Difference between Qualifying Score and Cutoff for NEET

Hello Future Doctors. Now that the NEET exam is done, I’m sure most of you might be worried about the results. As we wait for the results, we have a goal in mind. ‘I need a minimum of 600 marks.’ was what was going through my head when I was awaiting the NEET result.

But how did I decide that I needed 600 marks? Is it the cut off for colleges near me or is it the qualifying score? Are these two terms different? Do they mean different numbers? Let’s find out.

The admission process

I hope you all know that the process for admission after NEET is centralized, which means it occurs via a nationwide counselling process. In this process, they collect your information, your NEET results and also ask you for your college preferences.

Then based on all this data they allot the colleges to the students based on the rank list. This means that the high rankers will be more likely to get their preferred colleges and as we go down the rank list, the chances of getting your first preference college goes down.

To be eligible for this counselling process you need to get a minimum score which is called the qualifying score. This is like the passing percentage. Cutoff comes into the scene later while allotment of colleges takes place.

I hope that it is clear now that ‘Qualifying Score’ and ‘Cutoff’ are two different terms. Detailed explanation is given below.

Qualifying Score or Qualifying Marks for NEET

As I mentioned above, qualifying score is the minimum number of marks that you need to be able to appear for the counselling process. If you do not get the Qualifying score, you will not be eligible to undergo the counselling process.

Now, instead of keeping the qualifying score constant over the years, the NTA has made sure that it changes as per the difficulty level of the paper in the given year. The qualifying score is thus set as the 50th percentile score of that year.

This means that you have qualified if you have scored better than 50% of the aspirants that gave the exam with you. This can be indicated by a percentile over 50 in the NEET score card. Or, you can also know that you have qualified when NTA releases the official Qualifying Score for the year.

Usually the score is around 117-140. It is safe to say that you will be eligible for counselling if you are scoring above 150. Most people believe that the Qualifying Score is 50% marks which is 360/720. This is obviously not true.

One thing to note is that scoring Qualifying Marks does not guarantee that you will be getting a seat. It is not a good score. Just being eligible for counselling does not make sure that you will get allotted a college. For allotment, you must aim for a cut off score instead of a Qualifying score.

Now, what is the Cut-Off Score?

NEET cut-off

NEET cutoff is that score, which actually helps you get into a medical college. It is the last admission score to a medical seat. If you score lower than the cut-off you will not get a seat even after appearing for counselling. 

Cutoff score is the score that colleges assign for admission, they give you a score benchmark, saying ‘This is the minimum score that you need to get admitted to our college.’ If you get this benchmark score, you will get the seat. And if you don’t get this score then you won’t get admission into the college. When all the colleges are taken into account, an overall cutoff for the year can be announced. This is the NEET cutoff score.

Cut-offs change every year  based on different criteria such as the number of aspirants appearing, difficulty level and much more.

NEET 2024 Cut Off

The following short forms are used in the table:

• PH – Physically Handicapped
• SC- Scheduled Caste
• ST – Scheduled Tribe
• OBC – Other Backward Classes

NEET Category-Wise Cut Off 2023

NEET Category-Wise Cut Off 2022

NEET Category-Wise Cut Off 2021

NEET Category-Wise Cut Off 2020

As mentioned in the tables above, the qualifying score is decided based on the qualifying criteria which ranges from 40th percentile-50th percentile based on the category of the student.