The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) cut-off score generally has an upward trend; which means every year higher marks are required to get admission in any of the top medical colleges. Considering this trend, the NEET cut-off rank should show a downward trend, but in reality, it is the opposite. Even when the number of seats in most of the colleges remains unchanged.
NEET Cut-off Rank vs Number of Seats In Karnataka (Source: Shutterstock)
Many factors affect the final NEET cut off rank for each college, like the change in the number of seats and the ranking of the college, and many other such silent factors. Through a series of articles, Careers360 brings together the change in the NEET cut-off rank of the deemed colleges in India. We will also look at the change in the number of seats over the period of three years, from 2019 to 2021.
In this article we begin with the deemed colleges of Karnataka, offering Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) undergraduate degree.
The NEET cut-off rank shown below is for general category and the cut-off rank is compared between Round 1 and Round 2 of NEET counseling.
No Change In MBBS Seats
In the last three years, the increase in the NEET cut-off rank for these colleges is around 116 per cent on an average. The NEET cut-off rank has been showing an increasing trend since 2019 for the below mentioned medical colleges in Karnataka, even as the number of seats remain constant. This implies that a student with a rank higher than the cut-off rank of the previous year can still expect to get admission in these colleges.
As the competitive environment for securing a medical seat rises, the demand for a good college seat should increase resulting in a decrease of the cut-off rank. But the reality is different. Few colleges in the graph have improved their ranking in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2021 of medical colleges and yet the cut-off rank is increasing for these top-ranked medical colleges in India. 
Cut-Off Rank: Number Of Seats Remain The Same
Increase In Number Of Seats
In Karnataka, the number of seats increased in 2020 for two deemed colleges, namely, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Deemed University, Karad and Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Tumkur.
Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Deemed University, increased 50 MBBS seats in 2020. The increase in the cut-off rank in 2020 was 37 per cent than the previous year, while the next year the cut-off rank increased by just 22.4 percent.
Number Of seats Increased
As for Sri Siddhartha Medical College, just 20 new seats were added but the cut-off rank increased by 49 per cent in 2020. In 2021, while the number of seats remained unchanged, the cut-off rank increased by 8.6 per cent.
Total Seat & Rank
Also Read| NEET Rank Below 100000? These Colleges Will Still Give You MBBS Seat
This shows that any increase in the number of seats in a college, increases the cut-off rank, as students with lower scores now have a chance to get admission to that college due to the increase in seats. But if the seats remain the same, the cut-off rank still shows an upward trend but with a lower change in percentage comparatively.
