The Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PM&DC) has dismissed reports of a sharp increase in the fee for the Medical & Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) 2025, clarifying that the rise is only 12.5 percent, not 80 percent as some social media posts have claimed. Registration for MDCAT 2025 has now opened, and this year’s examination will take place on October 5.
According to the PM&DC, the examination fee has been set at Rs. 9,000 for 2025, compared to Rs. 8,000 in the previous year. The council attributes the Rs. 1,000 increase to necessary adjustments for rising operational expenses, such as paper printing, security measures, logistics, and payments to staff involved in the examination process. PM&DC emphasized its commitment to keeping the fees affordable in spite of inflation and increased costs.
The MDCAT 2025 will be conducted by universities nominated by federal and provincial authorities, rather than the PM&DC itself. However, PM&DC has developed a common syllabus for the test in collaboration with stakeholders from across the country to ensure a consistent and fair standard. The council also noted it has invested significantly in developing a comprehensive question bank based on the unified syllabus agreed upon by all provinces.
For MDCAT 2025, test centers have been assigned as follows: University of Health Sciences, Lahore will oversee the exam in Punjab; Sukkur IBA University, Sukkur in Sindh; Khyber Medical University, Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Bolan University of Medical & Health Sciences, Quetta in Balochistan; and Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad will conduct the test for Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and international candidates in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Registration for local and international candidates began recently and will remain open until August 25. Late registrations will be accepted with an additional fee until September 1. Candidates are advised to carefully select their preferred exam center and complete their applications fully, as incomplete submissions or incorrect entries will result in automatic rejection by the online system.
The MDCAT will be a paper-based, multiple-choice examination in English, featuring 180 questions, with no negative marking. The questions will be distributed as follows: Biology (81), Chemistry (45), Physics (36), English (9), and Logical Reasoning (9). The official syllabus and further details are available on the PM&DC website, and all registrations must be completed online at the designated portal. The council reiterated its commitment to transparent, merit-based admissions and equal opportunity for all aspiring medical and dental students.
