Admissions Explained

How to Take Admission in Punjab University (PU)

Where it actually is, what the campus is like, roughly what it costs, and how its merit formula really works — the practical details that don't always fit into an official brochure.

Where PU actually is

The University of the Punjab is based in Lahore, split across two well-known campuses: the Quaid-e-Azam Campus (usually just called the "New Campus"), a large green campus along the Canal Bank Road, and the Allama Iqbal Campus ("Old Campus") on Mall Road, closer to the city centre and home to some of the university's older, historic departments. PU also runs a smaller campus in Jhelum for students in that region. Which campus you end up on depends entirely on which department your program is in — some subjects are only taught at one campus, so it's worth checking before you assume you'll be at the "main" one.

Campus life and student body

Founded in 1882, PU is one of Pakistan's oldest and largest public universities, with tens of thousands of students spread across undergraduate, master's, MPhil, and PhD programs in well over a dozen faculties. That scale cuts both ways: you get a huge range of societies, sports facilities, and academic departments to choose from, but registration lines, class sizes, and admin processes can move slower than at a smaller private university. PU offers hostel accommodation for students coming from outside Lahore, though seats are limited relative to the number of applicants, so it's worth applying for hostel placement early rather than assuming a spot will be available.

Programs and fees

PU offers several hundred programs across its departments, from the sciences and social sciences to law, education, and Islamic studies. As a public university, fees are noticeably lower than at most private institutions — many BS programs fall roughly in the PKR 30,000–48,000 per semester range, though this varies a good amount by department, and some professional programs cost more. Fee structures get revised for each admission cycle, so treat any specific number you see anywhere, including here, as a starting estimate rather than what you'll actually be billed.

How PU's merit actually works

PU's most commonly used general formula weights Matric at 25%, Intermediate (FSc/FA) at 50%, and the PU Entry Test at 25%, with additional marks available for things like Hafiz-e-Quran certification. But PU doesn't run one single formula across every department — PUCIT's Computer Science and Software Engineering programs use their own weighting, and medical programs go through UHS with an MDCAT-based formula entirely separate from this one. Gap-year applicants also see a statutory deduction for each year since their last qualification. For the full breakdown of how aggregate turns into merit, this explainer covers it; to actually calculate your own, the PU merit calculator on this site lets you adjust the weights if your department's formula differs from the general one above. Applying to COMSATS as well? Its default split is 10/40/50, which you can test in the COMSATS merit calculator.

The bottom line

PU is a large, historic, genuinely affordable option with a huge range of programs, but its size means you'll need to be more proactive about hostel applications, department-specific merit formulas, and fee confirmations than you would at a smaller university. For the current admission cycle's exact dates, fees, and department-specific formulas, pu.edu.pk is the source to check before relying on any third-party estimate, this guide included.