NEET 2021: Understand the Major Changes in Medical College Admission Rules Implemented This Year

This year’s medical college admissions will be different than usual due to changes in the rank calculation criteria and the new reservation policy. Students wishing to apply for admission to medical and dental schools should be aware of the new policy in advance to ensure a smooth admissions process. Following the announcement of the results, the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) role will be terminated, and the Medical Counselling Committee will begin the next process.

The All India Quota (AIQ) seats will be filled first, according to the rule. AIQ may be used to fill up to 15% of total medical and dental seats. For the first time this year, candidates from the EWS and OBC categories will be given AIQ reservations. The government has agreed to reserve 27% of seats for OBC students and 10% for EWS students, in addition to the existing quotas of 7.5 percent for ST students and 15% for SC students.

NEET 2021: Tie-breaker criteria

This year, the rank calculation criteria have been changed by NTA. For the tie-breaker process, the candidate obtaining a higher percentile score in biology will be given preference. If the tie persists, candidates scoring higher marks in chemistry will be given preference. If the tie remains after the second step, candidates who have attempted lesser incorrect answers in all the subjects will be preferred. Earlier, age was considered as a tie-breaking criterion but that has now been eliminated.

Last year Akanksha Singh from Uttar Pradesh got rank 2 despite scoring full marks in NEET becuase Odisha’s Soyeb Aftab — who also scored a full score of 720 — was elder to her.

NEET 2021 Result Date

The National Testing Agency (NTA) is all set to announce the results for the medical entrance exam – National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2021. Students can expect the result to be out after October 10. The NTA is currently conducting phase 2 registrations. Over 16 lakh students had registered for the exam out of which over 95 per cent had appeared for it.

NEET 2021: Expected Cut-off

Experts believe that this year’s NEET cut-off could be lower than that of last year. The cut-off score depends upon a number of factors including the number of students who took the exam, total seats available, and the difficulty level of the exam. In 2020, the cut-off score for top colleges was 720-147 and in 2019 it was 701-134. This year, experts believe that for unreserved category students, the score can range from 715 – 130.

Candidates need to secure at least 50 percentile marks to clear NEET 2021, however, that is only for students belonging to the unreserved category. Those belonging to the SC, ST, must secure 40 percentile and PwD candidates need to score 45 percentile. Physically differently-abled candidates from a reserved category need to secure 40 percentile to pass the exam. Selected candidates need to register for a counselling process after the result is released.