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Beyond Doctor, Engineer, CA

Chapter 5

Medicine after 12th

MBBS, 5.5 years

  1. 1 Entrance

    NEET-UG

  2. 2 Degree

    MBBS (the basic medical degree), 5.5 years

  3. 3 Work

    Doctor, then specialist

You study
The body and its diseases, with a one-year hospital internship
Open to
Physics, Chemistry and Biology, with English
Total cost
Low at AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) and state colleges; 50 lakh to 1 crore at a private one

What it is really like

2 am, a government hospital: an intern draws blood from a feverish child. MBBS alone leads mostly to medical officer posts, so most add an MD or MS (specialist degrees).

How you get in

  • NEET-UG

    National Eligibility cum Entrance Test: the only MBBS entrance, with no attempt limit.

  • Changing rules

    NEET 2026 was re-held after a leak; a computer test is due from 2027.

Where to study

Top, government

AIIMS

Almost no fees

State, government

State medical colleges

Usually under 1 lakh a year

Private

Private and deemed colleges

50 lakh to 1 crore for the course

After the degree

About 22 lakh
sit NEET-UG
About 1.4 lakh
MBBS seats
About 86,000
postgraduate seats
Pay over time: Government doctor

Start

5 years

10 years

Pay over time: Private specialist

Start

5 years

10 years

Yearly pay in rupees. Pay varies widely; treat every figure as a range.

Private figures assume an MD.

Leads to

Medical officerPhysicianSurgeonMD or MS, about 3 more years

Top colleges and what it takes

MBBS and BDS admission is on your NEET-UG All-India Rank (AIR). MCC fills 100% of AIIMS, JIPMER and BHU seats and the 15% All-India Quota (AIQ) at state government colleges; the other 85% go through each state's own counselling (Delhi's DU/IP quota, Maharashtra CET Cell etc.), where home-state students often get in at much later ranks. Figures are the closing rank on the Open (unreserved) seat, non-PwD, computed from the official MCC round-1 allotment list for NEET-UG 2025. Round 1 is the best guide; later rounds fill vacated seats and usually close somewhat later. A smaller number is better.

  1. AIIMS New Delhi

    New Delhi · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #1

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 48 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 48 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  2. Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC)

    New Delhi · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #26

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 103 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 103 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  3. Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital (VMMC)

    New Delhi · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #22

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 132 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 132 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  4. NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 215 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 215 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  5. JIPMER Puducherry

    Puducherry · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #4

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 258 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 258 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1); final round about 260
  6. AIIMS Jodhpur

    Jodhpur · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #19

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 392 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 392 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  7. AIIMS Bhopal

    Bhopal · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #25

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 531 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 531 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  8. University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) & GTB Hospital

    New Delhi · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #38

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 534 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 534 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  9. AIIMS Rishikesh

    Rishikesh · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #13

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 685 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 685 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  10. Government Medical College & Hospital (GMCH)

    Chandigarh · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #34

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 690 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 690 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  11. Madras Medical College (MMC)

    Chennai · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #16

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 695 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 695 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  12. AIIMS Bhubaneswar

    Bhubaneswar · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #14

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 706 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 706 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  13. AIIMS Nagpur

    Nagpur · Government

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 862 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 862 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  14. NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 868 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 868 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  15. B.J. Medical College

    Ahmedabad · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #45

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 889 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 889 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  16. Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC)

    New Delhi · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #32

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 1,128 (General/Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1); women only source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 1,128 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  17. Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (IMS-BHU)

    Varanasi · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #6

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 1,165 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    2 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 1,165 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
    • BDSNEET-UG AIR 28,863 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  18. Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College

    Jaipur · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #39

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 1,174 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 1,174 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  19. NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 1,173 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 1,173 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  20. NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 1,338 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 1,338 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  21. King George's Medical University (KGMU)

    Lucknow · Government · NIRF 2025 Medical #8

    NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 1,628 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    2 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 1,628 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
    • BDSNEET-UG AIR 18,646 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  22. NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 2,368 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 2,368 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  23. NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    MBBS closed at NEET AIR 2,542 (General/Open seat, All-India Quota, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG AIR 2,542 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  24. Christian Medical College (CMC)

    Vellore · Private · NIRF 2025 Medical #3

    NEET-UG plus CMC's own selection process

    No single closing rank: CMC shortlists from NEET scores and then runs its own assessment, with most seats reserved for sponsored minority candidates. General seats are very few and need a top NEET score.(approx.) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSNEET-UG qualification plus CMC selection; open (general) seats are only a handful
  25. NEET-UG + AFMC screening (ToELR, interview, medical)

    No single closing rank: roughly the top ~9,000-10,000 NEET ranks are called for AFMC screening, then a test, interview and medical decide; graduates serve as commissioned officers(approx.) source

    1 programmes
    • MBBSRegister through MCC, then clear AFMC screening (ToELR + interview + medical); service bond
  26. NEET-UG (MCC counselling)

    BDS closed at NEET AIR 13,602 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1), the toughest BDS seat in the country source

    1 programmes
    • BDSNEET-UG AIR 13,602 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)
  27. NEET-UG (MCC counselling for AIQ)

    BDS closed at NEET AIR 33,047 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1) source

    1 programmes
    • BDSNEET-UG AIR 33,047 (Open seat, AIQ, MCC 2025 round 1)

Cut-offs move every year and differ by category, quota and home state. Use them to judge the level, then check the official counselling data.

Is it for you?

Good fit if

  • you love biology and want to care for people
  • you can study hard for eight or nine years

Think twice if

  • only a private seat, on a large loan, is within reach

Official links and free study material

Medicine: common questions

How do I get into Medicine after 12th?

NEET-UG: National Eligibility cum Entrance Test: the only MBBS entrance, with no attempt limit. Changing rules: NEET 2026 was re-held after a leak; a computer test is due from 2027.

Which stream do I need for Medicine?

Open to PCB. Physics, Chemistry and Biology, with English.

How much does Medicine cost in India?

Low at AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) and state colleges; 50 lakh to 1 crore at a private one. By college: AIIMS: Almost no fees; State medical colleges: Usually under 1 lakh a year; Private and deemed colleges: 50 lakh to 1 crore for the course. Fees change every year; confirm in each official notice.

What is the salary after Medicine?

Government doctor: about 13 lakh to start, about 16 lakh after 5 years and about 19 lakh after 10 years. Private specialist: about 10 lakh to start, about 15 lakh after 5 years and about 25 lakh after 10 years (yearly, in rupees). Private figures assume an MD. Pay varies widely; treat every figure as a range.

Is Medicine a good career for me?

A good fit if you love biology and want to care for people, and you can study hard for eight or nine years. Think twice if only a private seat, on a large loan, is within reach.

Source: Chapter 5 of the book. Notes and sources