NEET UG: Representational Image
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the result of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Under Graduate (NEET UG) 2024 exam today, on June 4. However, the cut-offs for 2024 are yet to be officially released. This national level medical entrance exam for admission to MBBS and BDS courses was conducted on May 5, saw nearly 23.81 lakh candidates, including about 13.63 lakh female candidates and 10.18 lakh male candidates.
Admission to prestigious medical colleges of India depends on the NEET UG cut-off which varies every year and differs for different caste-based categories, colleges and other factors. The cut-off marks set the minimum score that candidates must achieve to be eligible for admission to MBBS and BDS courses. During the counseling process, candidates who meet or exceed the cut-off marks are considered for seat allotment. Higher scores typically lead to better ranks, which in turn increase the chances of securing admission to preferred colleges and courses.
The admission cut-off, on the other hand, varies depending on several factors, including the number of seats available, the college’s reputation, the candidate’s category, and whether admission is through the 15% All India Quota (AIQ) or the 85% State Quota. Correct answers are awarded +4 marks, and incorrect answers result in a -1 mark deduction. The NEET UG exam is scored out of a maximum of 720 marks. An All India Rank (AIR) list is prepared, with the highest scorer ranked 1, and so on.
The NEET cutoff for AIQ seats is released by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), whereas the cutoff for state quota seats is released by the respective state counselling authorities. There are two types of cut-offs for NEET: qualifying and admission. The qualifying cut-off is specified as a percentile, whereas the admission cut-off is a range of marks. The qualifying cut-offs differ for the General, SC, ST, OBC, and general categories. The NEET UG rank is determined on the basis of a candidate’s score in the exam. Scores are converted into percentiles to account for variations in the difficulty level of different exam sessions (if applicable). The percentile rank indicates the percentage of candidates who have scored equal to or below the particular score. This refers to the rank of the first candidate who secures admission to a specific medical or dental college in a given year. The closing rank, on the other hand, refers to the rank of the last candidate who secures admission to a specific medical or dental college in a given year. These ranks can vary widely depending on the college’s prestige, the number of available seats, the category of the candidate, and whether the admission is through the AIQ or State Quota. The National Testing Agency (NTA) as well as the state counselling authorities share the opening and closing ranks during the counselling process.
As previously stated, the cut-off is the minimum score or percentile that candidates must achieve to be admitted to undergraduate medical courses in India.