Tamil Nadu: MBBS cut-offs expected to rise, counselling to begin on August 13

CHENNAI: MBBS cut-offs for government medical college seats in Tamil Nadu are expected to increase by 13-40 marks in the general category and by up to 49 marks under the 7.5% reservation for government school students this year.

Health Minister K Arunraj, who released the state rank list for MBBS and BDS admissions for the 2026-27 academic year on Monday, said that online counselling would begin on August 13. Special category students will attend offline counselling at Omandurar Government Medical College on the same day.

Villupuram’s Venkatapathy Velayutham topped the rank list with 705 marks in NEET, followed by Srinika B of Pudukkottai with 700 marks and Sudar of Virudhunagar with 696 marks.

The cut-off for MBBS seats in private medical colleges under the government quota is also expected to rise by up to 23 marks under the 7.% reservation. For students seeking admission to private medical colleges under the 7.5% quota, the increase is expected to be up to 50 marks.

A total of 9,999 MBBS seats will be filled through state counselling this year, including 5,600 seats in government medical colleges and 4,005 in private medical colleges. The State has added around 850 MBBS seats compared to last year, despite the loss of seats following three medical colleges being granted deemed university status. Around 2,000 BDS seats will be filled through counselling, about 200 fewer than last year.

Under the 7.5% reservation for government school students, 537 MBBS and 104 BDS seats (641 total) will be available. M Dinesh of Nagapattinam topped the category with 599 NEET marks, followed by Dharanish BS of Salem and Rajesh R of Pudukkottai, both with 595 marks.

The government has begun a review of the 7.5% reservation scheme as part of the mandatory five-year review to assess its effectiveness and decide whether it should be continued, extended or modified.

Five candidates were disqualified this year for submitting fake NEET scorecards, compared to 25 such cases detected last year. In one case, a candidate who had actually scored 170 marks allegedly submitted documents showing a score of 552.

Reiterating the government’s opposition to NEET, Arunraj said, “The State will continue its legal and political efforts seeking a permanent solution and abolition of the examination.”