MBBS Admission in India - Colleges, NEET and Eligibility Criteria, Medical Counselling Committee (MCC)

MBBS Admission in India | MBBS Course Duration, Eligibility, Fees, Seats

MBBS Admission in India - Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) is a professional course in medicine, for which the students are awarded with MBBS upon successful completion of the course. The course is essential to become a doctor in Medical Practice; thus certifying a person in providing basic health care to the community. Medicine is one of the most lucrative and sought after career options across the globe and in India.

MBBS Course Duration:

Duration of MBBS course is 5 ½ years in which 4 ½ years is classroom/hospital/community studies followed by one year of compulsory rotating internship after the regular course. Course study used to be divided into 3 phases of 18 months known as Professionals (Prof). But nowadays in almost all the states, first professional is of one year, second professional is for 18 months and the last or third professional is of two years’ duration. The variation is according to the state and universities.

In Training Exams:

There is a professional exam after each professional. These exams are held by the university and one has to clear the exam to proceed to the next prof. The second and third professional comprises of clinical work in the wards and departments of hospital as well classroom and laboratory learning. There is a very strong community care component taught as Community Medicine (SPM/PSM) and the classes start from year one. The University exam for Community Medicine is usually held in the penultimate year of the entire course. Each professional examination is followed by practical and clinical examinations. Weightage is also given to sectional exams, practical’s, attendances and field visits. A candidate has to score a sum total of 50 per cent marks in each subject and aggregate to pass these examinations. MBBS degree is granted after a student has cleared all the three profs.

Eligibility for MBBS Admission in India

MBBS Admission in India is governed by Rules and Regulations of Medical Council of India (MCI). The minimum eligibility for the course in India is 10+2 including Physics, Chemistry and Biology. A candidate must have scored an aggregate of 50% in the 12th class examination in general category and 40% in backward category in order to be eligible for admission to MBBS course in India. A candidate must be of minimum 17 years of age on or before 31st day of December of the year of admission.

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Synopsis of Undergraduate MBBS Training in India

Course Level	Graduation
Duration	Four and a half year with compulsory one-year internship. Total 51/2 years.
Examination Type	Professionals System
Eligibility	10+2 with 50-60% marks, in the Science stream with Biology.
Admission Process	NEET UG
Course Fee	INR 35000 to 12 Lacs
Starting Salary	INR 4 to 20 lacs per annum (Salary starts from Internship)
Top Recruiters	Govt Medical Colleges, Fortis, Max Hospitals, All other private colleges.

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Medical Colleges in India

In India, there are two kind of medical colleges; Government and Private Medical Colleges. The admission to both is the same though the fees is lower in government medical colleges. Some of these medical colleges are more than century old like Christian Medical Colleges, Vellore and Ludhiana . AIIMS , JIPMER , CMC and KGME Manipal are rated very high in India for MBBS and higher courses like MD/MS.

List of Top 25 medical colleges of India

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MBBS Entrance Exams

A candidate has to take an entrance exam to get MBBS Admission in India. There is only one test to be taken for entrance to MBBS course in India. Earlier there used to be a separate test for AIIMS campuses as well as for JIPMER. But from this year onward the following test will admit students to all medical colleges in India.

1. NEET UG - National Eligibility cum Entrance Test

NEET UG is the entrance test required for admission to MBBS courses in India as per the directions of Supreme Court of India. NEET scores are considered for admission to all medical colleges and universities in including AIIMS and JIPMER, who use to conduct their own entrance test for admission to MBBS earlier.

MBBS Seats in India

There are about 470 medical colleges in India with about 66,620 seats for MBBS. AIIMS has more than 1000 seats for MBBS for all its campuses and JIPMER has 200 seats for MBBS.

NEET UG Exam

NEET UG is a medical entrance exam conducted by CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) at national level. It is for admission to MBBS and BDS courses in all MBBS and BDS courses in India. This exam is one tier and held once in the year. NEET has replaced AIPMT exam, a test for all India quota seats, state/management/NRI seats in medical colleges and deemed universities.

