Marking Scheme 2026

Overall UCEED Difficulty Level

• Average Rating: Moderate to Easy
• Comparison with Previous Year: Easier than 2023

UCEED Exam Pattern and Content Analysis

Format Changes:

• New Addition: Two drawing questions instead of one, marking a significant change in the exam pattern.
• Impact: This modification was a major talking point among students.

Check | Tips for Time Management During UCEED Exam

UCEED 2025 Question Paper Insights

• Consistency: The UCEED exam analysis of 2025 suggests that, questions were largely based on patterns observed in previous year papers.
• Sections: The exam featured a blend of drawing, multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and design aptitude sections.

Section-wise UCEED 2025 Exam Analysis

1. Drawing Section:

• Focus: Emphasis on product design.
• Student Feedback: This section was generally well-received.

2. Quantitative and Analytical Section:

• Topics Covered: Area, volume calculation, and figure counting.
• Difficulty Level: This section was not particularly challenging for most students.

3. MCQ Section:

• General Feedback: Students found this part to be simple.

4. Design Aptitude Section:

• New Introduction: This section was a recent addition to the UCEED exam.
• Student Reaction: Candidates expressed initial nervousness due to uncertainty about the approach required for this section.

Also Read | Best UCEED Preparation Books

Access FREE Demo Videos for UCEED 2026 Exam by CreativeEdge

UCEED Exam Analysis Trends

To help you better understand the UCEED exam, we have provided a graph that represents trends of the exam from the past few years. 

FREE Resource | UCEED Colleges Comparison Chart - Fee structure, top recruiters and placement records.

UCEED Previous Years Exam Analysis

As per the analysis of previous years' question papers, the difficulty level of the exam is usually moderate.

Also, it has been observed that candidates who solve previous years' UCEED question papers tend to do well in the exam. Candidates can solve and practice previous years' question papers to develop better time-management and problem-solving skills.

UCEED Exam Analysis 2023

• The UCEED 2023 overall difficulty level was much lesser compared to previous years. Although a few questions in the aptitude section were difficult, the overall paper was easy-moderate. 
• Most students have given feedback that the NAT section was slightly difficult compared to other sections. Some tricky questions were asked in the NAT section (Part A)
• Aptitude questions were lengthy and somewhat difficult compared to other sections, so time management was slightly tricky. 

UCEED 2023 Section-Wise Difficulty Level

Part-A was conducted for 240 marks in 2 hours 30 mins. As per UCEED 2023 Exam Analysis, the section-wise difficulty level is tabulated below. 

Section	Number of questions	Total marks	Difficulty level
NAT	18	72	Moderate
MSQ	18	72	Moderate to difficult
MCQ	32	96	Easy to moderate
PART B	1	60	Moderate

Part B is conducted for 60 marks in 30 mins.

Check | UCEED Counselling 2025

UCEED Exam Analysis 2022

Last year the exam was scheduled for January 23, 2022. As per the analysis, the exam was moderate compared to the last year, and questions were predictable as per the previous year's trend.

 In total, 68 questions were asked this year. 

• The NAT section was a bit tricky this year. That included alphanumeric and questions based on concepts of physics like time and distance.
• As per the UCEED Exam Analysis, there was no GK in the UCEED aptitude section; much fewer English questions appeared in the MCQ and MSQ sections.
• Time management was crucial in UCEED Drawing Test as it requires ideas and execution. This section also included perspective questions and the human figure and expressions-related questions.
• Questions in the Drawing section were related to:-
  • A scene of a school canteen with human figures 
  • Doodling questions and Sketching Questions 
• In conclusion: In the UCEED exam, the primary emphasis was seen on visual and technical aspects. 

The exam analysis will help you get an idea about the difficulty level of the paper, the type of questions asked, the number of good attempts, and the expected UCEED cut-off. The analysis is prepared by taking the feedback from the students who appear for the exam.

UCEED Exam Analysis 2021

The exam was scheduled for 18 January in the academic year 2020. As per the analysis, the UCEED exam was very easy compared to the previous year.

There were a total of 68 questions in part A and one creative question in Part B. Here is the detailed analysis of both Part A and Part B.

