What is a good score in NEET 2026? Rank trends for AIIMS, JIPMER, government, private medical colleges

NEET 2026: National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET 2026) is a highly competitive entrance exam held for admissions to MBBS and BDS courses in medical colleges across the country. With less than a week left for the exam, students must know the good score and rank needed in NEET UG 2026 to help them set a goal and perform accordingly. NEET UG 2026 live updates

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the NEET UG 2026 exam on May 3 in a single shift from 2 pm to 5 pm across the country. The exam follows an MCQ-based pattern comprising 180 questions for a total of 720 marks.

As per last year’s statistics, around 12.35 lakh students qualified in the NEET UG entrance exam, and Uttar Pradesh emerged as the top-performing state, followed by Maharashtra at second place.

Also read NMC to speed up NEET counselling with seat-approval calendar, allow for-profits to set up medical colleges

NEET cutoff percentile for general, OBC, SC, ST

Last year, the NEET cut-offs for all categories saw a slight dip across all categories – General, OBC, SC, ST, and EWS, showing fierce competition in the medical entrance exam. For the general and EWS categories, the qualifying marks came down to 144 from 162. Similarly, the OBC, SC, and ST cut-offs fell to 113 from 127, as compared to NEET 2024.

General and EWS category candidates must obtain a minimum NEET cut-off of the 50th percentile, while for OBC, SC, and ST, it is set at the 40th percentile.

NEET qualifying cutoffs are based on exam difficulty level, competition, and the number of students who appeared, as well as previous year trends.

Also read NEET UG 2026 Cut-off for Karnataka: Previous year MBBS closing ranks of top colleges

What is a good score in NEET 2026?

As per the previous year's trends, scoring 650+ can increase the chances of getting a seat in a government medical college. However, even if you score slightly lower NEET marks 2026, there are still plenty of chances for government and private medical colleges, depending on your category, for admissions.

According to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025, in the medical college category, AIIMS Delhi is ranked 1, followed by PGIMER Chandigarh at rank 2, and CMC Vellore and JIPMER Puducherry at ranks 3 and 5, respectively.