NEET's cut-off marks for admission to undergraduate medical courses this year are set to be very high, with a huge increase in the number of top scorers compared to 2019.

Comparison of data on NEET-UG scores for the two years revealed that 111 candidates scored 700 and above of a total of 720 marks this year, compared to only three in 2019. The number of scores in the range of 650-699 is 3,903 this year, compared to 1,022 last year. This year, 16,167 candidates scored between 600 and 649, compared to 6,892 in 2019.

Registration counselling and selection-filling of candidates for 15 per cent of all-India quota seats, led by the Directorate-General for Health Services (DGHS), is ongoing. Most states are likely to provide advice on admission to MBBS / BDS courses by the second week of November.

The total number of MBBS seats under NEET 2020 has increased with the addition of AIIMS and JIPMER (Puducherry) to admit students to undergraduate courses. In all, a little over 80,000 MBBS and 38,000 BDS seats will be available to candidates this year, including almost 42,500 seats in government-run institutions, including AIIMS and JIPMER. An additional 10% of the seats under the quota for economically weaker sections (EWS) will be held.

NEET 2020 Topper: Soyeb Aftab secures perfect NEET score

Soyeb Aftab created history by getting this perfect score from NEET (720 out of 720). He's also the first person from Odisha to do this feat by getting the AIR 1 rank in the NEET 2020. He was preparing for a test at Kota in Rajasthan. Compared to 2019, 37,512 more candidates have scored 500 marks or more this year compared to 2019. NEET 2020 Topper’s List

A total of 87,093 candidates scored 500 marks or more in NEET-UG 2020 compared to 49,581 in 2019. And 56,857 more candidates have scored more than 400 marks this year.

Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana are witnessing a significant increase in the number of top scorers. Kerala leads the way with 643 candidates scoring 650 and up against 115 in 2019.

From Rajasthan, the number of candidates who scored 500 and above marks increased from 7,659 in 2019 to 11,698 in 2020. Maharashtra also saw a significant increase in the number of high scorers, with a 220 per cent increase in the number of candidates scoring 600 and over this year. Tamil Nadu saw the highest jump in the number of candidates who scored 600 and above—1,029 this year against 146 in 2019.

"These are surprising numbers and this year will have an impact on the cut-offs for undergraduate admissions. The toppers used to be mainly from Rajasthan, as they have become the coaching capital, where students are treated like they are in military camps. I personally visited Kota to see regimental coaching. Kerala is also surprising, "said Dr. S Kumar, Chancellor of Sri Devaraj Urs University, Kolar.