On day one,  12,584 register for MBBS, BDS admissions

The rank list for the admission to 85 per cent state quota MBBS and BDS seats will be based on the NEET score. As per National Testing Agency, the NEET cut off score 2019 for general category candidates is 50 percentiles while 40 percentiles for OBC/SC/ST.

With more number of students qualifying in NEET this year, the cut off marks for MBBS admissions in the state is to increase, say experts.

Out of the total 1,23,078 appearing candidates for NEET in Tamil Nadu, about 59,785 students qualified for medical admission. As against the pass percentage of 39.56 per cent in 2018 in Tamil Nadu, there was an increase of 9.01 per cent this year raising it to 48.57 per cent.

“The state syllabus is being updated constantly to stay on a par with the NCERT syllabus and more number of students are able to qualify. The cut off will rise every year as more number of students are appearing every year and thus the cut off might gradually increase in future,” said former MCI presidentDr Brahmanandam.

Last year, the cut-off for general category was 424 for government medical colleges, while for BC and BCM it was 369 and 343 respectively. The cut-off for MBC was 323 and SC was 264, SC and ST had 221 and 199 cut off marks respectively.

“The increase in number of students qualifying for NEET this year, will lead to an increase in the cut off marks by at least 20 marks for general category. For BC candidates, cut off marks can scale up by 40 marks,” said Dr GR Rabindranath, secretary, Doctors’ Association of Social Equality.A total of 3,950 MBBS seats in government medical colleges, including the seats for all India quota and seats in private colleges will also be taken into account. The BDS seats this year are 1,000 after an additional 345 seats were allowed by Medical Council of India in the state this year.

A separate rank list will be released for the remaining 15 per cent seats under All India Quota seats to be filled by Medical Counselling Committee. The applications can be submitted online till 5 pm of June 20. The candidates are required to fill up the MBBS 2019 application form and submit the filled-in applications on or before 5 pm on 21 June, in order to be eligible to attend the counselling sessions.

The MBBS/BDS counselling for government quota seats is to start on July 5, while for special category it is to be held on July 4. The second phase of counselling will depend on the schedule of All India counselling. The counselling schedule will be shared on the official website www.tnhealth.org and www.tnmedicalselection.org.  The first phase of counselling for management quota seats is expected to commence from July 16 to July 18, while the counselling for NRI and minorities will be held on July 15. The candidates will be granted admissions based on marks obtained in NEET 2019.