UCEED Exam Analysis: Part A

• There were a total of 18 numerical ability type (NAT) questions, 18 multiple select questions (MSQs), and 32 multiple-choice questions (MCQs).
• Part A included aptitude questions based on Mathematics, verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning. There were no GK questions in the exam.
• MSQ section was pretty easier to answer as it did not contain any tricky questions. Most of the questions in MSQ were on cubes, cube faces, etc.
• Visualization questions that were asked in the exam were based on shadows, perspective, etc. The typical questions asked with regard to aptitude/mental ability included odd one out, puzzles, series, sequences, etc.
• Mathematics questions were mainly based on area, mensuration, volume, etc.

UCEED Exam Analysis: Part B

In part B, a descriptive situation-based question of a lady professor at her workplace was given and students were asked to draw her table and view her room. Students were given only the last 30 minutes to answer the following question.

‘A lady professor and her husband were having a conversation on the phone. He was upset with her because she was not following her diet plan. She had forgotten to take her lunch box, and her husband was yelling at her and saying that he would not cook for her in the future. So she hung up the phone and ordered her 5th cup of tea and 2nd plate of pakodas. She was correcting students' math papers at that time and had to complete her research papers and she had a headache. Draw her table and the view of her room.’

As there were no human figures involved, it was pretty easy to answer.

Check | UCEED Sketching Questions 2025

UCEED Exam Analysis 2020

In 2019, the exam was conducted on 19 January. According to the UCEED analysis, the overall difficulty level of the exam was moderate.

• There were a total of 20 NAT questions; some were toughest and lengthy as well. Also, the calculations were a bit time-consuming in this section.
• MSQ section comprised 20 questions, which were considered quite tough because they had multiple answers.
• This section turned out even more challenging due to the re-introduction of negative marking.
• There were a total of 42 questions in the MCQ section, and the questions were based on craft identification, production processes, font recognition, visual puzzles, special recognition, completing the series, and counting surfaces.
• The questions were easy to answer compared to the previous year.

Best UCEED Online Coaching Trusted by Toppers - CreativEdge

UCEED Exam Analysis 2019

The exam was conducted on 20 January. As per the exam review, the difficulty level of the paper was easy.

• The NAT section was lengthy and time-consuming compared to the MSQ and MCQ sections.
• In mathematics, several unexpected questions were asked from probability.
• The questions from the English section were a little tricky. Design and aptitude questions were mainly based on spatial, verbal, and mechanical ability.
• Some questions in the MSQ section were a bit tricky and lengthy. General knowledge questions were based on logos with importance to Indian art, culture, etc.

Check | List of UCEED Exam Centres

UCEED Exam Analysis 2018

The exam was conducted on 22 January. The overall difficulty level of the paper was easy.

• The paper was almost similar to the 2016 question paper. 
• As per the students' review, the Numerical Ability Test questions were a little lengthy and time-consuming compared to the multiple-select questions (MSQs) and multiple-choice questions (MCQs).
• Most of the questions were asked about probability. English questions were a bit tricky.

Design and aptitude questions were based on spatial, verbal, and mechanical ability topics, especially those involving images asked in the exam.

Is UCEED Tougher than JEE?

Generally design aspirants also compare UCEED and JEE exams to gauge their comparative difficulty levels. Many might want to know: is UCEED tougher than JEE? While it's not possible to definitively say whether UCEED is more easy or tough than JEE because they asses candidates' aptitude for completely different fields. Everything from level of competition, to exam pattern, syllabus, etc. is different for both.

Hence, the toughness of UCEED compared to JEE, completely depends on an individual's strengths and preferences. Both are demanding in their own way and require a certain preparation strategy specific to combat their respective challenges.

Also Read | Why Students Across India Trust CreativEdge for UCEED Coaching

Conclusion

UCEED 2026 Exam Analysis includes a comprehensive analysis of previous year's UCEED exam papers, providing students with insights into the types of questions that are likely to be asked in the upcoming exam. Additionally, it provides tips and strategies to help students prepare for the UCEED 2026 exam. Therefore, looking at the UCEED Exam Analysis of past years is important before you start your preparations. 

Preparing for UCEED 2026? We can help you with exact strategic roadmap, study material and crucial feedback required to ace this exam.

Join best UCEED Crash Course by CreativEdge and get expert guidance on all UCEED 2026 subjects.