NEET UG 2024: Lowered ranks in revised scores? Here’s how you can cope, according to mental health experts

Picture this: 

You dream of becoming a doctor, so you decide to study hard and give your best shot at getting into a medical college. 

Aware of the competition in medical admissions, you start preparing from class XI, hoping that it would give you a headstart in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Exam for Undergraduate Admissions, 2024 (NEET UG 2024). 

You forego rest, leisure and entertainment as you devote yourself to studying for the exam and even burn the midnight oil. 

On D-Day, you walk into the exam centre, confident in your preparation and ready to do your best — only to be handed the wrong question paper. Even after being given the correct paper 30 minutes into the exam, you are not compensated for the loss of time. 

Not even a day passes after the exam, you hear fellow NEET UG aspirants speculate that the exam paper was leaked. You watch helplessly as the National Testing Agency denies any possibility of a paper leak, but the Bihar Police registers a First Investigation Report for the same and arrests 13 people in connection to the case. 

Fast forward to a month later — you wonder why the results were declared 10 days earlier than expected, and that too, quietly as the rest of the nation was caught up in the chaos of the declaration of the Lok Sabha election results. 

When you check your results, you are pleased to see that you scored a perfect 720/720 mark, and you garner much celebration and fanfare. 

Your face even makes it atop posters and advertising material of several coaching institutes, and you are hailed for your achievement – only to find out later that did 66 others also scored a perfect 720/720. 

You and your fellow aspirants start noticing discrepancies in the marks and see that despite good scores, many candidates still ranked low. 

Dejected, you appeal to the Supreme Court to provide relief to you and several thousands of candidates. While the Court is hearing your petition, news emerges that the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Text now stood cancelled due to an alleged paper leak. As a result, your trust in the examination system starts to waver. 

You suspect mass malpractice in the exam that you prepared so hard for and hope that the Supreme Court recognises this, providing recourse to many crestfallen aspirants like you – only for that to never happen, as the Supreme Court orders a recounting of the scores, based on a revised question, and strikes down any possibility of large-scale malpractices in the exam. 

In the new scores, you see that your score has dropped significantly, and you are no longer a topper.

This is not one person’s story. Rather, this seems to be the experience of several NEET UG candidates, whose hope for justice in the face is several discrepancies and an alleged paper leak was tarnished by the Supreme Court’s order on July 24, which mandated the recounting of the exam scores based on one question. 

In the revised NEET UG 2024 scores released yesterday, July 26, it was found that about 450 students did not qualify for NEET UG counselling, and the number of candidates with perfect scores dropped to 17. 

Feelings of disappointment throughout

After the verdict was announced, there seems to be a palpable dissatisfaction among aspirants. 

“Even though my daughter’s rank increased, it would not matter because she cannot seek admission to the college that she deserves,” says Dr Raj Shekhar Yadav, the parent of a NEET UG 2024 candidate.  

He adds that even though he was happy with his daughter’s improved rank, he still feels unsatisfied. “We feel like the aspirants were denied justice,” he says. 

In such a situation, it is natural for aspirants to feel disheartened, says Dr Saras Bhaskar, a Chennai-based Counselling Psychologist and founder of Professional Counselling Services. 

“Feelings of shock, denial and disappointment are expected, as the number of qualifying candidates decreased in the revised results. Students feel like their dreams of becoming doctors have come crashing – this time, for factors not in their control,” she says. 

She adds that with all the discrepancies in the exam, they will start doubting not only the examination system but also themselves. “It is easy to say that this is not the end of the road or that such a thing won’t happen again, but such statements are nothing compared to the loss faced by the students,” she says. 

Support systems for students

Dr Bhaskar adds that students must be given the space to process this loss. “Only by properly grieving, can they truly come to terms with such setbacks. After that, they can set their sights on what is to come,” she explains. 

In addition, it is also important for students not to isolate themselves due to their marks. “Isolation leads to depression and self-doubt. Students need to be around people to avoid succumbing to these feelings,” she says. 

She places the onus of preventing students from isolating themselves on their parents. “It is feelings of shame and embarrassment that force students to isolate themselves. Parents and family members must help students cope with their loss, and provide a support system for them,” she adds. 

Echoing these sentiments, Dr Poorna Chandrika, professor in the Department of Psychiatry of The Institute of Mental Health says, “Students are not to blame for their low ranks in this situation. Parents must understand this, and help their children plan for what’s next.”

“I think that students need to be congratulated for not giving up and trying to fight for justice,” she adds. 

Moving ahead is necessary

Both Dr Bhaskar and Dr Chandrika emphasise the need for students to move ahead from this loss. 

“Yes, there were a lot of things that weren’t in students’ control, like the exam discrepancies. But they still have their scores and ranks. They must start looking at what courses and colleges open up for them with these ranks,” she explains. 

She says that there are several Allied Sciences courses in medicine that students can pursue. 

In a similar vein, Dr Bhaskar narrates, “I know a lot of girls who now want to pursue Nursing when they found that their NEET UG scores weren’t adequate for MBBS admission.”

“Be it taking a gap year or looking at other courses in medicine – students must be on the lookout for what to do next, and resilient enough to move on from this loss,” she says. 

Dr Chandrika adds that it was good that discrepancies in the exam were spotted earlier. “Imagine if this happened after the admissions were completed, and the Supreme Court cancels the exam. How traumatising might that have been?” she asks. 

She opines that this would be a teaching moment for the government as well as the students. “Students should truly move beyond this exam and their results, so that they can emerge stronger,” she says.