Last verified: 15 November 2026. Every seat figure below is ✅ CONFIRMED from the AISSEE 2027 information bulletin (NTA, 3 November 2026), as published in its school-wise vacancy tables and independently reported by Dabad Academy and SainikSchoolCadet (both checked 15 November 2026). The bulletin calls the vacancy list tentative — seats can still change if cadets leave or more schools are added. Quota rules are from the Sainik Schools Society’s standing SOP, as used in our earlier guides.
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Ask a parent which Sainik School their child is aiming for and you will usually hear a famous name. Ask them why, and the answer is usually “everyone says it is the best.” That is a terrible way to choose a school — and with the form window closing on 2 December, it is worth spending one evening choosing properly. The seat matrix NTA published with the 2027 bulletin tells a very different story from the famous-name story, and it is free to read.
Here is the thing: your child is not competing for 15,000 seats. They are competing for one small slice — their class, their gender, their category, their home state, at one school. The school you pick decides how big that slice is.
There are really two admission systems running under one exam:
| 33 established Sainik Schools | Approved new Sainik Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 6 seats (2027-28) | 3,160 (2,809 boys + 351 girls) | 12,032 (4,856 boys + 1,221 girls + 5,955 gender-neutral) |
| Class 9 seats (2027-28) | 732 (663 boys + 69 girls) | 3,016 (1,185 boys + 383 girls + 1,448 gender-neutral) |
| How seats are filled | AISSEE merit, 67% home-state / 33% other-states | At least 40% by all-India merit; up to 60% for the school’s own students |
| Who runs them | Sainik Schools Society, Ministry of Defence | Existing schools (state, trust or private) approved in partnership mode |
| Girls’ seats | 351 in Class 6, in all 33 schools | 1,221 in Class 6 across 41 schools; two schools are girls-only |
The new-school number surprises everyone: 12,032 Class 6 seats — nearly four times the 33-school total. But read the fine print before celebrating. In a new school, only 40 percent of seats are genuinely open to outsiders by merit. A new school advertising 120 seats offers an outsider about 48. Our explainer on the 40/60 route in new Sainik Schools works through the maths. If your child already studies in a new Sainik School, the same rule works in their favour — they are in the 60 percent pool.
One more caution on the new-school numbers: the bulletin does not define “gender-neutral” seats. It most likely means the school has not split those seats between boys and girls. Before you plan around a gender-neutral seat, confirm with the school itself.
For the 33 schools, the number that decides your child’s odds is not the school’s total — it is the home-state column. The standing rule gives 67 percent of seats to home-state candidates and 33 percent to other states. For Class 6 boys, the 2,809 seats split into 1,935 home-state and 874 other-state seats.
Work it through with a real example. Sainik School Tilaiya has the biggest Class 6 intake in the country — 140 seats in total. A Jharkhand boy competes for the home-state share of those seats; a boy from another state competes for the much smaller other-state share. Same school, same exam, very different odds. That is why our full seat matrix breakdown lists the split, and why our home-state quota guide is the single most-read explainer on this site.
The practical rule is simple: your home-state school is your best-value target. Put it at the top of your realistic list unless you have a strong reason not to — a sibling already there, a relative nearby, or a genuinely better fit you have verified yourself.
Reservation sits on top of the same split: SC 15 percent, ST 7.5 percent, OBC-NCL 27 percent, and 25 percent of the remainder for defence wards. Your child’s category changes the slice again — check the category-wise seats for your school, not just the total.
Girls get 351 Class 6 seats across the 33 schools — roughly 10 or 11 per school — plus 1,221 more in new Sainik Schools. The standing rule reserves 10 percent of Class 6 seats or 10 seats per school, whichever is more, and NTA prepares a separate merit list for girls, so your daughter competes only with other girls.
Two new schools take girls only: Samvid Gurukulam in Mathura (120 Class 6 seats) and the Central Hindu Military Education Society school in Nashik (80 seats). If you have a daughter, those two deserve a look — they are the only places in the country where the entire intake is girls. Our girls’ quota guide explains how the separate list and the waiting-list movement work in later counselling rounds.
Do not drop a school because it shows one girls’ seat in your category. Girls’ seats move in later rounds when an allotted candidate does not join or is found medically unfit. Fill several choices.
Class 9 is a different game entirely. The 33 schools have just 732 Class 9 seats against 3,160 in Class 6, because most cadets join in Class 6 and stay till Class 12. Four schools — Bhubaneswar, Bijapur, Gopalganj and Jhunjhunu — list zero Class 9 seats for 2027-28. Do not put a zero-seat school on a Class 9 choice list; it cannot admit anyone this year.
The new schools are relatively more generous in Class 9 — 3,016 seats — but the same 40/60 rule applies, and only the 40 new schools whose Sainik section has completed Class 8 can admit into Class 9 at all. If your child is applying for Class 9, the new-school list deserves more weight than it does for Class 6.
Do this once, on paper, before counselling opens. School choices are filled during e-counselling after the result — the application form itself only needs to be submitted by 2 December — so you have months. Use them.
A parent called us last year in a panic because their son had filled five choices, all of them famous schools in other states, all with tiny other-state quotas. He scored well and still waited through six counselling rounds. The score was not the problem. The list was.
How many Class 6 seats are there in Sainik Schools for AISSEE 2027? 3,160 Class 6 seats in the 33 Sainik Schools — 2,809 for boys and 351 for girls. Approved new Sainik Schools add 12,032 more Class 6 seats, so the total pool is far bigger than the 33-school number suggests.
What is the difference between old and new Sainik Schools in AISSEE 2027? The 33 old schools are run by the Sainik Schools Society and fill seats by AISSEE merit with a 67 percent home-state quota. New Sainik Schools are existing schools approved in partnership mode: at least 40 percent of their seats go by all-India AISSEE merit and up to 60 percent can go to students already studying in that school.
Does the home-state quota apply in new Sainik Schools? No. The 67 percent home-state, 33 percent other-states split applies to the 33 established Sainik Schools. In new Sainik Schools the split that matters is the 40/60 route — 40 percent all-India merit, up to 60 percent for the school’s own students.
How many seats are there for girls in Sainik Schools in 2027? 351 Class 6 seats and 69 Class 9 seats for girls in the 33 schools, plus 1,221 Class 6 and 383 Class 9 girls’ seats in new Sainik Schools. Girls compete on a separate merit list, and every school reserves 10 percent of Class 6 seats or 10 seats, whichever is more, for girls.
When do I choose the school in AISSEE 2027? School choices are filled during e-counselling (AISSAC) after the result, not in the application form. The form itself closes on 2 December 2026 and the exam is on 31 January 2027 — so use the months before counselling to research schools, not to rush the choice.
Which Sainik School has the most Class 6 seats in 2027? Sainik School Tilaiya in Jharkhand has the largest Class 6 intake — 140 seats in total, 126 for boys. But a bigger total does not mean an easier seat: your child’s real competition is the home-state slice for that school, not the headline number.
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