How have NEET cutoff trends changed over the past five years?

NEET (National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test) cutoff trends have seen some fluctuations over the past five years, generally indicating an increasing level of competition. Several factors influence the NEET cutoff each year, including:

• Difficulty Level of the Exam: A tougher paper generally leads to lower cutoffs, while an easier paper can result in higher cutoffs.
• Number of Test-Takers: An increase in the number of candidates appearing for the exam intensifies competition and can push cutoffs higher.
• Available Seats: The number of MBBS/BDS seats in medical and dental colleges plays a significant role. Limited seats relative to the number of aspirants drive up the cutoff scores.
• Overall Student Performance: If a large number of students perform exceptionally well, the cutoff scores will naturally increase.
• Reservation Policies: Category-wise reservation policies (General, OBC, SC, ST, PwD, EWS) also influence the specific cutoffs for each category.

Here's a breakdown of the general qualifying cutoff trends for the General category over the past five years (2020-2024), along with observations:

NEET Qualifying Cutoff Trends (General Category):

• 2020: 720-147 marks
• 2021: 720-138 marks (Slight decrease from 2020)
• 2022: 715-117 marks (Significant drop, likely due to a tougher paper)
• 2023: 720-137 marks (Increase from 2022, but still lower than 2020)
• 2024: 720-162 marks (Highest cutoff in the past five years, even after a slight revision downwards by 2 marks due to a Supreme Court verdict. This is primarily attributed to a record number of participants - over 24 lakh - and strong overall performance.)

Key Takeaways from the Trend:

• Overall Upward Trend: Despite some dips (like in 2022), the general trend for NEET cutoffs, especially for the General category, has been upward. The 2024 cutoff marks the highest in recent history, indicating increasingly stiff competition.
• Impact of Number of Candidates: The consistent increase in the number of NEET aspirants each year is a primary driver for the rising cutoffs. For example, the record 2.33 million candidates in NEET 2025 (as mentioned in some search results for 2025 predictions) continues this trend.
  Fluctuations based on Difficulty: The significant drop in cutoff in 2022 highlights the impact of the exam's difficulty level. A more challenging paper leads to lower qualifying marks.
• Category-wise Variation: While the general trends are observable, cutoffs for reserved categories (OBC, SC, ST) generally follow a similar pattern but remain lower due to their respective percentiles (40th percentile for OBC/SC/ST compared to 50th for General).

It's important to differentiate between qualifying cutoffs (minimum marks to pass the exam) and admission cutoffs (the score/rank required for admission to a specific college). Admission cutoffs are usually much higher, especially for highly sought-after colleges like AIIMS Delhi. These too have seen a general increase in competitiveness, with top colleges demanding even higher ranks each year.

For future NEET exams, experts generally predict a continuing upward trend in cutoffs due to rising competition and potentially consistent difficulty levels.