Dear juniors, congratulations on successfully completing your SEE examinations! You have already shown courage and dedication just by reaching this stage. Now, a new and very important opportunity stands in front of you - the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Scholarship Entrance Exam and other Metro Scholarship exams. This is your chance to secure your higher education without burdening your family financially. Do not take this opportunity lightly. Prepare with full sincerity, because thousands of students appear for this exam every year but only the most focused and well-prepared ones make it through. This is your moment.

The Metro Scholarship is not just free education. It is a recognition that you are among the brightest and most smart working students of your community. Winning this scholarship means your Grade 11 and 12 will be fully supported, giving you the freedom to focus entirely on your studies and future goals without financial stress on your family. So, treat this entrance exam with the same seriousness and dedication you gave to your SEE boards. Every mark matters. Every minute of preparation counts.

Preparation is everything. Here are some practical tips to help you to perform your very best:

Know the syllabus first: Before you open any book, understand exactly what topics are covered in the Metro entrance exam. Don't waste precious time studying things that won't appear.

Practice past questions: Old question papers are your best friend. They show you the pattern, the difficulty level, and the most repeated topics year after year.

Set a daily target. Don't try to finish everything in one day. Study chapter by chapter, topic by topic, with full understanding and patience.

Master your weak topics before your strong ones: Most students keep practicing what they already know because it feels comfortable. Do the opposite. Find your weakest chapters early, face them honestly, and turn them into your strengths. That is where your extra marks are hiding.

Time yourself when you practice: Knowing the answer is only half the battle. In the exam hall, speed matters as much as accuracy. Practice solving questions under timed conditions regularly so that exam day pressure feels familiar, not frightening.

Revision is not optional, it is everything. Studying something once is never enough. Build a simple revision cycle whatever you study this week. Without revision, even your strongest topics will quietly fade before exam day.

Sleep well before the exam. A rested mind thinks clearer and performs stronger. The night before is not for studying, it is for trusting your preparation. All-nighters do more harm than good.

There will be days when the syllabus feels too big, the time feels too short, and your confidence feels too low. On those days, remember every student sitting that exam feels the same fear. What separates scholarship winners from the rest is not talent alone. It is patience, daily effort, and the firm decision to keep going even when it gets hard. Believe in your preparation. Trust your smart work.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City Scholarship, popularly known as the “Balen Scholarship,” has opened a merit-based pathway for students to study +2 in top colleges of Kathmandu Valley without paying institutional fees. With more than 17,000 applicants competing for a limited number of seats, understanding how it works- its structure, seat distribution, and level of competition is important for every SEE graduate.​

At this stage, every student finds themselves at a turning point:

• Either follow the crowd without a clear plan
• Or make thoughtful decisions for a better future

This is where the Kathmandu Metropolitan Scholarship can make a real difference, offering a fair opportunity based on merit and preparation.

City of Dreams: Kathmandu

For many students growing up in villages far from Kathmandu, quality education has often felt out of reach, something reserved for those living in cities, not for those whose dreams are shaped by distance and financial limitations.

Today, that perception is slowly changing. For the first time, students from financially weaker backgrounds can look beyond their surroundings and realistically imagine themselves studying in a classroom in Kathmandu.

A System Built on Merit, Not Influence

After Balen Shah assumed office as Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, stricter implementation of scholarship provisions in private colleges was enforced. Colleges were required to allocate a certain number of seats under scholarship quotas.

To ensure fairness and reduce favoritism or nepotism, the metropolitan office introduced a centralized entrance examination system. This created a more transparent and merit-based selection process, where opportunities are determined by performance rather than personal connections.

Study +2 at Rs. 0: What It Actually Means

The scholarship is a full academic scholarship.

According to the official structure: Tuition, lab, library, administration, registration, sports and annual fees are fully covered.

Students only pay for external services such as transport, NEB form fee, exam fee, hostel, canteen and personal expenses.

This system saves approximately Rs. 5–6 lakhs, which is the usual average cost of +2 education in top private colleges .

Seat Distribution and College-Level Competition

The scholarship follows a structured quota system to ensure both merit and inclusion:

40% – Government school students

40% – Inclusive/reserved categories

14% – Kathmandu Metropolitan permanent residents

5% – Private school students (those who completed SEE on scholarship in private schools)

1% – Landfill affected areas

Faculty Wise Seat Distribution:- Metro provides scholarship in five different streams.

i. Science - 1,775 + seats (104 Colleges) 

ii. Management -2,500 + seats (170 Colleges)

iii. Law - 136+ seats (47 Colleges)

iv. Education - 70+ seats (18 Colleges)

v. Humanities -173+ seats (51 Colleges)

Within this limited structure, competition is especially high in leading colleges where seats are very limited:

St. Xavier’s College – 55 seats

Kathmandu Model College (KMC) – 177 seats

Trinity College – 170 seats

Global College – 159 seats

CCRC – 120 seats

Uniglobe College – 96 seats

These limited seats attract thousands of applicants each year, making selection highly competitive, particularly for top-ranked colleges.

Competition Reality 

2080: 6,000 applicants

2081: 12,000 applicants

2082: 17,229 applicants

This is a 187% increase in just two years 

Science applicants: 12,366

Science seats: ~1,800

Selection Rate ≈ 14.5%

Meaning: Only 1 out of every 7 students gets selected 

Selection is rank & college priority setting based, and top colleges generally require 90+ marks.

Eligibility and Entrance Examination

The scholarship is open to fresh SEE graduates who have passed all subjects (no NG). GPA does not restrict eligibility, and students from all over Nepal can apply. The entrance examination is conducted after the SEE results are published.

The selection is based on a 100-mark objective examination:

- 100 MCQs (1 mark each)

- Duration: 2 hours

- Pass Marks : 40

- No negative marking

- The syllabus is strictly based on the Class 10 curriculum.

- Asks questions in both English & Nepali

- Subjectwise Marks Distribution: 

Mathematics – 30

Science – 30

English – 30

General Knowledge – 10

Priority Setting and Form Submission

College allocation depends on both rank and college priority order, making priority setting one of the most important stages of the process. Even a strong score may not secure a preferred college if choices are placed incorrectly. Form submission is equally important, as thousands of applications are rejected each year. Careful priority selection and accurate form filling are the first step to achieve the scholarship.

Future Expansion of the Scholarship

After SEE, a large number of students from across Nepal move toward Kathmandu Valley for +2 education. The presence of reputed colleges in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur has made the valley the central academic hub.

The current system under Balen Shah’s leadership shows strong commitment toward educational reform. There is a high possibility that similar scholarship systems may expand to Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, and other regions. If implemented widely, the number of available seats will increase significantly and thus increases huge opportunities.

Resources

The Kathmandu Metropolitan Scholarship has made it possible to study in Kathmandu’s leading colleges without financial burden. The competition is intense, but the opportunity remains the same for all one paper, 100 questions, and a merit-based system that rewards preparation, not background.

This examination is competitive, but it is not beyond reach. With the right strategy, clear concepts, and disciplined practice, it can be approached with confidence and cracked with precision.