After Matric
What to do after Matric in Pakistan
After Matric you are not choosing a career yet. You are choosing an intermediate stream, and that choice quietly decides which entry tests you can sit and which degrees will accept you two years from now. This is the highest-leverage decision in Pakistani education, and most students make it in a week.
What most students get wrong here
The most expensive mistake at this stage is picking Pre-Medical as a default because you scored well. Pre-Medical closes the door on engineering and most computing degrees, and MBBS seats are decided by an MDCAT score you have not sat yet. If you are not specifically interested in biology and patient care, a stream that keeps more doors open is the safer bet — not the more prestigious one.
Your stream options, and what each one opens
Every row below closes some doors and opens others. Read the second column before the first.
FSc Pre-Medical
Full guideOpens: MBBS, BDS, DPT, Pharm-D, BS Nursing, Biotechnology
Required for MDCAT. Closes off engineering and most computing degrees, which need mathematics.
FSc Pre-Engineering
Full guideOpens: BE Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Chemical, Architecture, most computing degrees
The widest science stream. Keeps engineering and computing both open.
ICS
Full guideOpens: BS Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, AI, Cyber Security, IT
The direct computing route. Some engineering degrees will not accept ICS — check before you assume.
I.Com
Full guideOpens: BBA, BS Accounting & Finance, BS Economics, ACCA, CA
Built for business and finance. Narrower than FSc, but well matched to what it targets.
FA / Arts
Full guideOpens: Law, media, education, psychology, social sciences, CSS via any degree
Widely underrated. CSS accepts any HEC-recognised bachelor’s degree, so this stream does not close off the civil service.
DAE (Diploma of Associate Engineering)
Opens: Technician and supervisor roles; some BE programmes via lateral entry
Three years, hands-on, employable straight after. Worth serious thought if you want to start earning sooner.
O / A-Levels
Full guideOpens: The same degrees as FSc, plus the study-abroad route
Requires an IBCC equivalence certificate for local admissions, and equivalence usually costs you marks.
Entry tests that apply
- No entry test at this stage — your stream choice decides which test you sit in two years