High cut-off for medical admissions expected as scores in NEET soar

High cut-off for medical admissions expected as scores in NEET soar

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  30.10.2020

The cut-off marks of NEET for admission to undergraduate medical courses are set to rise steeply this year with a huge increase in the number of top scorers.

Comparison of data on NEET-UG scores for the two years, accessed by TOI, revealed that 111 candidates scored 700 and above out of a total of 720 marks this year, compared to just three in 2019. The number of those in the 650-699 score range is 3,903 this year against 1,022 last year. This year, there are 16,167 candidates scoring in the range of 600-649 while the figure was 6,892 in 2019.

37,500 more aspirants scored 500+ marks in NEET this yr

Counselling for registration and choice-filling by candidates for 15% all-India quota seats, conducted by the directorate general of health services (DGHS), is on. Most states are likely to conduct their counselling for admission to MBBS/BDS courses by the second week of November.

Total number of MBBS seats under NEET 2020 has increased with AIIMS and JIPMER (Puducherry) also coming under it to admit students to undergraduate courses. In all, a little over 80,000 MBBS and 38,000 BDS seats will be available for the aspirants this year, including nearly 42,500 seats in government-run institutions, including AIIMS and JIPMER. There will be an additional 10% seats under quota for economically weaker sections (EWS).

Compared to 2019, there are 37,512 more candidates scoring 500 marks or more this year compared to 2019. A total of 87,093 aspirants scored 500 marks or more in NEET-UG 2020 compared to 49,581 in 2019. And 56,857 more candidates scored 400 marks and above this year.

Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana witness a significant increase in the number of top-scorers. Kerala leads the way with 643 candidates scoring 650 and above against 115 in 2019.

From Rajasthan, the number of candidates scoring 500 and above marks increased from 7,659 in 2019 to 11,698 in 2020. Maharashtra also saw a significant jump in the number of high scorers, with 220% increase in the number of candidates scoring 600 and above marks this year. Tamil Nadu witnessed the highest jump in number of candidates scoring 600 and above marks — 1,029 this year against 146 in 2019.

“These are surprising numbers and will impact the cut-offs for undergraduate admissions this year. The toppers used to be predominantly from Rajasthan as it has become the capital of coaching where students are treated like they are in military camps. I have personally visited Kota to see this regimental coaching. Kerala is also surprising,” said Dr S Kumar, chancellor, Sri Devaraj Urs University, Kolar.