NEET 2025 Cutoff: Key Factors, Trends & Expected Marks
NEW DELHI: The NEET cutoff is the minimum score a student needs to get admission into top government or private medical colleges in India. This cutoff changes every year depending on several exam-related factors.
To understand how the NEET 2025 cutoff will be decided, students should know it depends on many changing elements such as -
- Last year’s cutoff trends
- Exam difficulty level
- Number of applicants
- Highest scores achieved
- Available medical seats
- Reservation policies
- Changes in exam pattern or syllabus
1. Difficulty Level of the NEET Exam
The difficulty of the NEET exam plays a major role in setting the cutoff. Usually, the paper is moderate to difficult but any change in the paper-setting style can make the exam harder or easier, which impacts the cutoff.
NEET Difficulty Level (Last 5 Years):
| Year | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Moderate to difficult (expected) |
| 2024 | Moderate to difficult |
| 2023 | Moderate to difficult |
| 2022 | Moderate to difficult |
| 2021 | Moderate to difficult |
| 2020 | Easy to moderate |
2. Number of NEET Applicants
The more students appear for NEET, competition increases, leading to a higher cutoff.
NEET Applicants (Last 5 Years):
| Year | Number of Applicants |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Approx. 23 lakh (expected) |
| 2024 | Approx. 24 lakh |
| 2023 | Approx. 21 lakh |
| 2022 | Approx. 19 lakh |
| 2021 | Approx. 16 lakh |
| 2020 | Approx. 16 lakh |
3. Availability of Medical Seats
The number of seats in medical courses affects the cutoff. Fewer seats with more applicants raise competition and cutoff scores.
Seat Availability by Program:
| Course/College | Seats |
|---|---|
| MBBS | 91,415 |
| AIIMS MBBS | 1,205 |
| JIPMER MBBS | 200 |
| BDS | 27,948 |
| AYUSH | 52,720 |
| BSc Nursing | 487 |
| BVSc | 603 |
4. Reservation Policies
The cutoff differs by category. For example, in 2025, the expected cutoff for the General category is between 720 to 162, while for SC candidates it is 161 to 127.
Reservation Breakdown:
| Category | Reservation % |
|---|---|
| SC | 15% |
| ST | 7.5% |
| OBC-NCL | 27% |
| EWS | 20% |
| PwD | 5% |
5. Highest Marks Secured
The highest score in NEET each year also affects the cutoff. High scorers makes the cutoff higher, especially for top colleges.
Top NEET Scores (Last 5 Years):
| Year | Highest Score |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 720 |
| 2023 | 720 |
| 2022 | 715 |
| 2021 | 720 |
| 2020 | 720 |
6. Previous Year NEET Cutoffs
Last year's cutoff acts as a reference for the current year. Based on trends, the expected 2025 general category cutoff will expected be between 720 and 162 marks.
Cutoff Trends (General Category):
| Year | Cutoff Range |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 720–162 (expected) |
| 2024 | 720–164 |
| 2023 | 720–137 |
| 2022 | 715–117 |
| 2021 | 720–138 |
| 2020 | 720–147 |
7. Changes in Exam Pattern or Syllabus
Any change in the syllabus or exam format affects performance and can change the cutoff.
NEET 2024 Syllabus Changes:
- Returned to pre-COVID pattern
- Removed optional questions in Section B
- Reduced exam time to 180 minutes
- Reduced total chapters from 97 to 79
- Dropped topics like Digestion, Absorption and Reproduction in Organisms
- Removed 18 chapters from Physics
- Divided Chemistry into Physical, Organic and Inorganic sections.
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