Speculations around the NEET UG 2025 cutoff are on the hype more than ever, as the NTA has decided to take the exam level to the next level. With recent changes in the NEET exam pattern and transparency, aspirants are eager to know if NEET UG 2025 cutoff will decrease compared to the previous years.
Recently, the National Testing Agency (NTA) issued an important official notice regarding the National Entrance Eligibility Test-2025, in which the NTA has decided to remove the optional questions and extra time in the NEET UG 2025 exam during COVID-19 and implement the pattern of NEET UG before the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is not the only change in NEET UG 2025; NTA might introduce more changes in NEET UG 2025. Thus, the question of a decrease in the NEET 2025 cutoff has been raised among the aspirants.
Well, if you are going to appear in the upcoming NEET exam and want to know will NEET 2025 cutoff decrease or not, we have got you this article. Make sure to scroll till the end and read all this article.
Will NEET 2025 Cutoff Decrease?
Yes, there will be a decrease in NEET 2025 cutoff. The primary reason behind this decrease is last year’s controversy over NEET UG results. However, there could be many other reasons behind this, including increased transparency, change in the exam pattern, and the number of aspirants, which we will discuss in the article.
In the paper leak case in NEET UG 2024, questions were raised across the country on the process of conducting the NTA Exam and the sanctity of the exam. After the protests of academicians and opposition parties in Parliament, the matter went to the country’s Supreme Court.
After this, the Supreme Court constituted a 6-member committee under the chairmanship of former ISRO chief Dr K Radhakrishnan to investigate the NEET paper leak and the mechanism of conducting the NTA exam. The committee gave some suggestions for the changes in the NEET exam. The Education minister stated to accept the changes in the upcoming attempts. However, some of the changes have been eliminated by the National Medical Council.
Nevertheless, here are the possible reasons why the NEET UG 2025 cutoff will decrease. Let’s explore these.
Why Will NEET UG 2025 Cutoff Decrease?
As we have mentioned earlier, the level of the exam is going to be difficult this time and NTA would also like that not many candidates get AIR-1 like last year. Apart from these, there are many factors, due to which the cutoff of NEET UG is going to be low this time. We will talk about them in detail below.
Removal of Section B: It was already speculated that the National Testing Agency could remove Section B in NEET like the JEE paper this time. After this, all the candidates will not have the facility of 5 optional questions from each subject and will have to attempt questions from all the subjects. This will make the exam level difficult, and the cutoff of NEET UG 2025 will be low. This will be the primary reason for the decrease in NEET 2025 cutoff, as students used to get help due to the optional questions and high scores. But now, students will have to attempt all the questions, decreasing their chance of scoring well.
Decrease Time: This will be another reason for the decreased NEET UG cutoff. During the COVID-19 period, 20 minutes of extra time was given, which NTA has decided to end with Section B in its latest notification. Now candidates will have 3 hours instead of 3 hours 20 minutes. This means that where candidates used to get 3 hours and 20 minutes for 180 questions, now they will have to do 180 questions in 3 hours. This will also reduce the cutoff of NEET UG 2025.
Seat Availability: Every year, the number of seats in medical colleges increases. There were 55,880 seats in government colleges for counselling of NEET UG 2024. Like last year, if the number of seats increases this time, too, then the cutoff of NEET will be low because the number of seats directly affects the cutoff of any exam.
High Security: NTA faced much criticism after the paper leak incidents in NEET UG 2024. After this, NTA will increase CCTV band biometric verification at the exam centres to prevent cheating. High security and checking will crack down on cheating gangs, and the cutoff will be reduced.
Trend in NEET UG Cutoff (2020-2024)
After COVID-19, there has been a significant increase in the cutoff of NEET UG, because after the COVID-19 epidemic, section B was added to the paper. In which 5 questions were kept optional in all subjects. The cutoff marks of the general category and SC/ST/OBC from 2020 to 2024 are in the table below.
| Year | Cut off Marks General Category | Cut off Marks SC/ST/OBC |
| 2020 | 720-147 | 146-113 |
| 2021 | 720-138 | 137-108 |
| 2022 | 715-117 | 116-093 |
| 2023 | 720-137 | 136-107 |
| 2024 | 720-164 | 163-129 |
How to Deal With Decreased Cutoff in NEET?
A decrease in cutoff indicates an increase in the toughness of the paper. So, if we are expecting a decrease in NEET 2025 cutoff, there is a high chance that NEET UG 2025 paper will be tilted on the difficult side. So, aspirants have to be prepared for it and here are the ways how you should deal with the NEET 2025 decreased cutoff.
Aim for a High Score: If you are a NEET aspirant, prepare for high marks. First, make a timetable, divide your study routine according to the subjects, and read NCERT for all the subjects deeply because, in NEET, questions are asked directly from NCERT. Solve mock tests and previous year questions. Focus on revising as much as possible.
Prepare as Per the Pattern: The paper will be difficult due to the new pattern of NEET. Along with removing optional questions, NTA has also reduced the time, which makes it certain that the paper will be difficult this time. In such a situation, modify your preparation according to the new pattern, for which you must make a smart study plan. Identify your strong and weak topics, and revise the weak points more. Practice Assertion reasoning and conceptual MCQs.
Time Limit: Time will play an essential role according to the new pattern. Till now, your preparation was going on with the strategy of attempting 180 questions in 3 hours 20 minutes. But now you will have to attempt 180 questions in 3 hours. Pay maximum attention to time, and adopt the rule of one question in a minute. Solve over 100 MCQs (PYQ + mock Tests) daily—attempt 2-3 Full-length Tests per week with Strict time management. Prepare mnemonics or notes to memorise complex equations.
StayFocuses: These days, NTA continuously releases notifications, so keep visiting NTA’s official website, nta.nic.in. You can follow PCP’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. We will try to explain every update of NTA to you in simple language.
Conclusion
After the recommendations of Dr. Radhakrishnan’s Committee, which the Supreme Court constituted, everyone expected that, like JEE, NTA could improve NEET UG, including attempt limits and age limits, and conduct it offline. NTA has not implemented these improvements this time. However, in the future, NTA will also implement these improvements in the National Entrance Eligibility Exam Test. In such a situation, the NEET UG paper may become more difficult, and the cutoff may decrease. Therefore, all aspirants must increase their preparation and morale to tackle the increasing competition and exam level.