Syllabus for NEET Entrance Exam

The syllabus includes class XI and XII topics prepared by reviewing different State syllabi and syllabi prepared by the Council Board of School Education (CBSE), National Council of Education Research, Central Board of Secondary Education and Training (NCERT). Details of the syllabus are available in the Information Brochure of NEET UG

NEET Important Dates

These are important dates for NEET. Keep a note of these dates as these will be very useful.

NEET Tentative Dates

This year the exam has been delayed. Please click on the link to find out the latest information.

Application Form for NEET

The mode of release and submission of NEET application is online wherein a candidate has to register on the NEET website for accessing the application form. A candidate receives ID and password on the registered mobile number and email id for future logins. A candidate has to fill in the required details including choice of examination centers, address, personal details, details of parents and academic details.

A passport sized photograph, signature and left hand thumb impression need to be uploaded. Finally, a candidate has to remit the fee and has various payment options including Net Banking, Debit/Credit Card, Offline mode via challan and E-wallets of different service providers. A print out of the confirmation page is taken and kept safely for future use. The confirmation page must not be sent to the board and has to be kept till the end of admission and counseling process.

NEET Admit Card

The NEET Admit Card is received by candidates who have successfully submitted their application. The admit card is provided by the board via online mode. Postcard size photograph is affixed as per format released along with admit card. The officials need to be contacted incase of any discrepancy found in the admit card. A PDF copy of the hall ticket is sent to the candidate’s registered email ID. A candidate is not allowed to appear for exam without necessary documents. The NTA notifies the exam centers before the release of the application form. Candidates need to fill in their choice of exam center as per the order of preference at the time of filling up the application.

Choice of Centres and Language of the exam:

All candidates have 3 choices for preference of NEET exam centers and all the exam centers are provided with an option to take NEET in Hindi, English and Urdu. Vernacular language option is limited to a particular state and 8 vernacular languages are available apart from Hindi, English and Urdu. Exam cities are selected by candidates in J&K, Meghalaya and Assam without Aadhaar card within their own state only. The NTA does the final allocation of the center on first-cum-first-serve basis. Candidates are allotted NEET exam centers as per their preference and as per availability.

Details of NEET Exam

NEET exam is organized in an offline mode i.e. pen and paper and duration is three hours. There are 180 questions in total and questions are objective type. The question paper is presented in various languages including Gujarati, Oriya, Assamese, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, English, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu. Four marks are given for every correct answer and one mark is deducted for every incorrect answer. There are four sections including Chemistry, Physics, Botany and Zoology with 45 questions and 180 marks each. There are questions from chemistry, physics and biology curriculum of class XI and XII by CBSE in the Exam syllabus.

NEET Exam Date Time Schedule

NEET exam duration and timings are given below. Please be careful about these times as the officials are very particular about timings and students are not allowed inside the exam hall after the stipulated time.

NEET schedule	Time
Entry in the examination hall	1.00 pm to 1.30 pm
Admit card verification	1.30 pm to 1.45 pm
Test booklet distribution	1.45 pm
Breaking booklet seal	1.55 pm
Last entry in the examination hall	1.30 pm
Test start time	2.00 pm
Test end time	5.00 pm

General Instructions for the day of NEET Exam (According to the Prospectus):

