NEET counseling sessions remains a point of tension for most of the NEET aspirants. Scoring a high mark in NEET UG has been a tough affair altogether and even after getting the results in hand the aspirants remain curious about their counseling process: the way it works and the things which are required to be done. Thus, an idea regarding the procedure of NEET counseling is provided in this blog to break the myths about the entire process.
The process of counseling after NEET UG is generally of two types Medical Counseling Committee (MCC) and State Counseling Authorities. MCC is central level counseling where the students can get seats in any of the states of India. Under MCC counseling the students get central universities, deemed universities, AIIMS, JIPMER, ESIC, AFMC, B.Sc nursing and so on. MCC counseling holds 15% of the government seats. On the other hand, state counseling process holds the 85% of the remaining seats. Here the students need to be the resident of the state and produce domicile certificate.
Steps of NEET UG counseling process:
Registration: The candidates need to register for the counseling process. Here they need to provide NEET roll number, application number, personal information along with a registration fee. This fee is non-refundable.
Choice filling: This is one of the toughest steps of counseling process. Here the candidate needs to fill their choice of colleges according to preference. They are mostly given 30 options for filling the college names. The allotment of college is given to the candidates according to their choice and cut off mark. Here the students need to check the cut off of previous years to assume the cut off required for the particular college. The choices are required to be locked after they have been made finally. This step requires the assistance of academic counselors who are expert in this work. The assistance from academic counselors may help students in gaining admission in government colleges.
Seat allotment: The process of seat allotment is done with the help of NEET rank, reservation category, seat availability and so on. After analysis of all these categories, the students are allotted with their seats.
Reporting to the allotted colleges: After the allotment of seats the students may accept the allotted seat or they may demand for upgradation. In case of upgradation, they would have to opt for the next round of counseling session. If they accept the allotted seat, they would have to report to the allotted college immediately.
Subsequent rounds of counseling
There are generally four rounds of counseling which are: round 1, round 2, mop-up round and stray vacancy round. The counseling sessions are depicted here in details
Round 1: All the NEET UG candidates can participate in this round of counseling. The seats are allotted on the basis of rank, preference and category.
Round 2: In this round the candidates have to make fresh registration and new choice filing is done nullifying the choice and preferences of the 1st round. The candidates who are not satisfied with the first round can apply for the second round.
Mop-up round: This round is for students who do not get a seat in the first two rounds. No fresh registrations are taken in this round.
Stray vacancy round: This round is generally conducted by the colleges for filling up the stray seats. The students who have not got any seat in the other rounds can get their seats here. The candidates who have registered for MCC counseling can only get their seats here.
Documents that are generally required for the counseling session
- NEET UG score card
- NEET UG admit card
- Class 10- and 12-mark sheets
- Category certificate
- Domicile certificate
- ID proof
- Passport size photographs
- Provisional allotment letter
- Migration certificate
- Fitness certificate
Counseling process of deemed universities
These are high paying colleges which take admission of NEET qualified candidates. All candidates irrespective of their NEET UG score can apply to these colleges. No domicile criteria are required here.
State level counseling
In this type of counseling every state has its own set of seats where the students get admission on the basis of their domicile certificate. Most of the states have their own counseling portals. Some of the states also have NRI, management and service quota.
Category wise reservation
India has a system of category wise reservation and counseling process. In case of central seats, the percentage for each of the categories are: 15% SC, 7.5% ST, 27% OBC, 10% EWS, 5% PwD across all categories. In case of state level seat reservation are there for SC, ST, OBC, MBC, EWS, PwD, rural, defence, ex-servicemen, local residents’ quota and so on.
Important tips for NEET counseling
Students need to research about the fees structure for each of the colleges. They need to make their choice according to their budget. If they are unable to pay to a certain extent they should not opt for colleges which has a high fees structure. Students also need to consider their rank before they fill for the colleges. They would not get a chance in every college. They would only get a chance in colleges where the cut off mark matches their own marks. Participation in the state counseling is necessary even if the students are applying for MCC. They also need to join their allotted college within the stipulated time to avoid any sort of cancellation. Take constant updates from the websites and portals. You can also Call organizations like Edusolve Edutech Pvt Ltd for necessary updates regarding this. They have a free helpline number where the students can resolve their queries.
Things to remember in counseling
- Do not forget to lock your choices
- Do not miss the reporting date of your college
- Fill each of the categories and documents carefully
- Estimate the college cut-off carefully
- Do not skip the state counseling
- Do not ignore the document requirements
NEET counseling is just the first step towards becoming a doctor. So do not panic carefully research about the colleges and their cut-offs. Take assistance from academic counselors and get the counseling process done. Edusolve Edutech Pvt Ltd has experienced academic counselors who are doing the process of choice filling for years. Thus, it is effective to take their help as and when required.