The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) released the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Super Speciality 2024 (NEET-SS 2024) today, April 26.
The NEET-SS exam is conducted as a screening test for the admissions process of specialty courses like the Doctor of Medicine (DM), Magister Chirurgiae (MCh), and Doctorate of National Board (DrNB).
The exam took place on March 29 and 30, following delays in the exam timeline. It was originally scheduled to be conducted in January 2025.
Candidates who appeared for the exam described the difficulty level of the question paper as “moderate-to-difficult” and “similar to last year.”
As candidates shared their scores on social media platforms after the results were announced, naturally, there were also some candidates who did not perform well, as is the case with every exam in India.
Considering how many years aspirants have already spent in medical education (MBBS, MD) and residency by the time they attempted NEET-SS, it is therefore worth asking: Is it advisable for aspirants who could not qualify in the exam to attempt the exam the next year?
“Yes!” exclaims Dr Ruchir Bhavsar, Chief Academics (Surgical Gastroenterology & Liver Transplantation) and Founding Faculty of Sushruta LGS, a learning platform for NEET-SS preparation.
“Given the level of the exam, and as it is a screening test for super speciality medicine, appearing for it two or three times does no harm. In fact, it is advisable to do so,” he told EdexLive.
It is also worth noting that the NBEMS has no upper limit on the number of times a candidate can attempt NEET-SS.
However, for candidates who qualified, exam scores aren’t where it ends — the real deal is the counselling process.
“Usually, whether a candidate will be able to get into the speciality of their choice or not also depends on the counselling trends. For example, if you want to get into a popular speciallisation like gastroenterology, it might be challenging for you even if you qualify for it with good marks. Similarly, if you want to get into a less popular speciallisation, you might make it with lesser marks in comparison,” he explains.
According to the NBEMS, the qualifying cutoff percentile for NEET-SS is 50 per cent and above, with the score varying from subject to subject. This year, the scores range from 250 to 365, out of 600.
