FAST Admissions & Academics — Frequently Asked Questions

Take the NU Test. FAST allocates the vast majority of its open seats to applicants sitting the in-house NU entry test, making its final closing merit the most forgiving and realistic option to clear. The NTS NAT stream competes for a much smaller, highly restricted pool of reserved seats. Historically, getting in via NAT has required an almost perfect score, and the merit cutoffs fluctuate violently from year to year. Read more detailed breakdowns in Entry Test Streams.

No. The College Board stopped offering SAT Subject Tests completely back in 2021. FAST now uses the regular SAT-I test and looks at applicants on a totally separate merit list. Even if you see old mentions of SAT-II on some campus web pages, you can ignore them. Always check the main nu.edu.pk website for the latest rules. You can see the full details in our SAT Test Stream section.

You must attend at least 80% of your classes for Bachelor's programs, and 75% for Master's or Ph.D. courses. If your attendance drops below this, the computer system will automatically block you from taking the final exam. This means you will immediately get an "F due to Absence" grade. The university only excuses missed classes for serious, proven emergencies like a bad illness. You can read the full rules at rules.

To stay safe and keep your admission active, you need to keep your total GPA at or above 2.00 for Bachelor's degrees, 2.50 for Master's degrees, and 3.00 for a Ph.D. If your GPA drops below these limits at the end of a semester, you will get an official warning. If you get three warnings in a row without raising your grades, you will be expelled from the university. Check out academic warnings to see how to recover if you get a warning.

Most good international universities won't even look at your application if your GPA is below 3.0. To actually stand a good chance of getting accepted, aim for a 3.3 or higher with top grades in math and programming subjects. If you want a fully funded scholarship, you will usually need a 3.5 or higher. Keep in mind that getting these high grades at FAST is much harder and requires a lot more grind than at other universities. Check out going abroad for all the math behind the grading scale.

It is an interest-free loan (called Qarz-e-Hasana), not a free grant. This means you must pay it back. Payments start three months after you graduate or as soon as you get your first job—whichever happens first. You have to pay back the whole amount within 4 years. For example, if the university pays for 60% of your degree, you will owe around Rs. 1,000,000 when you leave, which works out to about Rs. 21,000 every month for 48 months. You can read the details in Financial Aid.

It is very difficult and only works if you successfully apply for multiple scholarships and loans at the same time, like the FAST loan, Honhaar Scholarship, PEEF, OSAF, and Ihsan Trust. You should definitely apply to cheaper public universities (like UET, PUCIT, ITU, or NED) as a backup plan. If going to FAST means your family has to take out heavy bank loans with high interest, it is much smarter to choose a cheaper university and work hard on your coding skills on your own.

No, it is just an internet joke. The online posts claiming students get fined huge amounts for sitting or talking with the opposite gender are completely fake. FAST is a normal university where boys and girls study together respectfully, following standard cultural values. While students do face a lot of real academic stress, these crazy rules do not exist.

Yes, definitely. A standard Computer Science degree covers everything from software development to AI, making it very easy to switch to cybersecurity later by picking the right elective subjects or getting professional certificates. If you choose cybersecurity right from the start, you are locked into a narrow set of classes, and it is much harder to switch out. Plus, there aren't many entry-level jobs for fresh cybersecurity graduates in Pakistan right now. Only pick it early if you are 100% sure you love it.

According to higher education rules, you have a maximum of 6 years to finish your 4-year Bachelor's degree. While you can ask for a 1-year emergency extension, the university only gives this out for major, unavoidable life events, such as a serious medical condition or a death in your close family.

FAST Admissions & Academics — Frequently Asked Questions

Should I take the NU Test or the NTS NAT for FAST?

Does FAST still accept SAT Subject Tests (SAT-II)?

What is the minimum attendance required to sit finals at FAST?

What CGPA do I need to avoid an academic warning?

What GPA do I need to go abroad for a funded master's?

Is FAST's Financial Assistance a grant or a loan?

Can I afford FAST if my family income is around Rs. 80,000/month?

Is the "gender rules" about FAST real?

Is BS Computer Science better than BS Cybersecurity if I'm unsure?

How long do I have to complete my BS at FAST?