It is expected that the National Testing Agency (NTA) will declare the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET - UG) results and issue the answer key today, June 13. To recall, NEET UG 2023 was held on May 7 for over 20 lakh undergraduate medical aspirants. 
 

Ahead of the release of the results, experts are of the view that the cut-off this year is going to be similar to 2022. 
 

The NEET UG cut-off in 2022

In 2022, the NEET UG cut-off for all the categories dropped from the previous year, 2021. The NEET cut-off last year for unreserved category candidates had decreased from 720-138 in 2021 to 715-117 in 2022. The NEET UG cut-off last year for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) category candidates also declined from 137-108 in 2021 to 116-93 in NEET UG last year. 
 

Moreover, the NEET cut-off for MBBS and BDS for medical aspirants belonging to the General category was 50th, while it was 40th for OBC, SC and ST candidates, as stated in a report by Career 360. 
 

Experts predictions when it comes to cut-offs

Jayaprakash Gandhi, an education expert from Tamil Nadu predicts, "In All India Quota (AIQ), students have to score more than 620 and Scheduled Castes (SCs) students should score more than 500." 
 

Director of Spark Academy, Telangana, Yasasvi Santosh forecasts, "In General Category, it may be 500+ for MBBS and 450+ for BDS. AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) cut-off is expected to go higher, that is, 620 to 650."

What about the difficulty level of the paper itself? "This time, Biology paper was fairly easy, while Chemistry was the same and Physics was a little twisted," added Gandhi. Similarly, the CEO of NEETPrep, Kapil Gupta said, "The paper was comparatively easier in 2023 when compared to 2022 so the cut-off should go slightly up." 
 

"The last seat closed was around 22,000 with a score of around 598. We do not expect it to be very different this year because colleges have been added and the paper was comparatively easier," Kapil added. Similarly, Gandhi felt, "There will be marginal change, maybe the same or high as the number of medical colleges and seats have been increased."

When is the counselling expected to begin?

In 2022, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) conducted NEET UG 2023 counselling from October 11, 2022, which bothered the candidates as this disturbed their academic cycle and classes. 
 

When EdexLive asked experts when are they expecting the counselling to begin, Santosh from Spark Academy said, "Counselling may start within a month. Last year, students raised concerns about starting the counselling late and this resulted in them missing classes. So the government is also trying to conduct counselling on time."

In contrast, Jayaprakash Gandhi reasons, "Every time, there has been one or another trouble. Not even once the counselling has gone smoothly. Even this year, it may not start before July." Kapil Gupta from Neet Prep said, "We expect the counselling for AIQ to start within 20 days.