CHENNAI: With the number of high scorers in NEET-UG rising sharply this year, the cut-off for MBBS admissions in state government medical colleges is likely to climb by nearly 30 to 40 marks for the general category, career guidance experts said.
Health Minister KG Arunraj on Monday released the rank lists for MBBS and BDS admissions for the 2026-27 academic year. Counselling for general and special categories will begin on August 13. While counselling for the general category will be held online, it will be conducted offline for special categories, including the 7.5% quota for government school students.
Career counsellor Jayaprakash Gandhi said the cut-off for the general category could rise by 29-30 marks from last year as the number of students scoring 600 and above has increased significantly. “Last year, only 111 students scored 600 and above, while this year the number has risen to 728. The competition will therefore be fierce,” he said.
Career guidance expert R Ashwin predicted an even steeper rise of around 49 marks for students under the 7.5% government school quota seeking admission to government medical colleges.
The general category merit list showed that only two students scored 700 and above, with the topper securing 705 marks. Last year, no student crossed the 700-mark barrier in NEET-UG.
In the separate merit list for the 7.5% quota, the top scorer secured 599 marks, compared to 572 last year. Arunraj said the quota has 537 MBBS and 104 BDS seats, taking the total to 641. The selection committee received 72,633 applications this year. Of the 41,726 applications received under the government quota, 35,926 were accepted. Under the 7.5% quota, 4,860 applications were received and 3,625 were accepted.
Tamil Nadu has 9,999 MBBS seats this year, including 5,200 government quota seats, 149 seats at ESI Hospital, Coimbatore, 4,050 seats in self-financing medical colleges and 600 seats in state private universities.
Around 2,000 BDS seats are available, including 250 in government colleges. The number has fallen by around 200 this year following the derecognition of a private dental college.
Arunraj said five candidates had submitted fake documents this year, compared to 25 last year, and appropriate action would be taken.
A committee constituted by the Directorate of Medical Education to probe complaints of excess fee collection found that one private college had collected excess fees and action would be taken as per rules. The allegations against other colleges could not be confirmed as the complainants had not submitted proper transaction documents. As many as 512 students have applied under the NR quota, and scrutiny of the applications is under way.
Key takeaways
Minister Arunraj said a panel is being constituted to study the feasibility of increasing the 7.5% reservation for govt school students. It will examine how long the quota can be continued or whether it can be extended, among other aspects
Two candidates in the general category scored 700 and above. As many as 728 candidates scored 600 and above, while 6,366 scored 500 and above