Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu leads India with the highest number of 5,275 MBBS seats in government medical colleges. However, there is strong opposition to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test – Undergraduate (NEET UG), the biggest medical entrance exam for admission to MBBS, BDS and allied courses.
According to data shared by the Union Health Ministry in the Lok Sabha last year, Tamil Nadu operates 38 government medical colleges and 36 private medical colleges, with 5,275 and 6,375 MBBS seats, respectively.
Despite growing opposition to NEET, the number of registrations in Tamil Nadu has increased in the last three years. In 2024-25, Tamil Nadu is among the top three states that settled the highest number of 53,816 claims under the PM Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan Central Sector Interest Subsidy (PM-USP CSIS). The government launched this scheme to provide financial assistance to students with an annual family income of ₹4.5 lakh to pursue professional courses in India.
This year, the National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the NEET 2025 exam for around 23 lakh students on May 4. The exam will be in pen-paper format without any optional questions.
How many students in Tamil Nadu qualified for NEET?
Here is the number of Tamil Nadu students who appeared for and qualified for NEET:
| Years | Total Applicants | Students Appeared | Students Qualified |
| NEET 2022 | 1,21,617 | 99,610 | 57,215 |
| NEET 2023 | 1,47,583 | 1,44,516 | 78,693 |
| NEET 2024 | 1,58,449 | 1,52,919 | 89,198 |
NEET MBBS Cutoff for Tamil Nadu Government Medical Colleges
To get admission to government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, students need to clear the NEET 2025 exam and secure the required rank and cut-off marks. The NEET cut-off depends on factors such as number of seats, NEET rank, NEET score, difficulty of the exam and total number of students appearing.
The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) conducts four rounds of NEET UG counselling for 15% of All India Quota (AIQ) seats. The last year’s category-wise NEET cut-off for MBBS admission in government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu is given below.
| Medical College | NEET AIR Rank (General) | NEET Rank (General EWS) | NEET Cut-off (OBC NCL) | NEET Cut-off Rank (SC) | NEET AIR (ST) |
| Chengalpattu Medical College, Chengalpattu | 13,530 | 25,016 | 13,915 | 86,365 | 1,58,996 |
| Coimbatore Medical College | 9,774 | 22,891 | 11,423 | 93,039 | 1,27,375 |
| ESIC Medical College and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Chennai | 19,578 | 19,227 | 21,816 | 1,09,131 | 1,44,424 |
| Government Dharamapuri Medical College, Dharmapuri | 14,146 | 27,480 | 14,595 | 1,22,029 | 1,55,938 |
| Government Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai | 10,663 | 12,174 | 11,816 | 74,322 | 1,00,861 |
| Government Medical College and ESIC Hospital, Coimbatore | 10,679 | 23,675 | 12,058 | 98,682 | 1,54,198 |
| Government Medical College and Hospital, Karur | 14,468 | 28,454 | 14,733 | 1,31,961 | 1,63,379 |
| Government Medical College and Hospital, Pudukkottai | 20,551 | 28,564 | 17,670 | 1,32,476 | 1,66,217 |
| Government Medical College, Omandurar | 9,624 | 27,248 | 11,468 | 77,275 | 1,00,188 |
| Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College, Salem | 10,846 | 25,803 | 17,778 | 98,661 | 1,22,239 |
| Government Sivagangai Medical College and Hospital, Sivagangai | 17,664 | 26,504 | 17,780 | 1,32,577 | 1,63,170 |
| Government Thiruvarur Medical College | 17,164 | 28,400 | 17,587 | 1,30,316 | 1,61,206 |
| Government Thoothukudi Medical College | 14,467 | 28,267 | 14,840 | 1,27,205 | 1,61,326 |
| Government Thiruvannamalai Medical College and Hospital | 17,726 | 26,720 | 17,772 | 1,23,078 | 1,60,995 |
| Government Vellore Medical College | 19,304 | 24,674 | 13,513 | 1,18,737 | 1,37,261 |
| Government Villupuram Medical College | 15,971 | 27,957 | 17,152 | 1,14,396 | 1,62,494 |
| IRT Perundurai Medical College | 12,904 | 27,277 | 14,110 | 1,26,598 | 1,56,658 |
| Kanyakumari Government Medical College, Asaripallam | 13,182 | 27,350 | 18,953 | 1,26,293 | 1,60,607 |
| KAP Viswanatham Government Medical College, Tiruchirapalli | 13,051 | 23,061 | 13,289 | 1,00,848 | 1,44,908 |
| Madras Medical College, Chennai | 1,318 | 4,921 | 2,048 | 10,376 | 92,801 |
| Madurai Medical College | 10,467 | 23,419 | 11,559 | 75,910 | 1,38,861 |
| Rajah Muthiah Medical College, Annamalainagar | 17,596 | 28,305 | 17,844 | 1,36,699 | 1,59,902 |
| Stanley Medical College, Chennai | 7,114 | 11,882 | 13,790 | 1,34,168 | 81,472 |
| Thanjavur Medical College | 12,188 | 27,846 | 13,841 | 97,800 | 1,45,207 |
| Theni Medical College | 13,361 | 27,215 | 20,670 | 1,27,064 | 1,61,051 |
| Tirunelveli Medical College | 25,194 | 26,868 | 19,861 | 1,35,357 | 1,51,297 |
Top Government Medical Colleges in Tamil Nadu
Madras Medical College is a top choice for MBBS candidates wishing to pursue medical courses in Tamil Nadu, followed by Stanley Medical College, Government Medical College Omandurar and Coimbatore Medical College.
