'Three Attempts, Two Leaks': NEET aspirants open up on repeated uncertainty

The National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG 2026) following allegations of a paper leak. Over 24 lakh aspirants who appeared for the May 3 exam will now have to appear for the re-exam as well. Amid this development, many aspirants, especially those who took a drop year, are left disheartened and are raising concerns over the fairness and credibility of the examination process. NEET UG 2026 Live updates.

Patna-based NEET aspirant Divya Keshri, appearing for her third attempt, said the sudden cancellation of NEET UG 2026 has once again pushed her and other aspirants into uncertainty. She had heard rumours of a possible paper leak on the evening of May 3, but never expected the exam to be cancelled.

“I attempted NEET in 2024 too, and despite a much bigger controversy, the exam was not cancelled. Even in 2025, there were discussions on social media, but the exam was not called off,” she told Careers360.

Keshri said she had performed well in the May 3 exam and was hopeful this year after months of preparation. However, the sudden cancellation has left her unsure about the re-exam timeline and difficulty level. “NTA kept posting on X and WhatsApp channels, saying the exam would be conducted smoothly and asking students not to panic, but later ended up becoming a major reason for panic. I was tension-free for two weeks, and now I have to start revising again,” she said.

Also read Same Exam, Old Nightmare: NEET 2026 cancelled, paper-leak probe, NTA reform, re-neet – the story so far

She added that her preparation has largely been self-driven after Class 11 and 12, using mock tests and online resources. Keshri also spoke about repeated attempts affecting her mentally and academically. “In my first attempt, things didn’t go well. In the second, the paper was very difficult. My friend scored around 600 marks in 2024, which could have got him a good college, but the cut-offs went high for the general category," she said.

'Fix root cause'

Another Patna-based NEET aspirant Devanshu said the repeated cycle of preparation, exams, and uncertainty has made the medical entrance journey emotionally draining. NEET has slowly become a constant pressure point in his life. “It feels like every year I am just restarting everything from zero. Everyone around you is preparing, so you also get pulled into it. If someone in the family clears it, the pressure increases even more,” he told Careers 360.

He added that repeated attempts are mentally exhausting but have become normal in the system. “In school years, no one thinks they will take 2–3 attempts. But NEET makes it normal. You keep going back to the same place again and again,” he said.

Talking about his past scores, Devanshu said his journey has been uneven. “In 2024, I got around 435 marks and felt disappointed, but my family supported me. In 2025, I scored 416 and was told I was close. But ‘close’ doesn’t change anything in reality,” he said.

With NEET UG 2026 now cancelled, he said uncertainty has returned just when he had started feeling stable. “I had finally settled into preparation mode again after the exam. Now everything is unclear again. You don’t know what to prepare for or how much to revise,” he said.

He added that the problem goes beyond exams and lies in the system itself. “Centres have strict checking, so cheating there is not possible. If something is going wrong, it is happening before the exam. That needs to be fixed first,” he said.

Also read ‘Most incompetent agency’: Re-NEET 2026 sparks student anger against NTA; 'unfair, harassment' say aspirants

'I support re-neet'

Anupriya Raj, another aspirant appearing for her third attempt, said her decision to become a doctor was never based on pressure but personal aspiration. However, Raj said repeated attempts and controversies have made the journey emotionally exhausting. “I have attempted NEET three times. In 2024, it was my first attempt, and I knew I wouldn’t clear it. But later, things kept getting complicated. In 2024, there were talks about irregularities at some centres, and in 2025 the paper felt much tougher than expected,” she said.

She added that performance in test series and actual exams has not matched. “In coaching tests, I used to score around 400, but on exam day it dropped to nearly 200. Even my test series confidence broke,” she said.

Talking about NEET UG 2026, she said the May 3 exam felt relatively easier in comparison. “The paper was good overall. I had prepared for a tougher level, so Chemistry felt difficult, but overall it was manageable,” she said.

She added that unlike earlier years, she did not sense anything unusual this time. “In 2024, many students felt something was wrong at centres. In 2025 and 2026, nothing like that was visible. Everything seemed normal,” she said. She added that repeated controversies have created doubt in students’ minds. “Now it even feels like maybe things happened in 2025 too, but they just didn’t come out,” she said.

Raj said she supports the idea of a re-exam but remains unsure about the system. “I am in support of re-NEET, but if something goes wrong even in that, then what can we even say?” she said.

When asked why she did not have plan B while preparing for NEET, she said, “I wanted to become a doctor since childhood. My father is a businessman and had a dream of becoming one, but he couldn’t. No one forced me; it was my own decision.”

Also read NEET was far from fair even before paper-leak controversies

'Cracked NEET before the chaos began'

22-year-old Kavya Kanjika, who appeared for NEET in 2023, said she feels that earlier attempts were more stable compared to recent years. “I feel relieved that I cracked NEET before all this fiasco began." She is currently studying BHMS at Bakson Homoeopathic Medical College.

Kanjika said that in 2023 there were no talks of paper leaks, and the exam felt clean and fair. However, she pointed out concerns about changing admission trends and cut-offs. She also raised concerns about reservation policies and competition. “In the last few years, especially since 2023, it feels like only NEET matters. Everyone is stuck in the same race, trying not to miss out again,” she said. She hopes that the paper is not too hard this time.