Last verified: 6 October 2026. Deadlines, the late-fee rule, the correction window and the tentative exam date are ✅ CONFIRMED from the official UP Sainik Schools Society site (upsainikschool.org), checked today. The 200-mark paper pattern is from the 2026 admission cycle (reported by TOI) — 🔶 EXPECTED to repeat; treat the school’s prospectus as final.
If your child is aiming for one of Uttar Pradesh’s two Sainik Schools — Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey UP Sainik School in Lucknow or UP Sainik School in Gorakhpur — the clock is properly ticking now. Forms have been live since 10 September, and the regular-fee window closes in 19 days. But the deadline is only half the story. The other half is the exam itself, which looks quite different from AISSEE — and a surprising number of parents mix the two up.
The UP Sainik Schools Society runs its own entrance exam, separate from NTA’s AISSEE. Here is the schedule, straight from the society’s official homepage:
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Applications opened | 10 September 2026 |
| Last date (regular fee, Rs 1000) | 25 October 2026, till 5 pm |
| Last date with late fee (Rs 2000) | 31 October 2026, till 5 pm |
| Application correction window | 3–5 November 2026, till 5 pm |
| Admit card | After 5 December 2026 |
| Entrance exam (tentative) | Sunday, 20 December 2026 |
| Written result (tentative) | 30 December 2026 |
One detail worth noting on the official site: there is a visible advisory regarding fraudulent persons on the homepage. Apply only through upsainikschool.org. Anyone “guaranteeing” admission for a fee is running the exact scam the society is warning you about.
Unlike AISSEE’s two-section format, the UP Sainik School entrance test is a single OMR paper — one sitting, one answer sheet:
That 200-mark, 2.5-hour structure is the pattern from the 2026 cycle, reported by the Times of India, and the society’s own process page describes the same scheme for the current cycle — so treat it as EXPECTED unless the prospectus says otherwise. A single paper sounds simpler than AISSEE, but don’t let that fool you: 200 marks in 150 minutes means roughly 45 seconds a question. Speed and clean OMR bubbling matter more here than in almost any other defence-school entrance. Students who qualify in the written test are called for interview and medical examination on merit — admission only clears after all stages.
This is the rule that quietly disqualifies families every year: both the candidate and the father must hold a Uttar Pradesh domicile certificate. If the father’s domicile is from another state, the child stays ineligible — no matter how long the family has lived in UP. Age-wise, per the admission portals reproducing the prospectus: Class 6 candidates must be born between 2 July 2015 and 1 January 2018, and Class 9 candidates between 2 July 2012 and 1 January 2015. Lucknow’s school takes boys only in Class 6 (boys and girls in Class 9); Gorakhpur takes boys and girls in both classes — so if you are applying for your daughter in Class 6, Gorakhpur is your only UP option.
We’ve tracked the whole UP Sainik School 2027-28 timeline separately — including the fee breakdown — in our deadline countdown piece. And if you’re weighing this against the national exam, here’s where AISSEE 2027 stands today — 117 days to the 31 January paper.
What is the last date to apply for UP Sainik School 2027-28? 25 October 2026 till 5 pm, without a late fee, as per the official UP Sainik Schools Society website. You can still apply till 31 October 2026 (5 pm) with a late fee of Rs 2000.
What is the UP Sainik School entrance exam pattern? It is an OMR-based single paper of 200 marks to be completed in 2 hours 30 minutes, covering Mathematics and Intelligence, English, and General Knowledge. This is the 2026-cycle pattern — confirm it in this year’s prospectus before treating it as final.
Who can apply — is there a domicile rule? Yes, and it is strict: both the candidate and the father must hold a Uttar Pradesh domicile certificate. If the father’s domicile is from another state, the child is ineligible even if the family currently lives in UP. Class 6 is boys only at Lucknow and boys and girls at Gorakhpur; Class 9 takes both at both schools.
When is the UP Sainik School 2027-28 entrance exam? The official society website lists a tentative exam date of Sunday, 20 December 2026. Admit cards are expected after 5 December 2026, and the correction window runs 3 to 5 November 2026.
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