NEET 2016 vs NEET 2025: Difficulty Level, Qualifying Marks, & Cut off

NEET 2016 vs NEET 2025: Difficulty Level, Qualifying Marks, & Cut off

Manisha TiwariUpdated on 06 May 2025, 05:36 PM IST

The NEET 2025 exam has been regarded as one of the toughest exams ever in the NEET history. According to several experts of top coaching institutes, the difficulty level of NEET 2025 is in comparison to that of the 2016 NEET exam. Although several things in the medical entrance exam have changed since its inception,however given the similarity of NEET exam difficulty level, there is a growing speculation that NEET cutoff 2025 might align with the cutoff trends in 2016. Read the article to know a brief comparison of the NEET 2016 and NEET 2025.

This Story also Contains

  1. Comparison of NEET 2016 and NEET 2025
  2. NEET marking scheme 2016 vs 2025
  3. NEET 2016 cutoff vs NEET 2025 cutoff
  4. NEET difficulty level 2016 vs 2025
  5. Is NEET 2025 tougher than NEET 2016?

Comparison of NEET 2016 and NEET 2025

A brief comparison of NEET 2016 and NEET 2025 can be checked below.

NEET 2016 vs NEET 2025

Particulars

NEET 2016

NEET 2025

Exam conducting body

Exam conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)

Exam conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA)

Regulatory body

Regulated by the Medical Council of India (MCI)

Regulated by National Medical Commission (NMC)

NEET eligibility criteria

Minimum age: 17 years as on December 31 of the year of admission.


Maximum age: 25 years (30 years for reserved categories)


Number of attempts: 3


Students from J&K, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were not eligible for 15% All India seats

Minimum age: 17 years as on December 31 of the year of admission.


No maximum age limit


Unlimited attempts


Foreign and NRI candidates can also apply

NEET exam pattern

Exam was conducted in two phases (NEET I and NEET II)

Single phase exam

NEET exam mode

Pen and paper mode

Pen and paper mode

Total number of questions

180 (45 questions in each subject)

180 (45 questions in each subject)

NEET paper medium

English and Hindi

13 languages (English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu)

NEET total marks

720

720

NEET counselling

15% All India Quota seats were under MCC.


States had varying approaches to using NEET scores.

Uniform counselling through MCC and state authorities.


Private colleges and Deemed universities are fully under MCC.

NEET marking scheme 2016 vs 2025

Understanding the NEET marking scheme is important to calculate the NEET scores. A detailed comparison of NEET 2016 marking scheme and NEET 2025 marking scheme can be checked below.

NEET 2016 marking scheme

  • +4 for each correct response.

  • -1 for each incorrect response.

  • 0 mark for the answered question.

  • More than one answer marked for a question was considered as incorrect and was negatively marked.

NEET 2025 marking scheme

  • +4 marks will be given for the correct answer or the most appropriate answer.

  • -1 for any incorrect option marked.

  • 0 mark for unanswered question.

  • If more than one option is found to be correct, +4 marks will be given to the candidates who have marked any of the correct options.

  • If all options are found to be correct, +4 marks will be given to candidates who have attempted the question.

  • If no option is correct or the question is incorrect, +4 will be given to all candidates whether they have attempted the question or not.

JSS University Mysore 2025

NAAC A+ Accredited| Ranked #24 in University Category by NIRF | Applications open for multiple UG & PG Programs

NEET 2016 cutoff vs NEET 2025 cutoff

The NEET 2025 cutoff will be released after the declaration of NEET result. Meanwhile candidates can check the NEET cutoff trend 2016 to 2025 based on the NEET 2025 expected cutoff from the table below.

NEET cutoff 2016 vs NEET cutoff 2025

Category

NEET qualifying percentile

NEET 2016 cutoff for Phase I

NEET 2016 cutoff for Phase II

NEET 2025 expected cutoff marks

General

50th percentile

685-145

678-118

720-155

OBC

40th percentile

678-118

678-118

154-125

SC

40th percentile

595-118

595-118

154-125

ST

40th percentile

599-118

599-118

154-125

General- PwD

45th percentile

474-131

474-131

154-135

SC/ ST/ OBC- PwD

40th percentile

474-131

474-131

130-125

NEET difficulty level 2016 vs 2025

As the year 2016 was the inception year of the NEET exam, students were unfamiliar with the type of questions to be asked in the exam. The NEET 2016 difficulty level was moderate to tough. However, the NEET UG 2025 exam was notably more difficult compared to previous years. Both students and experts pointed out that the Physics section was especially tough as more complex and time-consuming questions were asked.

The Chemistry section in the NEET 2025 exam was also lengthy and included multiple correct answer questions, which created confusion among many medical aspirants. Additionally, the Botany and Zoology parts were quite extensive, making time management a major challenge.

NEET Syllabus: Subjects & Chapters
Select your preferred subject to view the chapters

Is NEET 2025 tougher than NEET 2016?

Many experts believe that the NEET 2025 question paper is the toughest so far, especially when compared to the NEET 2016 paper. The Physics section in NEET 2025 has been considered more difficult than the Physics section in NEET 2016.

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Questions related to NEET

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to NEET ?

Hello,

Among nineteen thousand ranks, it's appreciable if you are able to top 1,000 to 5,000 ranks; that means 5% to 10% (600 and above marks) to secure your seats in top elite colleges or top-performing government colleges

Given the caste, community, and other qualifications, this will be appreciated.

Results may vary from individual to individual, but the above-mentioned stats are true.

Hope it helps with your query. Good luck.

Hello,

To get into a Delhi government medical college via NEET UG, a general candidate and an EWS candidate need higher scores (often 650-700+), while OBC/SC/ST scores are lower but still competitive, with specific marks varying by college and quota (State/AIQ).

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hello,

Here are High Scoring Chapters for NEET 2026:

  • Biology - Human Physiology, Genetics, Ecology, Reproduction
  • Chemistry - Thermodynamics, Equilibrium, Coordination Compounds, Biomolecules
  • Physics - Mechanics, Optics, Electrostatics, Modern Physics

For more details access mentioned link below:

https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-2026-high-weightage-chapters

Hope it helps.

Hello aspirant ,

If you want a diploma or degree in orthopedics through NEET 2026 , know that orthopedics as a separate UG medical course does not exist . Orthopedics is a specialization after MBBS or after BPT . To enter medical fields through NEET , you must first qualify NEET and get admission in MBBS . After MBBS , You can choose orthopedics during postgraduate training .Alternatively , you can do BPT through entrance exams like CET or NEET based counselling , and then specialize in orthopedics through internships and certifications.

FOR REFERENCE : https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/medical-courses-after-12th

Hope the details will help you .

THANK YOU

Hello aspirant,

You cannot rely only on NEET preparation to clear TS EAPCET . NEET covers Physics and Chemistry deeply but TS EAPCET also includes Intermediate IPE syllabus strictly , with questions directly based on textbooks concepts and formulas. Biology is needed for NEET , while EAPCET needs strong Maths for engineering streams. If you plan to attempt both , prepare NEET concepts thoroughly and separately revise IPE-LEVEL Maths, Physics, Chemistry for EAPCET , along with previous year papers.

FOR REFERENCE : https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/ts-eamcet-syllabus

Hope the details will help you.

THANK YOU