The cutoff for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) admissions in Maharashtra has witnessed a significant drop this year. According to the State Common Entrance Test Cell, the lowest qualifying score for a government medical college admission closed at 504 marks, compared to last year’s 629 in the final vacancy round. For private unaided colleges, the cutoff reduced drastically to 118 marks during the institutional quota round, marking one of the steepest declines in recent years. The CET Cell is currently handling admissions for 8,535 MBBS seats across 64 colleges, including 4,936 government seats and 3,599 private seats, with officials confirming the decline across all categories.
Experts said the primary reason for the fall in cutoff scores was the increased difficulty level of this year’s National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). Many teachers and students noted that the physics section was exceptionally challenging, unlike last year’s comparatively easier paper. They explained that after the COVID-19 pandemic period, NEET papers had become more student-friendly, but the 2025 version seemed to return to older, tougher formats. Parent representative Sudha Shenoy told Hindustan Times, “This is a positive development, as more students secure places in government colleges,” adding that the dip in cutoffs directly reflected the tougher paper pattern and declining overall scores.
Even though cutoffs dropped significantly, the CET Cell confirmed that no MBBS seats remained vacant in either government or private institutions once the admission rounds concluded. The data also showed that both aided and unaided colleges experienced similar trends, suggesting a uniform shift rather than isolated inconsistencies. Officials stated that the competitive nature of admissions remained intact despite the lower qualifying marks, as seat demand stayed high. They noted that the number of applicants remained consistent with previous years, indicating that the fall in cutoffs was linked to performance trends, not reduced interest.
However, concerns have surfaced over admissions granted in private colleges at extremely low cutoff figures. An activist questioned the transparency of the process and told Hindustan Times, “When so many students who scored 350 and above are not got admission, how did someone with just 118 marks get a seat even in the institutional round? In a private college. This needs to be investigated by the authorities.” The activist said the situation raised doubts about fairness and urged regulatory bodies to examine whether the institutional quota rules were followed correctly.