The big day for doctors, with MBBS degree and now aspiring to pursue PG, is here. NEET PG 2021 will be held today, on September 11, 2021. The timings of the exam are 9 AM to 12:30 PM. National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is organizing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET PG).
A total of 1,75,063 candidates have applied to appear in NEET PG this year. In order to accommodate the test takers, keeping their safety in mind, a total of 800 exam centers have been set up across the country, in 260 cities. Moreover, the board has arranged for providing face shield, face mask, as well as sanitizer sachets to candidates at the centers.
As future MD/MS students from across India appear for the exam today, each of them is at the minimum aiming to clear cut-off, and at best wishing to score high enough to get the course of their choice in the top medical colleges in India.
Last Year’s Cut Offs – Initial, and Revised, Change in Exam Pattern
The minimum marks to clear NEET PG 2021 is fixed in terms of percentile – Candidates who belong to general and EWS category need 50th percentile; SC, ST, OBC need 40th percentile; and UR-PWD needs 45th percentile.
Last year, the cut off marks against these percentiles were 366, 319, 342 respectively.
However, upon the recommendation of the council, the cut off was later revised, only for the session, to 30th, 20th, and 25th percentile. Which translated to UR, EWS candidates with at least 275 marks, SC / ST / OBC candidates with at least 230 marks, and UR-PWD with a minimum of 252 marks could clear the cut off and became eligible for the counselling process.
A similar tale happened in 2019. Wherein cut offs were initially 340, 295, 317 for the three category groups, but was later reduced to 313 (44th percentile), 270 (34th percentile), and 291 (39th percentile).
While the anomaly may have become a norm, it does not ascertain that history would repeat itself. That is, while probability that cut off percentile will be reduced from the norm may repeat, one should not lower their aim hoping for that to happen.
It can be seen that cut offs rose by 7.6%. As per that, cut off should be 390+. HOWEVER, this year the total number of questions have been reduced, to 200, versus 300 of last year, bringing down the total marks from 1200 to 800. Translating the expected cut off of 390+ out of 1200, to out of 800, brings the expected cut off to 260+.
However it should be noted that the duration of exam has also increased, and the overall question distribution is expected to be a surprise. This can impact the cut offs as well.
Here’s wishing all NEET PG aspirants, best of luck!
