A NEET-UG result from Kota this year has drawn attention not for a rank in the top 100, but for what it took to get there. Sagar Regar, whose father earns a living collecting and sorting scrap door-to-door, scored 564 marks and an All India Rank of 27,157 (684 within the SC category) after a year of coaching he could never have afforded on his own. His family lives in a two-room house, and until a government-school principal pointed him toward a scholarship scheme, medical coaching was simply out of reach financially. For lakhs of NEET aspirants from modest backgrounds, this case is worth reading closely — not as inspiration alone, but as a practical map of what support actually exists and how it works.
Free coaching-and-hostel scholarship schemes run by trusts and welfare programmes can genuinely convert a NEET dream into a rank for students who cannot afford Kota-style coaching — but aspirants need to actively find and apply to these schemes rather than assume they don't exist.
What actually happened
Sagar studied at a government school in Kaithoon near Kota, scoring 76% in Class 10 and 92% in Class 12. His family — father Murli Regar, a scrap collector, and his homemaker mother who studied only till Class 8 — could not fund coaching fees, accommodation, or study material for NEET preparation.
His resolve to become a doctor was sharpened after a cousin in his extended family developed cancer following prolonged gutkha (chewing tobacco) use — an outcome he attributes partly to a lack of awareness in his family about substance abuse. He has said he wants to eventually work on spreading awareness about education and staying away from tobacco and drugs, alongside practising medicine.
The turning point came when his school principal told him about a welfare scheme offering a selection test for free NEET coaching. Sagar cleared that test and received a year of free coaching along with free lodging and meals arranged through a charitable trust, which let him prepare full-time instead of working or settling for a BSc course, as he had otherwise expected to do.
The NEET-UG score, decoded
Sagar scored 564 marks, translating to a percentile score of 98.6296 — meaning he outperformed roughly 98.6% of all NEET-UG candidates nationally this year. His All India Rank (AIR) is 27,157.
Because he belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, he also has a separate SC-category rank of 684, which is far more relevant to him during counselling. Category rank is what most reserved-category candidates should track closely, since a large share of MBBS/BDS seats are allotted against category-wise reservation, and a candidate's chance of a seat in a state or all-India quota often depends far more on the category rank than the overall AIR.
Why this matters beyond one family's story
Every year, NEET counselling forums see anxious questions from students whose families cannot afford even modest coaching fees, let alone Kota's residential programmes that can cost several lakh rupees a year. Sagar's case shows that free or subsidised coaching-and-hostel schemes do exist, run by educational trusts, coaching institutes' welfare arms, and government scholarship programmes — but they are not widely advertised and often depend on a school teacher, principal, or local NGO flagging them to eligible students.
The scheme that supported Sagar reportedly targets talented students from Hindi-medium government schools and combines free coaching with hostel and food support for a full academic year — removing the two biggest cost barriers (tuition and living expenses) that keep bright but poor students out of serious NEET preparation.
What NEET aspirants from constrained backgrounds should do
If you or someone you know is in a similar financial position, don't assume coaching is only for those who can pay full fees. Several routes exist and are worth actively pursuing well before the next NEET cycle.
- Ask your school principal or a senior teacher about state or district-level scholarship and coaching-support schemes for NEET/JEE aspirants — many run selection tests specifically for government-school students.
- Check whether your state government runs a free coaching scheme for SC/ST/OBC/EWS or minority students preparing for medical entrance exams; several states have such programmes administered through welfare departments.
- Look up charitable trusts attached to established coaching institutes — some run parallel free-coaching wings for meritorious students from low-income families, selected through a separate entrance test.
- Apply for central and state government scholarships for SC/ST/EWS students even if you are not attending formal coaching — this can help with study material, transport, or exam-related costs.
- During NEET counselling itself, remember that category-wise reservation (SC/ST/OBC/EWS/PwBD) applies across All India Quota and most state quota seats, so track your category rank and the category-wise cutoffs published by counselling authorities, not just your overall percentile.
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See My CollegesFrequently asked questions
What NEET-UG score and rank did Sagar Regar get?
He scored 564 marks, a percentile of 98.6296, an All India Rank of 27,157, and an SC-category rank of 684.
Why does the SC-category rank matter more than the overall AIR for him?
Most MBBS/BDS seats reserved for SC candidates are allotted based on category rank during counselling, so a candidate's realistic seat prospects are better judged from their category rank than from the overall All India Rank.
What kind of support helped him prepare for NEET without paying fees?
A scholarship-style scheme, accessed through a selection test flagged by his school principal, gave him a year of free coaching, along with free hostel accommodation and meals arranged through a charitable trust.
Are such free coaching schemes common, or was this a one-off?
Several such schemes exist across states and are run by government welfare departments, charitable trusts, and coaching institutes' philanthropic wings, though they are usually not widely publicised. Aspirants and schools need to actively seek them out.
What should a financially constrained NEET aspirant do right now?
Speak to your school principal or teachers about scholarship and free-coaching schemes, check your state's welfare department website for SC/ST/OBC/EWS coaching support programmes, and look at whether large coaching institutes in your state run a free-coaching wing with its own entrance test.
Does a rank like AIR 27,157 guarantee an MBBS seat?
Not automatically in the general category, but for SC candidates with a favourable category rank like 684, government MBBS or BDS seats are a realistic possibility depending on the state and quota, which is why tracking category-wise cutoffs during counselling is essential.
Sagar Regar's result is a reminder that a NEET dream doesn't require expensive coaching if a student, school, or family knows where to look for support — the search for scholarships and free-coaching schemes should start as early as Class 10 or 11, not after board exams are done. Aspirants from similar backgrounds should track category-wise cutoffs closely once counselling begins, since that number matters more than the overall All India Rank.
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