• The Examination Centre will open two (02) hours before the commencement of the test.
• No candidate shall be allowed to enter the Examination Centre after 1:30 p.m.
• Therefore, candidates must ensure that they leave home well in advance considering all facts like traffic, location of the centre and weather conditions, etc.
• Candidates are expected to take their seats immediately after the opening of the Examination Hall.
• The candidate must show, on demand, the Admit Card for admission in the Examination Hall. A candidate who does not possess the valid Admit Card shall not be admitted to the Examination Hall under any circumstances by the Centre Superintendent.
• During the examination time, the invigilator will check Admit Card of the candidates to ascertain the identity of each candidate. The invigilators will also put their own signature in the place provided in the Answer Sheet on and Attendance Sheet.
• A seat with a roll number will be allotted to each candidate. Candidates must find out and occupy their allotted seats. If a candidate is found appearing in the Examination from a seat or room other than the allotted one, the candidature shall be cancelled.
• A candidate who comes after 01:30 p.m. shall not be permitted to enter the Examination Centre under any circumstances.
• Candidates must bring ONLY the following documents on the day of examination at the test centre. Candidates who will not bring these will not be allowed to sit in the examination and shall lead to his/her disqualification.
  • Print copy of Admit Card downloaded from NTA’s website.
  • One passport size photograph (same as uploaded on the Online Application Form) for pasting on the specific space in the attendance sheet at Centre during NEET (UG) Examination.
  • Any one of the authorized photo IDs (must be original, valid and non-expired) – PAN card/Driving License/Voter ID/Passport/Aadhaar Card (with photograph) /Ration Card/any other.
  • PwD certificate issued by the Competent Authority, if claiming the relaxation under PwD category.
• Candidates are not allowed to bring any barred item or any item which could be used for Unfair practices. Possession of any such article with the candidates inside the Centre premises will attract the penalties of unfair practices.
• Candidates are advised in their own interest not to bring any of the barred items (Chapter-11) to the venue of the examination as arrangement for safe keeping will not be made and candidates found in possession of these items will not be allowed to enter the Examination Centre.
• No candidate will leave his/her seat or the Examination Room/Hall until the Test concludes as per the schedule. Candidates should not leave the Room/Hall without handing over their OMR Sheets to the invigilator on duty.
• Smoking in the examination centre is strictly prohibited.
• Water Bottles, Tea, coffee, cold drinks or snacks etc. are not allowed to be taken by the candidates into the examination centre. Candidates suffering from diabetes are allowed to carry into the examination hall the eatables (with prior intimation) like sugar tablets / fruits (like banana/apple/orange) and transparent water bottle. However, they will not be allowed to carry packed foods like chocolate/candy/sandwich etc.
• The Test will start exactly at the time mentioned in the Admit Card and an announcement to this effect will be made by the invigilator.
• Before the start of Examination, important instructions will be communicated to the candidates by the invigilator for strict compliance by the candidates.
• A signal will be given at the beginning of the examination and at half time. A signal will also be given before the closing time when the candidate must stop marking the responses.
• The candidate must sign twice on the Attendance Sheet at the specified place, first time immediately after the commencement of examination and second time while handing over the Answer Sheet to the invigilator. The candidates are also required to put their Finger Impressions in the space provided on the Attendance Sheet.
• The candidate will check and ensure that the Test Booklet contains as many number of pages as are written on the top of the cover page.
• For those who are unable to appear on the scheduled date of test for any reason, re-test shall not be held by the NTA under any circumstances.
• The candidates, suffering from Diabetes, may be taken care of at the Centre as per the instructions issued by NTA.

Summary Tips for the NEET UG Exam Day

1. Check the address of your centre. Please go to the centre one day before to check its location and confirm transport modalities!
2. Please aim to reach the exam centre one hour before time! So if the gate closing time is 1 PM, arrive two hours before. Usually there are long queues to get into the centre! No candidate, whatsoever is the reason, shall be allowed entry in examination centre after allotted time.
3. Please read your admit card and prospectus instructions carefully a day before and get the admit card ready! Please take out two printouts of the admit card!
4. Please get five copies of your photo printed. It has to be in the size mentioned on the admit card. Two passport size photos need to be taken to the centre along with the admit card. The photo should be the same as uploaded with the form!
5. One passport size photo needs to be fixed on the admit card. Another needs to be taken to the centre and will be used to fix on the attendance sheet!
6. Get your parents to sign on the admit card one day before!
7. No identity proof needs to be taken to the centre. But its a good idea to keep your original identity proof ready along with a few copies ready with your wards/parents/friends or any person accompanying you to the centre.
8. No arrangement will be made at the centres for keeping any article/item/mobile/purse/Key etc. of the candidates. The below given articles will not be allowed to be taken into the centre.

# Any stationery item like textual material (printed or written), bits of papers, Geometry/Pencil Box, Plastic Pouch, Calculator, Pen, Scale, Writing Pad, Pen Drives, Eraser, Calculator, Log Table, Electronic Pen/Scanner etc.