In recent years, the NEET cut-off for government colleges in Tamil Nadu has decreased. To provide a clear picture, the NEET UG cut-off for 2023 in government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu is listed below.
| College Name | General NEET Rank | General NEET Score | SC NEET Rank | SC NEET Score | ST NEET Rank | ST NEET Score |
| Chengalpattu Medical College, Chengalpattu | 9292 | 627 | 70921 | 520 | 88846 | 497 |
| Coimbatore Medical College, Coimbatore | 6023 | 640 | 33208 | 575 | 68955 | 522 |
| ESIC Medical College and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Chennai | 10400 | 624 | 69404 | 521 | 83745 | 503 |
| Government Dharamapuri Medical College, Dharmapuri | 10076 | 625 | 76705 | 512 | 94105 | 491 |
| Government Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai | 6391 | 638 | 48204 | 551 | 48736 | 550 |
| Government Medical College and ESIC Hospital, Coimbatore | 8217 | 631 | 73664 | 516 | 68662 | 522 |
| Government Medical College and Hospital, Karur | 11786 | 620 | 79963 | 508 | 93703 | 492 |
| Government Medical College and Hospital, Pudukkottai | 11345 | 621 | 79541 | 509 | 96330 | 488 |
| Government Medical College, Omandurar | 9321 | 627 | 58512 | 536 | 89474 | 496 |
| Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College, Salem | 6861 | 632 | 43378 | 558 | 43378 | 558 |
| Government Sivagangai Medical College and Hospital, Sivaganga | 11495 | 621 | 68608 | 508 | 96665 | 488 |
| Government Thiruvarur Medical College, Thiruvarur | 8720 | 623 | 80297 | 508 | 80996 | 488 |
| Government Thoothukudi Medical College, Thoothukudi | 10118 | 625 | 78186 | 510 | 96438 | 488 |
| Government Tiruvannamalai Medical College and Hospital, Tiruvannamalai | 11361 | 621 | 75648 | 513 | 95892 | 489 |
| Government Vellore Medical College, Vellore | 8166 | 631 | 56719 | 539 | 67097 | 525 |
| Government Villupuram Medical College, Villupuram | 10532 | 623 | 72965 | 517 | 95564 | 489 |
| IRT Perundurai Medical College, Perundurai | 14439 | 613 | 80738 | 507 | 69296 | 488 |
| Kanyakumari Government Medical College, Asaripallam | 8809 | 629 | 75045 | 514 | 96014 | 489 |
| KAP Viswanatham Government Medical College, Tiruchirapalli | 9287 | 627 | 72160 | 518 | 95647 | 489 |
| Madras Medical College, Chennai | 934 | 675 | 8533 | 630 | 19311 | 601 |
| Madurai Medical College, Madurai | 7219 | 635 | 49265 | 550 | 78023 | 510 |
| Rajah Muthiah Medical College, Annamalainagar | 15038 | 611 | 81121 | 507 | 96390 | 488 |
| Stanley Medical College, Chennai | 5253 | 643 | 42321 | 560 | 57079 | 538 |
| Thanjavur Medical College, Thanjavur | 8781 | 629 | 62928 | 530 | 92485 | 493 |
| Theni Medical College, Theni | 8767 | 630 | 80213 | 508 | 94064 | 491 |
| Tirunelveli Medical College, Tirunelveli | 8198 | 631 | 61562 | 532 | 94081 | 491 |
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