NEET 2021 Cutoff Expected to be lower than last year: Know the detailed analysis here

National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test 2026 ( NEET )

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Sreetama Datta
Sreetama Datta Roy
Manager Content
Updated on Nov 12, 2021 17:37 IST
NEET 2021 was conducted on September 12 from 2 pm to 5 pm. According to experts, the exam was of moderate to tough difficulty level. Even though Biology had the highest weightage, the difficulty level was the easiest. Know the detailed analysis and expected cutoff for NEET 2021 here on this page of Shiksha.

NEET 2021 was conducted on September 12 from 2 pm to 5 pm. According to experts, the exam was of moderate to tough difficulty level. Know the detailed analysis and expected cutoff for NEET 2021 here.

NEET 2021 Analysis and Expected Cutoff

NEET 2021 Analysis and Expected Cutoff

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test or NEET 2021 was conducted on September 12 in 3,855 centres located across 202 cities in India, Dubai and Kuwait. Approximately 15 lakh candidates had appeared for the exam. According to the experts and candidates, the difficulty level of NEET exam was moderate to tough. Owing to the new exam pattern of NEET, the exam turned out to be time-consuming. In terms of sections, Physics was considered to be the toughest. Even though Biology had the highest weightage, the difficulty level was the easiest. The difficulty level of the Chemistry section was easy to moderate. This article of Shiksha brings to you the NEET analysis and expected cutoff for 2021 by experts. NEET 2021 cutoff may be lower than that of last year. Along with the analysis, the NEET cutoff 2021 expected cutoff as well as the previous year's data are given below.

Table of contents
  • NEET 2021 Exam Structure
  • NEET 2021 Analysis
  • NEET 2021 Cutoff
  • NEET 2021 Cutoff Determining Factors

NEET 2021 Exam Structure

The following table brings the NEET exam pattern and structure.

Sections

Number of Questions

Total Marks

Physics Section A

35

140

Physics Section B

15

40

Chemistry Section A

35

140

Chemistry Section B

15

40

Botany Section A

35

140

Botany Section B

15

40

Zoology Section A

35

140

Zoology Section B

15

40

For each correct answer, candidates were awarded four marks and for each wrong answer, one mark was deducted owing to the negative marking scheme. In Section B of each section, candidates had to attempt five out of 10 questions. Although the total number of questions in the NEET question paper was 200, only 180 had to be attempted.

Now let us take a look at the analysis and expected cutoff for NEET 2021 as stated by experts.

NEET 2021 Analysis

As stated by the experts, the difficulty level of NEET was like the previous years, i.e. moderate to tough. The topics covered were from the prescribed NEET syllabus and there was no unexpected or surprise element in the exam. Let us take a look at the section-wise analysis of NEET 2021.

NEET 2021 Analysis – Physics

As mentioned above, the Physics section was the toughest. The questions were mostly formula-based, whereas a few were concept based as well. The topics from NCERT hence candidates did not find any unfamiliar area. However, the questions were lengthy and calculation-intensive, leading to being a time-consuming section.

NEET 2021 Analysis – Chemistry

The total number of questions for the Chemistry section was 45. The questions were from Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry. More weightage was given to the Organic Chemistry part. The difficulty level of this section was considered to be easy to moderate.

NEET 2021 Analysis – Biology

The Biology section was further divided into Zoology and Botany subjects. According to the expert analysis and student reactions, the difficulty level was easy. Among Zoology and Botany, the former had more questions from the Class 12 syllabus. Even though this section had the highest number of questions, it was not time-consuming since the answers were direct and the students who knew the answers took no time in marking the correct answer option on the OMR sheet.

NEET 2021 Cutoff

Candidates can refer to the table given below to know the cut off for this year.

