Entrance exam guides and dates

NEET UG is the single entrance for MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, BUMS, BSMS and B.Sc Nursing seats across India, including government, private, deemed and AIIMS/JIPMER seats. Admission is through MCC (15% All India Quota, deemed and central universities) and each state's own counselling (85% state quota and private colleges).

Conducted by

National Testing Agency (NTA)

2027 dates

Not announced. NTA's calendar (to March 2027) does not list NEET UG. The notification usually comes in February, with the exam on the first Sunday of May.

Last exam

Re-exam on 21 June 2026, after the earlier paper was cancelled. Result on 16 July 2026.

Students last cycle

22,79,743 registered, 19,99,895 appeared and 11,21,185 qualified in NEET UG 2026. Top score 715/720.

Paper (2026)

Pen and paper (OMR), Physics, Chemistry and Biology, 720 marks, +4 / −1. NTA confirms the 2027 mode in the bulletin.

2026 counselling

MCC rounds 1–3 and the online stray round are over (stray result 17 October 2026). State rounds have also closed.

Eligibility

Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology and English; 50% in PCB (40% for SC/ST/OBC, 45% for PwBD); at least 17 years by 31 December of the admission year

NEET PG is the entrance for MD, MS, PG Diploma and DNB seats. NBEMS changed the paper in 2026, so scores are now out of 720 instead of 800. Counselling runs on two tracks: MCC for 50% All India Quota, deemed and central university seats, and each state for its own quota.

Conducted by

National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS)

Exam

30 August 2026, with a re-exam on 5 September 2026 for two Jaipur centres. Result on 24 September 2026.

Students

2,73,096 registered; 2,65,960 appeared (2,63,544 on 30 August and 2,416 in the re-exam)

Paper (from 2026)

180 questions in five timed sections of 36, 3 hours 30 minutes, +4 / −1. Maximum 720 (it was 200 questions for 800 until 2025).

Top scores

AIR 1 scored 641; the top 20 scored between 614 and 641.

Qualifying cut-off

262 for General and EWS; 226 for SC, ST and OBC

MCC Round 2 (revised)

Registration till 14 November 2026, 3 pm; choice locking from 14 November, 4 pm to 15 November, 11:55 pm; provisional result 16 November; final result 17 November

Round 3 and stray

MCC's tentative dates: Round 3 registration from 26 November, stray round from 16 December. These are likely to move after the Round 2 revision, so check mcc.nic.in.

Related exams

INI-CET for the January 2027 session was held on 1 November 2026. NEET-SS 2026 is tentatively on 11–12 December 2026. FMGE's next session moved from 9 January to January/February 2027; NBEMS will notify the date.

CAT is the entrance for the IIMs and hundreds of other B-schools. Most students also write one or two of XAT, SNAP, NMAT and CMAT to widen their options. Each school then runs its own shortlist, written test and interview.

CAT 2026

Sunday, 29 November 2026, in three slots, conducted by IIM Indore. Admit card out since 4 November at iimcat.ac.in. Result expected in the first week of January 2027.

CAT students last cycle

About 2.58 lakh appeared in CAT 2025

XAT 2027

Apply by 6 December 2026 at xatonline.in. Exam on Sunday, 3 January 2027, 2 to 5 pm.

SNAP 2026

Apply by 25 November 2026 at snaptest.org. Tests on 13, 19 and 26 December 2026.

NMAT 2026

Testing window 2 November to 20 December 2026. Registration closed on 10 October.

CMAT 2027

7 February 2027, as per NTA's calendar

The Common Law Admission Test is the main entry to the 5-year integrated LLB programmes at the National Law Universities (every NLU except NLU Delhi, which uses AILET). Several private law schools also accept CLAT scores.

Conducted by

Consortium of National Law Universities

Exam date

Sunday, 6 December 2026, 2:00 to 4:00 pm

Mode

Offline, pen and paper (OMR)

Paper

120 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours, mostly passage-based

Marking

+1 for a correct answer, −0.25 for a wrong one, 0 if left blank

Eligibility

Class 12 with at least 45% (40% for SC/ST). Students in Class 12 can apply. No upper age limit.

Applications

3 August to 7 November 2026 (extended from 31 October; now closed). Corrections closed 10 November.

Admit card

Expected in the last week of November 2026 on the Consortium website

After the exam

Result about a week later; NLU counselling starts late December

Students last cycle

72,631 sat CLAT UG 2026 (88,657 including LLM)

MAH-LLB 5-Year CET is the state entrance for 5-year integrated LLB courses (BA LLB, BBA LLB and others) in Maharashtra's law colleges, with admission through the state's centralised admission process (CAP). Graduates write the separate 3-year LLB CET.

Conducted by

State Common Entrance Test Cell, Maharashtra

Exam date

Not announced. The 2026 exam was on 8 May 2026; the CET Cell usually publishes the schedule in late November

Mode

Online, computer-based

Paper

120 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours (cut from 150 in 2025)

Sections

Legal aptitude & reasoning, GK & current affairs, logical reasoning, English and basic mathematics

Eligibility

Class 12 with 45% (40% for reserved categories), as per the CET Cell's notice

Admission

Merit list and CAP rounds run by the CET Cell

Students last cycle

29,288 sat the 5-year LLB CET in 2026

The All India Law Entrance Test is conducted by National Law University Delhi for its own 5-year BA LLB (Hons). NLU Delhi does not take CLAT scores, so students aiming for it must write AILET separately.

Conducted by

National Law University, Delhi

Exam date

Sunday, 13 December 2026, 2:00 to 4:00 pm

Mode

Offline, pen and paper

Paper

150 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours

Marking

+1 for a correct answer, −0.25 for a wrong one

Eligibility

Class 12 pass or appearing; minimum marks as set in NLU Delhi's notice

Applications

7 August to 10 November 2026 (now closed)

Admit card

30 November 2026, in your login on the NLU Delhi website

Students last cycle

22,532 sat the BA LLB paper of AILET 2026