NEET 2025 Result: Expected Cut-Off, Key Trends, and What Students Should Know
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2025 was conducted on May 4 for over 22.7 lakh medical aspirants. As students across the country await the official results, expected in June, all eyes are on the cut-off scores — a crucial factor for those vying for MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH seats in government colleges.
This year’s paper, according to many coaching institutes and students, wasn’t a cakewalk. Physics and Chemistry, in particular, drew flak for being more challenging than usual. The Biology section — 90 questions across Zoology and Botany — also saw a mix of moderate to tough questions.
Nitin Vijay, founder and CEO of Motion Education, noted that the overall difficulty level was higher compared to 2024. “Given the tougher paper, we’re expecting the cut-off for government medical colleges to dip by 40 to 50 marks,” he said.
This sentiment was echoed by PhysicsWallah, which reported that students found the exam more demanding, especially in Physics.
Expected NEET 2025 Cut-Off Marks
Based on expert analysis and student feedback, here’s what the expected NEET 2025 qualifying cut-off might look like:
| Category | Expected Cut-Off (Marks) |
|---|---|
| General/EWS | 720 – 155 |
| General-PH | 154 – 135 |
| OBC | 154 – 125 |
| SC | 154 – 125 |
| ST | 154 – 125 |
| SC/OBC-PH | 135 – 125 |
| ST-PH | 135 – 125 |
Do note, these are qualifying cut-offs — not the scores required for admission to government colleges, which tend to be much higher, especially for General and EWS candidates.
Cut-Off Trends Over the Years
Last year, the NEET cut-off for the general category shot up significantly to 720–162, compared to 720–137 in 2023. Similar upward trends were recorded across reserved categories too.
Let’s take a quick look at how the qualifying cut-off has shifted in recent years:
| Category | Cut-Off Percentile | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General/EWS | 50th | 720–162 | 720–137 | 715–117 | 720–138 | 720–147 | 701–134 |
| General-PH | 45th | 161–144 | 137–105 | 116–105 | 137–122 | 146–129 | 133–120 |
| SC/ST/OBC | 40th | 161–127 | 136–107 | 116–93 | 137–108 | 146–113 | 133–107 |
| SC/OBC-PH | 40th | 143–127 | 120–107 | 104–93 | 121–108 | 128–113 | 119–107 |
| ST-PH | 40th | 142–127 | 120–107 | 104–93 | 121–108 | 128–113 | 119–107 |
Cut-offs are determined based on percentile scores — meaning they’re directly influenced by the performance of top-scoring candidates. A tougher paper usually lowers the cut-off range, as seen in previous years.
As per the National Testing Agency (NTA), the provisional answer key is expected to be out soon, followed by the final answer key and results in June. The final qualifying cut-offs will be declared along with the NEET UG 2025 results.
Students are advised to keep an eye on the official NEET website for updates and ensure their documents are in order for the upcoming counselling rounds.
Pro tip: Don’t base all your hopes on the qualifying cut-off. Admission cut-offs, especially for government colleges, can be significantly higher depending on your state, category, and seat availability.
