For the 2027 admission cycle, the Maharashtra CET Cell has proposed a first MHT-CET attempt between December 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027 โ€” well before board exams โ€” with a second attempt following in April 2027, a genuine break from the exam's traditional April-May-only timing. For current Class 11 students, this means MHT-CET-specific preparation needs to be substantially in place well before the December window opens, rather than concentrated in the final months before boards as in previous years. As of this writing, the official notification from the CET Cell is still awaited, so students should track official confirmation while treating the proposed timeline as the working plan.

Key Takeaways

  • The proposed first MHT-CET 2027 attempt runs December 15, 2026 to January 15, 2027, with registration expected to open September-October 2026 and close (without late fee) in November 2026.
  • A second attempt is expected in April 2027, with the better of the two scores typically counted โ€” the same best-of-two structure introduced for the 2026-27 cycle.
  • This is the first year MHT-CET's first attempt lands before board exams rather than after, meaning CET-specific preparation now needs to be largely complete by December, not April.
  • The official CET Cell notification is still awaited as of this writing โ€” students should treat this as the proposed working timeline and confirm official dates once released.
  • Class 11 students have a genuinely compressed runway compared to previous batches, since a first attempt in December means serious CET preparation should realistically begin during Class 11 itself.

Why the Timing Shift Matters So Much

For over a decade, MHT-CET was held in April-May, after board exams were largely finished, letting students focus on boards first and CET-specific practice in the final stretch. A December first attempt inverts that sequence entirely โ€” CET-specific preparation now needs to run in parallel with, or even ahead of, the bulk of board-exam preparation, since the first attempt lands roughly two months before boards typically begin. This is a genuinely different preparation calendar than what previous batches worked with.

What This Means for Current Class 11 Students Specifically

A student currently in Class 11 heading into this cycle has less runway than they might assume โ€” if the December window holds, meaningful CET-specific preparation (not just board-syllabus study) needs to be well underway by the time Class 12 begins, rather than started fresh in the new academic year. Practically, this means treating the second half of Class 11 as the real start of CET preparation, not a warm-up period, and building board and CET preparation together from the outset rather than sequentially.

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A Rough Adjusted Timeline

PeriodWhat Changes Under the Proposed 2027 Timeline
Second half of Class 11CET-specific preparation should genuinely begin here, not after Class 11 finals
September-November 2026Registration window expected to open; CET preparation should already be active, not just starting
December 2026-January 2027First MHT-CET attempt โ€” before boards, a major shift from previous cycles
Board exam period (typically Feb-March)Full focus shifts to boards, with the first CET score already banked
April 2027Second MHT-CET attempt, for students choosing to improve on their first score

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Waiting for the official notification before starting any CET-specific preparation โ€” given the proposed December timeline, that wait could cost genuinely valuable preparation time.
  • Assuming the old April-May timeline still applies and planning a Class 12-only CET preparation schedule, which no longer matches the proposed 2027 cycle.
  • Treating the December attempt as "just a trial run" without serious preparation, when it may in fact be the stronger of the two attempts if boards absorb most of the focus afterward.
  • Ignoring board preparation entirely in favor of CET during the second half of Class 11 โ€” both need to progress together under this compressed timeline, not one at the expense of the other.

Expert Tips from BuzzyBrains Academy Faculty

Founder Dilip Sah (IIT Kanpur alumnus, JEE AIR 400, 25+ years of mentoring experience) is already adjusting Class 11 preparation calendars for Pune families in light of the proposed shift:

  • Class 11 students are being guided to start structured CET-specific practice earlier than previous batches, specifically because of the proposed December first-attempt timeline.
  • Board and CET preparation are planned together from the second half of Class 11, rather than sequentially, to fit the compressed runway this cycle introduces.
  • Small batches (max 12 students) let mentors track official CET Cell notifications closely and adjust each student's individual timeline the moment confirmed dates are released.