The NEET UG 2025 has finally finished, and now we are all in the phase where the paper is being analysed and the cutoff is being speculated. After NEET UG 2025, one thing is sure: NTA has finally decided to level up the NEET UG game. This year’s NEET UG paper was one of the toughest NEET exams. This is why everyone is asking if the NEET UG 2025 cutoff will decrease.
Speculations around the NEET UG 2025 cutoff are on the hype more than ever, as everyone is considering the paper harder than ever. With recent changes in the NEET exam pattern and transparency, aspirants are eager to know if the NEET UG 2025 cutoff will decrease compared to the previous years.
As we all know, this year’s NEET UG has undergone many changes, including the removal of optional questions, a decrease in time duration, and minor changes in the syllabus. One thing was certain after these changes: the cutoff would be affected, but how much? It was not certain.
Well, have appeared in the NEET UG 2025 exam and want to know will the 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, the NEET 2025 cutoff will decrease. The primary reason behind this decrease in NEET UG 2025 cutoff is the tough level of the Physics paper in the exam. The NEET UG 2025 physics paper was hard and time-consuming, which led the students to miss questions in the exam.
Secondary reasons were: increased transparency, a 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 about the process of conducting the NTA Exam and its sanctity. 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 said they would accept the changes in the upcoming attempts. However, the National Medical Council has eliminated some of the changes.
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.
Hard Level of Paper: This year’s NEET UG paper was harder than the last few years. Most of the questions in the past few years were based on NCERT concepts. But this year, this trend changed, and NTA made a paper above the NCERT concepts, especially the Physics paper. However, this year’s papers were expected to be harder after last year’s higher cutoff, but this much harder was surprising. Because of the time-consuming and hard paper of Physics, aspirants will lose marks in Physics, and this will lead to a decrease in NEET UG 2025 cutoff.
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 must attempt all the questions, decreasing their chances 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 criticism after the paper leak incidents in NEET UG 2024. To prevent cheating, NTA will increase CCTV band biometric verification at the exam centres. 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. Five 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 Much Will the NEET 2025 Cutoff Decrease?
Given the tough paper and new pattern of NEET UG 2025, it is certain that the All India Quota (AIQ) cutoff will fall this time. Especially the difficult and time-consuming paper of Physics, the elimination of section B, and the reduction in time duration — all these factors together will affect the cutoff.
Here we are giving you the expected cutoff for different categories under the All India Quota in Government Medical Colleges:
- General & OBC – Approximately 555 marks (+/- 10 marks)
- EWS (Economically Weaker Section) – Approximately 550 marks (+/- 10 marks)
- SC (Scheduled Caste) – Approximately 450 marks (+/- 10 marks)
- ST (Scheduled Tribe) – Approximately 430 marks (+/- 10 marks)
It is important to note that the cutoff estimates given here are only for the All India Quota (AIQ). The cutoff for the State Quota is not included in this article. State-wise cutoffs vary, and the counselling authority of the respective state releases the information for the same.
If the exam level and NTA’s transparency remain the same, a similar cutoff drop can be seen in the coming years. Therefore, all the candidates should leave no stone unturned in their preparation.
Advice for Future Aspirants
After the recommendations of Dr. Radhakrishnan’s Committee, which the Supreme Court constituted, everyone expected that, like JEE, NTA could improve NEET UG, including the attempt 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. In such a situation, the competition will increased in NEET UG, and paper will be more difficult, and the cutoff may decrease. Therefore, all aspirants must increase their preparation and morale to tackle the increasing competition and exam level.