Over 72,000 applications for medical seats in TN exceed NEET qualifiers

CHENNAI: A total of 72,627 candidates have applied for undergraduate medical admissions in Tamil Nadu for the 2026-27 academic year, with the number of applicants exceeding the total number of students who qualified in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) from the State.

The online application process for MBBS and BDS admissions closed on Sunday after the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DME) extended the deadline by 29 hours in the interest of students.

Initially, 70,485 candidates had submitted their applications. Following the extension from 10 am on July 26 to 3 pm on July 27, another 2,142 candidates registered, taking the total number of applications to 72,627.

According to official data, 61,306 candidates from Tamil Nadu qualified in NEET this year. However, the number of applications received for medical counselling is significantly higher than the number of NEET-qualified candidates from the State. Explaining the higher application count, a DME official said, “Many applicants could be students belonging to TN families residing in other states for employment who appeared for NEET outside Tamil Nadu but remain eligible to seek admission in the State. Students from other states may have applied under the management quota in private self-financing medical colleges in TN.”

The State has 16,199 UG medical seats (13,999 MBBS and 2,200 BDS), of which, 5,349 MBBS seats are in government colleges or under the government quota, while 8,650 are under the management quota. Among the BDS seats, 250 are government seats and 1,950 are under the management quota.

Officials said that all nativity certificates and supporting documents would be scrutinised during the verification process to ensure eligibility. Medical counselling will commence after the completion of document verification.