NEET UG 2026 Cutoff Rises To 213 As Fewer Students Qualify
NEET UG 2026 cutoff jumps to 213, the highest ever, while 1.15 lakh fewer students qualify compared to last year. Full category-wise breakdown inside.
AC Team
The NEET UG 2026 results are out, and they have thrown up a surprise. The qualifying cutoff for the General category has jumped to 213, the highest it has ever been. If you were expecting a smooth ride into MBBS this year, you might want to sit down for this one.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) released the results, and soon the application process for MBBS admissions will begin. But before students start filling forms, it helps to understand what this year's numbers actually mean.
The Cutoff Jump, Explained
Last year, the qualifying cutoff for General and EWS candidates was 114. This year, it has nearly doubled to 213. That is not a small change. It is the kind of jump that makes students check their scorecards twice, just to be sure.
The OBC, SC, and ST categories saw a similar rise. Their cutoff moved from 113 last year to 177 this year.
Here is how the qualifying range has shifted over the past three years:
- 2024: 720 to 162
- 2025: 686 to 144
- 2026: 715 to 213
So the top scores have stayed roughly the same, but the bottom line for qualifying has moved up sharply. In simple terms, you need to score a lot more this year just to be in the running.
Fewer Students Made The Cut
Along with the higher cutoff, fewer students qualified this year. The number dropped from 12.37 lakh last year to 11.21 lakh this year. That is about 1.15 lakh students who did not make it through this time.
The overall pass percentage stood at 56.1%. Now, before anyone assumes students suddenly forgot everything they studied, here is the twist. The data suggests this drop is not really about poor performance. It looks more like a case of students skipping the exam altogether, rather than attempting it and failing.
So if you are a NEET aspirant reading this, take a breath. The exam itself was not necessarily tougher. A lot of students simply did not show up.
Category Wise Pass Percentage
Breaking down the pass percentage by category gives a clearer picture of who cleared the exam this year:
- EWS: 61.8% (the highest pass rate among all categories)
- OBC: 60.7%
- SC: 52.4%
- General: 51.2%
- ST: 49%
Interestingly, the EWS category recorded the highest pass percentage this year, which is worth noting for anyone tracking category-wise trends over the years.
How Many Students Qualified From Each Category
In terms of actual numbers, here is how many students qualified from each category:
- OBC: 5.12 lakh students
- General: 2.91 lakh students
- SC: 1.59 lakh students
- EWS: 95,026 students
- ST: 63,716 students
- PwBD: 3,666 students
The OBC category leads by a wide margin in absolute numbers, followed by General and SC categories.
What This Means For MBBS Aspirants
With a higher cutoff and fewer qualifiers, competition for MBBS seats is likely to feel tighter this admission cycle. Students who cleared the exam should keep a close watch on counselling dates and seat allotment schedules once they are announced.
For those who did not qualify this time, remember that NEET gives another shot next year. A lot can change between now and then, including your preparation strategy and, who knows, maybe next year's cutoff will decide to behave itself.