Category

Minimum Qualifying Percentile

NEET 2021 Cut off marks (Range)

General

50

720-138

General - Physically Handicapped

45

137-108

SC/ ST/OBC

40

137-122

OBC/SC/ST- Physically Handicapped

40

121-108

NEET 2021 Cutoff Determining Factors

According to the experts, the NEET cutoff is likely to be lower than last year since the difficulty level was higher than that of last year. The cutoff is determined based on the following factors:

  • Total number of candidates who appear for the examination

  • The difficulty level of the examination

  • Performance of the candidates

  • Number of seats available

  • NEET cutoff for previous years

This year, a number of changes were introduced to NEET 2021. Along with the change in the exam pattern, the number of languages for the exam has also been increased from 11 to 13 with Punjabi and Malayalam as additional languages.

NEET provisional answer keys were released by NTA on October 15, 2021, and the final answer key and NEET result were declared on November 1, 2021.

Read More:

NEET 2021 Question Paper with Solutions PDF

NEET 2021 Answer Key Code M, N, O, P

NEET Rank Predictor

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About the Author
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Sreetama Datta Roy
Manager Content
Sreetama Datta Roy is a journalist working in the Education beat, with over 15 years of work experience. A postgraduate in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. At Shiksha, s
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Student Forum

chatAnything you would want to ask experts?
Write here...

Answered 5 days ago

The NTA has not released the NEET 2027 exam date yet. However, the NEET UG 2027 exam is likely to be held on May 2, that is, the first Sunday of the month, the trend followed by NTA in previous years.

V

Virajita Shukla

Contributor-Level 6

Answered 6 days ago

Depending upon your quota

If you're a ST candidate then there is a chances but for gen or obc it's not easy

C

Chinmoy

Beginner-Level 1

Answered a week ago

Candidates can check below the application fee of NEET UG and NEET PG:
NEET UG application fee:

  • General/NRI: INR 1,700
  • General-EWS/OBC-NCL: INR 1,600
  • SC/ST/PwBD/Third Gender: INR 1,000
  • Foreign Nationals/Outside India: INR 9,500

NEET PG application fee:

  • General and OBC: INR 3,500
  • SC/ST/PWD/Physically Handica

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Raj Priya

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

No, Punjabi University, Patiala are not decided based on NEET-UG score. Punjabi University, Patiala has only mentioned accepting scores of its ownin-house entrance exam to select candidates for BPharm courses.

Thus, candidates with a valid NEET-UG score will still need to appear in this entrance exam

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Saurabh Khanduri

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

The NTA will conduct the re NEET 2026 on June 21, 2026. The re exam will be held from 2.00 to 5.15 pm. Candidates who took NEET UG 2026 registration can appear for the re exam.

R

Ranjeeta Srivastava

Contributor-Level 6

Answered a week ago

Candidates can calculate NEET scores 2026 using the provisional answer key through the process shared below-

  • Know the number of correct answers and incorrect answers.
  • Multiply the correct answers by 4.
  • Deduct 1 mark for each wrong answer.
  • You get the total NEET scores.

V

Vikram Shukla

Contributor-Level 6

Answered a week ago

The Re NEET answer key 2026 will be released soon after the exam. As seen in May 3 exam when the provisional answer key was displayed on May 6, the NEET 21 June answer key will be released by June 24, 2026.

U

Upasana Hazarika

Contributor-Level 6

Answered a week ago

Yes, you could get to study MBBS at Sharda University with a rank of 60,000 if you belong to the General HS category. For this category, the overall MBBS course cutoff ranged from 86482 to 313983. Hence, with a rank of  60,000, admission might be possible at this university.

Note: The cutoff for othe

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Neerja Rohatgi

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

Sharda University NEET cutoff 2025 was published for admission to the MBBS and BDS courses for the Home State quota category. The cutoff was released in the form of opening and closing ranks. 

For the General HS category, the last round cutoff for the BDS and MBBS courses was 80896 and 313983, respec

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Neerja Rohatgi

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

To get into Sharda University for the MBBS and BDS courses, students have to appear in the NEET UG entrance exam and then in the UP NEET counselling process. To qualify for the exam, students have to get at least 55% in 10+2. So yes, with a 70% percentile in class 12, you are eligible to sit for the

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Neerja Rohatgi

Contributor-Level 10