# Any communication device like Mobile Phone, Bluetooth, Earphones, Microphone, Pager, Health Band Etc.

# Other items like Wallet, Goggles, Handbags, Belt, Cap, ATM/Credit/Debit Card, Plastic Identity Card, any remote key, Watch/Wrist Watch, Camera and any eatable items opened or packed, water bottle etc.

9. Please make a note of the gate closing time! No one is allowed to enter after that mentioned time!
10. Outstation parents should reach the city of the centre one day before even if you stay in a close by city! Things can go wrong with your transport!
11. Students should eat a good meal in the morning and consume plenty of fluids. Hot weather and stress can affect your body and hence your performance!
12. Please wear according to the dress code!

Counselling for NEET after NEET result:

The counselling for NEET is performed in four stages including the mop-up round and Final Stray Vacancy Round. 15% of the total seats in government colleges are reserved for All India Quota seats with an exception to Jammu and Kashmir. These seats are filled by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). The entire counselling process is online and only once the seat is allocated, the candidate will go the allotted college for admission. For the Government colleges in All India Quota, there are only two rounds of counselling. The vacant seats after second counselling are allocated back to the 85% of the state quota.

Admission to Private Deemed MBBS Universities

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) performs admissions for MBBS courses in Deemed Universities at all India level through Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) and admission to MBBS courses to 85% state quota seats is provided by the respective state counselling authorities.

Timelines of NEET Counselling:

The counselling for admission to MBBS through NEET starts in the second week of June and ends by the last week of September.

Each state holds its own set of allotments and the schedules are released after the results of the NEET UG of that particular year is declared. These counselling is held by one university or Board or Commission in that state as decided by the Government of that state. Usually the entire process is online.

State-wise NEET admissions in India are held by respective board designated by states. Each state will have its own set of guidelines. The table below will provide very important information.

Central & State Medical Education Directorates & Offices Details

(Counselling related information may be available for here for 85% state quota and seats falling under state jurisdiction)

Counselling for 15% seats Pan India

This counselling is done by Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). The webpage of MCC becomes active after results of NEET are declared. One has to fill up the counselling forms and deposit the required advance fees. One can opt for government medical colleges in the 15% category, but the merit is very high. One can also opt for private colleges within the same category. Thus after the 15% seats are used up, a student can opt for private college keeping in mind the affordability of the fees.

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Tips and Tricks

1. Announcements for filling up forms for the three entrance tests occur between November and March and a close watch has to be kept.
2. Its good to understand the pattern of exams well in advance, so that one can study according to each test.
3. Special coaching is useful for all the entrance exams, but almost a must for AIIMS and JIPMER as the difficulty level of these tests are high!
4. It’s a good practice to revise by taking previous years question papers mock tests!
5. Speed is essential and thus mock exams are useful.
6. General knowledge is required for AIIMS and JIPMER.
7. After the results are announced, one needs to keep a tab on lot of site and thus likely to miss a counselling or two. It may be a good practice to enroll in some notification providing higher education web site so that you get prior information to fill up the counselling forms.
8. Lot of blogs and articles are available on the web to help you learn more about these tests.
9. Dates can change at short notices; so keep a watch.
10. Sometimes dates and timelines are extended; so don’t despair if you have missed a timeline; keep a watch on that particular website.
11. The list of certificates required is exhaustive and given in the prospectus; do keep originals and photocopies ready and handy.
12. Domicile rules are varied; please read the rules carefully so that you are not disappointed at the last moment.

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Important Websites

1. The official website of the Agency for NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY CUM ENTRANCE TEST(UG) is www.ntaneet.nic.in. All the test related information will be available on this website only.
2. The official websites for counselling of 15% All India seats, Central Institutions and Deemed Universities related information are as under:
   1. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare: www.mohfw.gov.in
   2. Medical Counselling Committee: www.mcc.nic.in
3. For remaining seats, kindly check the website(s) of concerned State(s)/Institution(s).
4. www.mynextexam.com gives a lot of related information.