NEET 2021 Counselling Process (Underway): Know About Seat Allotment and Mop-up Round

This article of Shiksha brings the detailed and step by step process of NEET counselling 2021 including the seat allotment and mop-up round.

NEET 2021 Counselling Rounds

The NEET 2021 counselling final seat allotment result was released on February 26. As many as 25,387 candidates have been allotted MBBS, BDS and BSc Nursing seats from the 15 per cent All India Quota (AIQ). The registration process for Mop-up round will be conducted from March 10 to March 14. The choice filling and locking process will start on March 11 and will also end on March 14, along with the registration process. The NEET UG counselling 2021 dates were released by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) on January 13. This year, the counselling process for NEET is being conducted in four rounds. The entire counselling process is scheduled to complete on April 4. The Supreme Court of India had announced its judgement on January 7 where it has upheld the constitutional validity of reservations announced on July 29, last year. This had paved the way for the NEET counselling 2021. Many candidates are not familiar with the process and terms. If you are among those who are unsure about the NEET counselling process, rounds, etc., then this article is a must-read for you.

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Till last year, the NEET counselling process was conducted in two rounds, followed by mop-up rounds. This year, as per the affidavit, four rounds will be conducted. After each round of counselling, the conducting authority releases a seat allotment order and candidates will have to either accept the seat allocation order or they can surrender it and opt for up-gradation. Now, let us explain each step of the NEET counselling 2021 process in detail along with the changes introduced and new features.

NEET Counselling Rounds

As stated above, there will be four rounds of NEET 2021 counselling. The rounds are stated below:

• AIQ Round 1
• AIQ Round 2
• AIQ Mop-up Round
• AIQ Stray Vacancy Round

Changes Introduced in NEET Counselling 2021 Process

Apart from increasing the number of counselling rounds to four, other changes that have been launched are as follows:

• After the completion of the AIQ Round 2 counselling, instead of reverting the vacant seats to respective states, it will be continued to be filled in the AIQ Mop-up and Stray-vacancy rounds in online mode.
• Fresh registrations will be allowed only in the first three rounds and not in the final round, which is the Stray-vacancy round.
• The options of up-gradation and free exit will be available only in the AIQ Round 1 of NEET counselling 2021. Candidates will not be able to upgrade their allotted seats to the Mop-up round from Round 2.
• Candidates who would join the allotted seats in Round 2 and further rounds of counselling will not be allowed to resign. They will also be ineligible to take part in further rounds of counselling.
• Candidates who would not join the allotted seats in Round 2 will be eligible to participate in further rounds of NEET counselling subject to forfeiture of the security deposit and fresh registration in the mop-up round only.

NEET Counselling 2021 Registration Process

As per the latest scheme of NEET counselling registration 2021, the process of registration is open only for Round 1, Round 2 and Mop-up Round. The registration process for the NEET counselling 2021 are as follows:

• Candidates have to visit the official website of MCC – mcc.nic.in.

• Click on the tab indicating NEET UG Counselling followed by the ‘Registration’ tab

• Enter details such as name, registration number, personal details, academic details and the details mentioned on their NEET result

• Pay the NEET 2021 registration fee through debit/credit card/net banking/UPI modes

The NEET Counselling Registration Fee 2021 are given in the below table.

NEET Counselling 2021 Choice Filling Process

The choice-filling process is can be done by following the steps given below:

• After completing the registration process, the candidates need to fill in the choices by logging into the registered account on the MCC portal

• They need to choose the course/ college in the desired order of preference

• They can fill in any number of choices from the list provided

• Candidates can add/delete a choice

• They can also move up/ move down a choice as per their preference

• After filling in the choices, they must save a copy of the choices filled for future reference

What is Seat Allotment Order

The seat allotment order is released after the documents are verified and it is ensured that the candidates fulfil the eligibility, NEET cutoff and other admission criteria of the medical/dental college. After the release of the seat allotment order, candidates will have to download the document and report to the allotted college for physical document verification round and other admission formalities.

The candidates will have to accept the seat allotment offer within the stipulated schedule, otherwise, the admission offer would be withdrawn from the candidate. Candidates will also have to undergo a medical test and their records will also be sent to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Based on this, the final admission letter will be granted.

If a candidate is not allotted any seat in the first round, then s/he can participate in the second round of counselling and have to fill in a fresh round of choice filling. However, this option will not be there in the next or the mop-up round.

What is Up-gradation of Seats

After the release of the seat allotment, candidates can choose to either accept the seat by taking admission through fee payment. The other option is to opt for up-gradation, in case they have not been allotted a seat of their first or second preference. If, as per the seat matrix released by MCC, candidates note that there is a vacant seat that they prefer more than their allotted seat, then they can opt for up-gradation and register for the next round. However, candidates must note that the up-gradation option will be available only for the first three rounds and not for the Stray-vacancy round.

What is Free Exit

If a candidate does not accept the allotted seat in the first round of counselling, it is considered a free exit. This means the refundable fee will not be deducted. However, after the second round of counselling, in case of non-acceptance, the fee would be deducted and will not be refunded.

What is Mop-up Round

The mop-up round will be conducted after the second round of NEET counselling. The mop-up round is conducted depending on the number of vacant seats after the second round. The NEET counselling mop-up round is conducted to fill the seats of the Central and Deemed universities.

Only those candidates who would register for the NEET 2021 counselling round and participate in the first and second rounds without being allotted a seat will be eligible for the mop-up round of NEET counselling. Candidates who would not accept the seat allocation offer in the first and second rounds will not be eligible for the mop-up round of NEET counselling 2021.

What is Stray-Vacancy Round

The Stray-Vacancy round of NEET 2021 counselling will be conducted by the respective Deemed/Central Universities/Central Institutes/AIIMS/JIPMER for which the list of registered and eligible candidates for this round. The list of eligible candidates will be forwarded by the MCC to the respective universities and institutes. The seat allotment process in the Stray-Vacancy round will be done only in terms of merit.

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