- NEET 2026: Slight increase in applications, number of seats expected to increase
- 99% students get exam city of first choice, less stress
- Increase in seats will affect MBBS admission competition
- There is a possibility of increasing the attendance rate in the medical entrance examination.
An interesting picture has emerged this year among lakhs of students preparing for medical. While every year there was a big jump in NEET UG applications, the increase in NEET 2026 has been very nominal. In comparison to last year, this time only about 3 thousand more students were seen registering. This figure is both shocking and a relief, because in the meantime a big increase in MBBS seats is being expected.
National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued admit cards for NEET 2026 to 22,79,743 candidates. The special thing is that more than 99 percent students have got the exam city of their first choice. This is expected to reduce the rush, travel hassles and stress before the examination to a great extent. The examination will be conducted in a single shift across the country on May 3.
How many applications were there last year?
Last year, around 22.76 lakh students had applied for NEET, while the MBBS seats were around 1.29 lakh. The competition becomes very tough as the number of candidates is many times more than the seats. But this time the picture may change. According to sources associated with the National Medical Commission (NMC), many new medical colleges have applied to start MBBS course. Also, old colleges have proposed to increase seats. It is believed that there may be a significant increase in the number of seats in the coming session.
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This is the reason why this time there was not much jump in the number of candidates, but with the increase in seats, the pressure on students may reduce to some extent. Through NEET, one can get admission not only in MBBS but also in courses like BDS, Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha, yet the maximum competition remains only for MBBS.
How many examination centers were built?
This time NTA has kept the arrangement of examination centers the same as before. 5,446 examination centers have been set up across the country. At the time of registration, three preferred cities were asked from the students, on the basis of which centers were allotted. Information about the exam city was given on April 12 itself, so that the students could get time to prepare in advance.
NEET is one of those examinations in the country where the attendance rate is highest. Last year about 97 to 98 percent students appeared in the examination. This time, since most of the students have got the city of their choice, the attendance rate is expected to increase further.
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