NEET-PG 2026 Cut-off & Closing Rank by Branch (MD/MS/DNB)

If you're hunting for the NEET-PG cut-off for MD Medicine, the closing rank for Radiology, or the rank required for MD/MS Dermatology, the honest answer is: it depends — on your rank, your category, your quota and the exact college. NEET-PG branch-wise cut-offs swing dramatically between clinical and non-clinical specialities, between 50% All India Quota and 50% state quota, and even between two colleges in the same city. This guide explains how branch-wise closing ranks actually behave for 2026, gives clearly-labelled indicative rank bands for the popular MD/MS branches, and shows you how to turn your own rank into an exact, personalised college list — with closing ranks, fees and stipend attached.

Cut-off vs closing rank — what's the difference?

• Qualifying cut-off: the minimum score (out of 720) that makes you eligible to enter counselling. Clearing it does NOT reserve any seat.
• Closing rank: the last (highest-numbered) All India Rank that actually got a particular branch at a particular college in a given round. This is the number you should shortlist against.
• Your admission rank: where YOUR AIR sits relative to each college-branch's closing rank — the only comparison that decides whether a seat is realistic for you.
• Branch-wise cut-off: closing ranks read speciality-by-speciality (Radiology, MD Medicine, Dermatology, Anatomy…), which is what most candidates actually search for.

What were the NEET-PG 2026 qualifying cut-offs?

NEET-PG 2026 was conducted for roughly 2.66 lakh candidates and the result was declared on 24 September 2026 by NBEMS (natboard.edu.in); the downloadable scorecard and answer key follow from 1 October 2026. The exam is scored out of 720. The category-wise qualifying cut-offs (percentile-based) are below — clear these and you can register for counselling; miss them and you're out.

Why do closing ranks differ so much across MD/MS branches?

Two candidates with the same rank can end up in completely different specialities, because a branch's closing rank is set by supply and demand for that exact seat, not by your score alone. Here's what pushes a branch's closing rank up or down:

• Seat scarcity: glamour clinical branches like Radiodiagnosis (Radiology) and Dermatology have very few seats against huge demand, so they close at the lowest ranks.
• Perceived income & lifestyle: branches seen as high-earning or better-lifestyle (Radiology, Dermatology, General Medicine) get picked first by the top rankers.
• Clinical vs para-clinical vs pre-clinical: pre-clinical (Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry) and para-clinical (Pathology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Community Medicine, Forensic Medicine) attract fewer takers, so they stay open to much higher rank numbers.
• Quota: the same branch closes at a different rank in 50% AIQ (MCC) vs 50% state quota, and again for management / NRI / deemed seats.
• College tier & city: a metro government college closes far tighter than a newer college in a smaller town for the identical branch.
• Round & movement: ranks drift as candidates freeze, float and upgrade; late rounds, mop-up and stray vacancy can open a branch to ranks that looked impossible in Round 1.
• Year-on-year drift: cut-offs have been rising across specialities, so last year's closing rank is a guide, never a guarantee.

Which MD/MS branches are the most competitive? (indicative bands)

The table below orders popular branches from most to least competitive and gives an INDICATIVE All India Quota, General-category closing-rank band. Treat these as neighbourhoods, not seats: real closing ranks vary enormously by year, round, category, quota, college tier and state, and premier institutes close far tighter than the band suggests. For your own rank and category, get the exact college-branch closing ranks from the predictor rather than reading off any single table.

What rank do I need for MD Medicine, Radiology or Dermatology?

• Radiodiagnosis (Radiology) & Dermatology: consistently the toughest branches — premier institutes close inside the low hundreds, and even broader AIQ/state seats tend to stay in the low thousands for General.
• General Medicine: a perennial favourite; premier-college seats go early, but the branch spans a wide rank range across the country, so mid rankers still have realistic options in many colleges.
• Paediatrics, Obs & Gynae, Orthopaedics, General Surgery: high demand but far more seats than Radiology/Dermatology, so the rank window is genuinely wider.
• Anaesthesiology, Psychiatry, ENT, Ophthalmology: moderate competition — often reachable at mid ranks across many colleges.
• Pathology, Microbiology, Pharmacology (para-clinical): stay open to tens of thousands of ranks in most colleges.
• Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry (pre-clinical), Community Medicine & Forensic Medicine: the highest closing ranks of all — securable well into the tens of thousands and often past 1 lakh, except at a handful of premier institutes.
• DNB (broad + secondary specialities): a strong route to a clinical-track seat that MD/MS competition might otherwise put out of reach at your rank.

How do fees and stipend differ — and why they matter as much as rank?

Rank gets you the seat; fees, stipend and bond decide whether it's the right seat. Government seats are cheap and pay a solid monthly stipend; private and deemed seats can cost tens of lakhs to a crore-plus over the course, and their stipends are often low, delayed or absent despite parity mandates. The indicative bands below vary by state fee-regulator, college, quota and year — confirm the exact numbers per college in the predictor.

• Do treat every rank band here as indicative — verify your exact numbers per college before you lock choices.
• Do compare the total cost of the degree, not just Year-1 tuition: a private clinical seat can run into tens of lakhs to a crore-plus over the full course.
• Do weigh stipend and bond: a low-fee government seat with a strong stipend can beat a 'prestige' private seat once you count the service bond and lost stipend.
• Don't assume your qualifying score guarantees a seat — qualifying only makes you eligible for counselling.
• Don't rely on a single year's closing rank; read the trend across 2023-2025 and the round-wise movement.
• Don't ignore state quota — 50% of all seats sit there, and your home-state rank can open branches that AIQ won't.

How does NEET-PG counselling actually work (AIQ + state)?

• Qualify NEET-PG by meeting your category cut-off out of 720.
• Register separately for the 50% All India Quota (MCC, mcc.nic.in) and for each state's 50% quota (its own state authority).
• Fill and LOCK your choices — branch + college preferences in priority order.
• Seat allotment is released round-wise; you then report/join, or choose freeze / float / upgrade.
• Unfilled seats roll into later rounds, mop-up and stray vacancy — where closing ranks can loosen for some branches.
• Courses on offer: MD, MS, DNB, DrNB (Direct 6-year) and PG Medical Diploma. Note: NEET-SS for DM/MCh super-specialities is a separate, later exam — it is NOT part of this MD/MS/DNB counselling.

How do I turn my rank into an exact college list?

Stop scrolling generic cut-off tables and check your own profile. The MedAdmit NEET-PG College Predictor at /predictors/neet-pg/college converts your rank (or score) and category into a realistic, personalised shortlist in seconds — pulling from MCC All India Quota and every state authority. Here's exactly what it returns:

• The exact MD/MS/DNB colleges + branches you can realistically get — across MCC AIQ and every state quota.
• Round-wise closing ranks for each college-branch, so you see how the seat moved across rounds, not just one number.
• Annual fees, monthly stipend and bond details per seat, so you compare the real cost.
• An admit-probability (safe / target / reach) for every option, sorted for your rank.
• Category- and quota-aware results — General, EWS, OBC, SC, ST, PwBD across AIQ, state, management and NRI where relevant.