NEET-UG Cutoff Hits Record High, Qualifiers Decline by Over 1.1 Lakh

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for undergraduate medical admissions has seen its qualifying cutoff reach an unprecedented high this year, significantly impacting the number of successful candidates across the country. The minimum score required to clear the examination surged to 213 marks, setting a new benchmark for aspirants.

This elevated threshold has resulted in a substantial decrease in the overall number of qualified aspirants. More than 1.1 lakh fewer candidates cleared the NEET-UG compared to the previous year. Concurrently, the examination also registered a noticeable drop in attendance, further contributing to the reduced pool of eligible students for medical and dental courses.

Despite the sharp decline in the absolute number of qualifiers, the success rate among candidates who actually appeared for the examination remained largely consistent. Approximately 56.1 percent of those who took the test managed to meet the qualifying criteria, indicating that while the bar for qualification rose, the proportion of those clearing it relative to the appeared cohort held steady.

A notable shift in the composition of qualified candidates has also emerged. Reserved categories, including Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), saw over sixty percent of their respective appeared cohorts successfully clear the examination. Conversely, candidates from the unreserved category now constitute less than fifty percent of the total number of qualified aspirants, reflecting evolving trends in medical entrance exam outcomes.