Aggregate vs Closing Merit: What's the Difference?

Two words trip up almost every applicant: aggregate and merit. They sound similar but mean completely different things, and confusing them leads to bad college lists. Here's the simple version.

Your aggregate = your score

Your aggregate is the single weighted number a university calculates from your marks and test. For example, a UET aggregate is 70% FSc + 30% ECAT. It's your number, and it's the same regardless of who else applied.

Closing merit = the cut-off

Closing merit is the lowest aggregate that actually got admitted to a specific program last cycle. It is not set in advance — it emerges from supply and demand: how many seats exist and how strong the applicant pool was that year.

Why the difference matters

• Your aggregate being above the eligibility floor does not mean you'll get a seat — you must beat the closing merit.
• Closing merit changes every year. Last year's number is only a rough guide.
• The same aggregate can be "safe" for one program and "reach" for another — it's all relative to each program's closing merit.

A quick example

If your aggregate is 78% and a program's closing merit last year was 75%, you're probably competitive — but if it was 82%, you're a reach. That's why you should always compare your aggregate against each program individually.

Compare yours instantly

The Meritly matching engine computes your aggregate for every university and shows it next to each program's approximate closing merit, so you can sort reach from safe at a glance. Closing-merit figures are unofficial and change yearly — always confirm with the university.