Recently, the NEET UG 2025 exam was conducted, and the competition level of this year’s NEET paper left everyone shocked, as the paper proved to be exceptionally challenging. According to some experts, this year, the NEET UG paper was the toughest exam so far. Especially, the Physics paper was lengthier than it had to be. After the NEET 2025, aspiring aspirants are anxious about the upcoming NEET attempts, and they are continuously asking, Will NEET 2026 be tough?
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Addressing all the similar questions regarding the competition level of NEET 2026, we are here. Further in this article, we will try to know if NEET 2026 will be tougher than NEET 2025 or not.
If you are going to appear in the NEET 2026, this article is important for you to make a strategy for cracking NEET 2026 with a good score and getting admission into one of the top medical colleges in India.
Quick Recap on NEET Exam
As you are all aware, the NEET UG is the only medical entrance exam in India for undergraduate admission to medical courses. The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts this exam annually.
It is an 11th and 12th-grade entrance exam, where 12th-grade appearing and passed candidates can participate. Thus, it covers most of the 11th & 12th class syllabus.
Talking about the pattern of this exam, there are 180 questions in the exam which have to be solved in 3 Hours (180 Minutes). Moreover, the total marks in the NEET UG exam are 720. Let you know, the exam pattern of NEET UG exam has undergone some changes last year, including the removal of section B (optional questions) and decreasing the time duration from 200 Minutes to 180 Minutes.
Returning this year, we anticipate further changes in the NEET UG 2026. Well, it will be a matter to be seen what happens in future.
Difficulty Level Trends in NEET Exam
If we examine the difficulty level of the NEET Exam over the last couple of years, we can see a volatile graph.
Starting from NEET 2023, overall, the exam was easy to moderate. Chemistry was on the challenging side, then came Biology, and finally, Physics was on the easier side.
The 2024 NEET exam is considered the easiest paper in NEET UG history, due to which the cutoff went higher than ever. Overall, the exam was assessed as easy. Physics was on the tougher side, Chemistry was easy to moderate, and Biology was the easiest.
But, in the NEET UG 2025, students were shocked after seeing the paper. Everyone out there who is concerned about the NEET exam has assessed the paper as the toughest in history. Many experts even claimed that the paper was at the level of the JEE. However, this yearās difficulty level was intentionally just to balance last yearās higher cutoff.
Analysing the difficulty level of the last three yearsā NEET papers, one thing that can be easily observed is that there is no discernible pattern in the difficulty level that the NTA follows when setting the paper.
Factors That Will Affect NEET 2026 Paper Difficulty
The difficulty level of NEET UG is affected by several factors, including the number of aspirants, the availability of MBBS seats, and the pressure to keep the cutoff low, among others.
1. Pressure of Keeping the Cutoff Low
Even if it is not official, somewhere, NTA has the pressure of keeping the cutoff low, especially after the NEET UG 2024 controversy. Easy paper in NEET 2024 and discrepancy led to the lowest cutoff ever. After that, NTA has the pressure of keeping the cutoff low. Therefore, there are high chances that the NTA will keep the NEET 2026 paper challenging.
2. To Balance the Increasing Applications
No one can disagree that every year the number of aspirants is increasing. Every year, increasing aspirants led to a high cutoff. To balance the cutoff with increasing applications, NTA has to set a standard paper. However, if the number of applicants remains the same, this will not be the reason.
3. Increasing the Intelligence of Aspirants
This could be one of the reasons that can force NTA to make the NEET 2026 paper tough. Let me explain how. As you know, the level of preparation has been increasing in the last few years. NEET coaching institutes are preparing aspirants for the next level, which helps students score high. Keeping all those aspirants in mind, the NTA must make the paper at their respective levels. And with every passing year, it is increasing.
Will NEET 2026 Be Tough?
Yes, it is almost certain that NEET UG 2026 will be tough. All the factors that have come to light so farāpast years’ paper trends, increasing competition, number of students, and NTA’s paper setting strategyāall indicate that NEET 2026 will not be an easy exam.
However, it is not yet clear whether this exam will be as challenging as NEET 2025, slightly tougher, or more balanced. But one thing is certain: there will never be an easy exam like NEET 2024 again. NTA will no longer bring a paper in which students can easily score 650+, and thousands of students will reach close to full marks (720/720).
Scholarship for NEET Aspirants 2026: PCP Sikar
Will NEET 2026 be Tougher Than NEET 2025?
There is very little chance that the NEET 2026 paper will be more difficult than the NEET 2025.
NEET 2025 was already so challenging that most students referred to it as the ātoughest NEET paper everā. The Physics section, in particular, challenged the thinking speed of the students as the questions were not only lengthy but also complex and time-consuming.
In such a case, NTA may not make the paper more difficult than NEET 2025, as this will put immense mental pressure on the students and may lead to criticism of the exam.
However, there is a possibility that the subject of difficulty may change.
- Physics was the toughest in NEET 2025.
- In 2026, NTA may adjust the difficulty level of Biology or Chemistry to maintain a balance, ensuring the difficulty level remains the same.
So, students should not only prepare for Physics but also prepare equally deeply for all three subjects (PCB). NTA does not have any fixed pattern, and it can change the focus of difficulty at any time.
The conclusion is that the NEET 2026 paper can be as difficult or slightly easier than the NEET 2025 paper, but it is assumed that no topic will be left easy to score.
Last Few Words
NEET UG 2026 is not going to be easy ā that is for sure. Considering the recent trends, level of competition, and NTAās strategy, students should leave no stone unturned in their preparation.
Even though the NEET 2026 paper may be slightly lower or at the same level as NEET 2025, it will not be as easy as NEET 2024. NTA will now make such a paper in which only those students will be successful whose concepts are clear, time management is good, and mental strength is strong.
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