Summary: Most of MHT‑CET overlaps with NCERT, but not all. CBSE students need to add a handful of Chemistry chapters that were removed from NCERT, three or four Maths topics that are State Board specific, and a revision of the Physics chapters that NCERT teaches in Class 11 but the State Board teaches in Class 12. About 40 to 60 hours of focused work, spread over Class 12, covers it.The CET Cell's 2026 syllabus document says MHT‑CET questions are based on the syllabus of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Maharashtra, with the whole Class 12 syllabus and named Class 11 chapters. A CBSE student is not at a disadvantage in concepts. The gaps are specific, predictable, and small enough to close if they are identified early. They become a problem only when a student discovers them in the last month.
The eligibility rules do not distinguish between boards. What matters is the Class 12 subjects and marks, and the MHT‑CET score. The 2026‑27 CAP rules define HSC as the Maharashtra board exam "or its equivalent" from a recognised board.
Chemistry: the largest gap
NCERT Chemistry was rationalised a few years ago, and several chapters were removed from the CBSE books. The Maharashtra State Board books and the CET syllabus still contain some of them. For a CBSE student, these are the chapters to add from the State Board textbook:
| Chapter or topic | Where it is in the CET syllabus | Nature of questions |
|---|---|---|
| Solid State | Class 12 | Unit cells, packing, density calculations, defects |
| Elements of Groups 16, 17 and 18 | Class 12 | Properties, trends, important compounds |
| Introduction to Polymer Chemistry | Class 12 | Classification, monomers, common polymers |
| Green Chemistry and Nanochemistry | Class 12 | Principles, definitions, applications |
| Elements of Group 1 and 2 | Class 11 (listed) | Trends, anomalous behaviour, compounds |
| States of Matter (Gaseous and Liquids) | Class 11 (listed) | Gas laws, ideal and real gases |
| Adsorption and Colloids (Surface Chemistry) | Class 11 (listed) | Types of adsorption, colloids and their properties |
| Chemistry in Everyday Life | Class 11 (listed) | Drugs, food chemicals, cleansing agents |
None of these is difficult. Most are fact-based and answerable in under 30 seconds, which makes them valuable in the 54-seconds-per-question Physics-Chemistry section. Solid State and States of Matter need numerical practice; the others need careful reading and revision. Our p-Block Elements notes cover groups 13 to 18 for students whose NCERT book no longer has them.
Mathematics: State Board chapters
The Maharashtra Class 12 Maths book is in two parts. A few chapters or topics in it are not in the CBSE Class 12 syllabus:
- Mathematical Logic: statements, truth tables, logical equivalence, negation. Quick marks once practised.
- Pair of Straight Lines: homogeneous second-degree equations, angle between the lines, conditions for perpendicular and coincident lines.
- Trigonometric Functions (Class 12 State Board): general solutions of trigonometric equations and solutions of triangles, which CBSE students may have seen only in part.
- Binomial Distribution and Probability Distributions: random variables, mean and variance, the binomial formula.
The rest of Class 12 State Board Maths (Matrices, Vectors, Line and Plane, Linear Programming, Differentiation, Integration, Differential Equations) maps closely onto NCERT, with differences in notation and question framing. For the Class 11 part, the CET list includes Trigonometry II, Straight Line, Circle, Conic Section, Complex Numbers, Permutations and Combinations, Probability, Functions, Limits and Continuity, all of which CBSE students have studied in some form.
Physics: mostly a revision problem
In Physics the concepts are almost the same. The issue is placement. The Maharashtra Class 12 book includes Rotational Dynamics, Mechanical Properties of Fluids, Kinetic Theory of Gases and Radiation, Thermodynamics, Oscillations, and Superposition of Waves. A CBSE student studied these in Class 11. Since the whole Class 12 State Board syllabus is in CET, these chapters carry Class 12 weight in the paper. The fix is to revise them during Class 12 as seriously as the Class 12 NCERT chapters. Our notes on rotational motion, oscillations and waves are a good starting point.
Biology, for PCB students
The CET Class 11 list for Biology is short: Biomolecules, Respiration and Energy Transfer, Human Nutrition, and Excretion and Osmoregulation. Class 12 Biology in the State Board book overlaps heavily with NCERT, but chapter names, arrangement and some examples differ. A PCB student preparing for NEET from NCERT should read the State Board Biology chapters once, marking anything new, and solve their exercises. Our post on the PCB group covers what the Biology paper leads to.
A plan to close the gaps
| When | What | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Class 11, end of year | Get the State Board Class 11 and 12 textbooks; mark the CET-listed chapters | A few hours |
| Class 12, July to October | One Chemistry gap chapter every two weeks, from the State Board book, with its exercise | 3 to 4 hours per chapter |
| Class 12, September to November | Mathematical Logic and Pair of Straight Lines, with 50 practice questions each | About 10 hours total |
| Class 12, December | Revise the six "Class 11 in NCERT" Physics chapters | About 12 hours |
| After boards | CET mocks; track errors from gap chapters separately | Part of daily mocks |
Do not leave the gap chapters until after board exams. The CBSE board exam does not test them, so once boards end, students tend to assume their syllabus is finished. In CET, it is not.
Speed and question style
CBSE students are used to board papers with long written answers and JEE or NEET papers with a mix of long and short MCQs. CET asks 150 or 200 short MCQs in two locked 90-minute sections, with no negative marking. The adjustment is mostly about speed and answering every question. Our post on CET mocks and time management covers this.
Parents of CBSE students often ask whether they should move to a State Board junior college for CET. It is not necessary. The gaps above are manageable alongside CBSE, and the MHT‑CET course page describes how we cover them in class for students from all boards.
Common questions
Can CBSE students give MHT‑CET?
Yes. The eligibility rules accept Class 12 from any recognised board. The paper is the same for all students.
Is MHT‑CET difficult for CBSE students?
Not in concepts. The difficulty is a set of State Board topics, mainly in Chemistry and Maths, that CBSE students have not studied. These can be covered in 40 to 60 hours over Class 12.
Which chapters should CBSE students add for MHT‑CET Chemistry?
From the 2026 syllabus: Solid State, Groups 16 to 18, Polymers, Green Chemistry and Nanochemistry, and the listed Class 11 chapters Group 1 and 2, States of Matter, Surface Chemistry and Chemistry in Everyday Life.