High cutoffs, NEET woes goad students in K’taka to grab what’s offered

High cutoffs, NEET woes goad students in K’taka to grab what’s offered

SruthySusan.Ullas@timesofindia.com 

Bengaluru : The high cutoffs in NEET ranks for MBBS admissions this year have forced students into accepting whatever seat comes their way — regardless of fees or the quality of the institution — amid fears that the competition could get fiercer next year. Counsellors confirmed that students want to hold on to the seat they get and choose not to opt for a gap year.

 There were many students who were expecting a Rs 1.5-lakh fee seat but have landed a general merit private seat (a private seat in a private college) with Rs 12 lakh fee. They do not want to give that up now. They are ready to take it even if it means selling property to raise funds. Those who had prepared for a Rs 12-lakh seat are ready for a Rs 20-lakh seat and so on,” said Raghavendra Hegde, founder of RH MedTech Mentor that provides counselling guidance for NEET and K-CET. 

College quality,  ‘Students not even looking at college quality’ 

This year, there has been a big jump in the number of students who scored more than 600 marks in Karnataka. Last year, the number of students in this range was around 1,500 to 1,800. But this year, it is around more than 4,300. The fear is that next year the competition could get worse. They are worried as to what may happen next year — will NTA bring in changes, will it become two exams a year, will the exam pattern change? 

The consensus among students and parents is we will arrange money for private seats in private colleges, come what may,” he said. Agreed Ali Khwaja, founder director of Banjara Academy: “Those students who would have taken a gap year to improve the ranks do not want to do so. 

They are either moving into engineering or taking whatever MBBS seat comes by. They are not even looking at the quality of the colleges. They have already gone through the trauma of uncertainties this time, with the exam nearly getting cancelled.” Khwaja said it is disappointing that students are not open to the idea of paramedical courses, which are equally attractive and rewarding. As per the counsellors, this is also one of the reasons why the cutoffs of GMP seats (general merit private seats) are going up. 

“The cutoff mark for general merit pri vate seats this year is 562 as against 476-479 last year,” said Hegde. The high cutoffs are having a ripple effect on BDS admissions. “Competition is getting tougher by the day. NEET is being taken by a record number of students every year,” he said.