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Many students still search for "EAMCET" or "TS EAPCET" when they mean the engineering entrance tests of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The 2026 official documents call them AP EAPCET and TG EAPCET, short for Engineering, Agriculture and Pharmacy Common Entrance Test. The formats look almost identical, but the ranking rules are not. This post sets out both from the official 2026 documents, with worked examples. Check the current year's notification on the AP EAPCET site or the TG EAPCET site before relying on any detail.
What is the AP EAPCET engineering pattern?
According to the AP EAPCET 2026 Instruction Booklet for Engineering, the test is conducted by JNTU Kakinada on behalf of the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education:
Mode: online, computer-based.
Dates in 2026: 12 to 18 May, with no sessions on 16 and 17 May; two sessions a day, 9 a.m. to 12 noon and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Paper: 160 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours: 80 Mathematics, 40 Physics, 40 Chemistry.
Marking: one mark per question, one correct option out of four, no negative marking.
Qualifying mark: 25% of the maximum marks considered for ranking; no minimum for SC and ST candidates.
Eligibility to appear: among other conditions, at least 45% (40% for reserved categories) in the specified subjects of the qualifying exam, and local or non-local status as per Andhra Pradesh government orders.
What is the TG EAPCET engineering pattern?
According to the TG EAPCET 2026 notification and the Engineering instruction booklet, the test is conducted by JNTU Hyderabad on behalf of the Telangana Council of Higher Education:
Dates in 2026 (Engineering stream): 9 to 11 May, in two sessions, 9 a.m. to 12 noon and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Paper: 160 questions in 180 minutes: 80 Mathematics, 40 Physics, 40 Chemistry, one mark each, no negative marking.
Qualifying mark: 25% of normalised marks; no minimum for SC and ST candidates.
Eligibility: among other conditions, at least 45% in the relevant Intermediate subjects (40% for reserved categories), and Telangana local or non-local status.
How do the two states rank students?
This is where they differ.
AP EAPCET 2026: the booklet ranks candidates on a combined score giving 75% weightage to EAPCET marks and 25% weightage to the Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry marks of the qualifying exam. Ties go to total EAPCET marks, then Mathematics, then Physics, then age.
TG EAPCET 2026: ranks are allotted "purely based on the performance (normalized marks)" in TG EAPCET. Ties go to normalised Mathematics marks, then Physics, then age.
Worked example: what the AP weights mean. The booklet does not print the exact conversion, so use this only to see the effect of the weights. If both parts are expressed as percentages, a 10-point rise in your EAPCET percentage moves the combined score by 0.75 × 10 = 7.5 points, while a 10-point rise in your Intermediate MPC percentage moves it by 0.25 × 10 = 2.5 points. EAPCET carries three times the weight, but board marks still count.
How does normalisation work?
Both exams run in many sessions with different papers, so both normalise marks. The TG notification gives its formula, which compares your mark with the session's average plus standard deviation, and with the average of the top 0.1% in your session and across all sessions. The idea is that a hard session does not count against you. You cannot control this, so spend no study time on it.
How should you manage a 160-question, 3-hour paper?
Average time: 180 minutes ÷ 160 questions = 1.125 minutes, about 68 seconds, per question.
Mathematics is 80 of 160 questions, half the paper, and Mathematics breaks ties in both states.
With no negative marking, answer every question before time runs out.
How should you prepare?
Use the official syllabus. Each booklet links subject syllabi; tick topics off against your Intermediate books.
Give Mathematics half your practice time, matching its share of the paper.
Take the official mock test. The AP booklet says a sample test is on the website to give the look and feel of the computer-based exam.
Take weekly timed papers of 160 questions in 3 hours. A meta-analysis by Adesope and colleagues (2017) found practice tests more beneficial for learning than restudying.
In AP, protect your Intermediate marks. Our Class 12 board revision plan can help.
If you are not sure which chapters to tackle first, Fermi's AI tutor can work out what you already know and build a plan for the session, so you sit down to a clear next step.
Next step: download your state's 2026 engineering syllabus from the official site and time yourself on 40 Mathematics questions in 45 minutes.
