BDS

In order to get admission, you need to clear the NEET exam first, only then you would be eligible to appear for the exam. There is no scope for direct admission, and only students who score good marks would be shortlisted. To apply for the exam, you need to pay your application fees and then proceed accordingly 

No, you cannot join a College of Dental Sciences for a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programme without appearing for and qualifying in the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) exam in India. NEET is the mandatory entrance exam for all medical and dental programs, including BDS. Since 2016, NEET has been made mandatory for admissions to medical courses like MBBS and BDS. There are no direct admission routes for BDS programs without NEET. 

Having a NEET score of 136, obtaining a BDS seat at the A.J. Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, is difficult. In the 2024 Karnataka NEET counseling, the General Merit (GM) category closing rank was 146,036. Considering that a NEET score of 136 usually translates to a rank higher than this cut-off, admission in the GM category is improbable.

Having scored 224 in NEET 2024 and a rank of 1 Lacs in the SC category, you stand a reasonable chance of getting a BDS seat in India, especially in private dental colleges and a few government colleges with lesser cutoffs in states having higher seat availability. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh tend to have lower cutoff ranks for SC candidates in BDS.

You need to attend state counseling (85% seats) and All India Quota (15%) counseling. Monitor deemed universities and stray vacancy rounds, where seats occasionally go unfilled. Monitor official counseling websites for cutoff information.

With a NEET score of 307 in 2024, your daughter might be struggling to find a seat in MBBS or BDS courses in government colleges because of heavy competition and cutoffs. But she has a hope in private medical or dental colleges, though there will be a high fee structure. For BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery), the cutoff marks are lower than for MBBS and BDS, so she might have a greater possibility of admission in BAMS. It's better to see the particular cutoffs for various institutions and look into private options too.

As of the most recent available figures, the NEET All India Rank (AIR) closing rank of OBC category applicants who applied for entry to the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course at Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, was 918,231.