If you're waiting on your NEET UG 2026 All India Quota (AIQ) seat, the most important task on your calendar right now is choice filling — the step where you rank the colleges and courses you're willing to accept. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), the central body that conducts AIQ counselling for MBBS, BDS and B.Sc. Nursing seats across government medical colleges, AIIMS, JIPMER, central and deemed universities, has opened this window and set a firm closing time. Getting your preference order right — and locking it in time — can make the difference between landing your top choice and losing a round entirely. This piece lays out the full Round 1 timeline and the practical dos and don'ts for filling your list.
Fill and manually lock your Round 1 choices on mcc.nic.in before 11 AM on August 13, 2026, and rank colleges strictly in the order you would actually accept them, because the allotment algorithm reads your list top-to-bottom against your rank.
What's open right now
MCC activated the Round 1 choice-filling window for NEET UG 2026 AIQ counselling on August 6, 2026, on its official portal mcc.nic.in. This applies to candidates going for the 15% AIQ quota in government medical and dental colleges, AIIMS, JIPMER, central universities, deemed universities, and B.Sc. Nursing seats under AIQ.
Only candidates who have completed, or are in the process of completing, Round 1 registration and fee payment are eligible to enter choices. If you haven't registered yet, that step needs to be finished first — registration and fee payment for Round 1 remain open until August 12, with registration closing at 3 PM and fee payment at 6 PM that day.
Full Round 1 schedule
MCC has released a detailed timeline for this round. Keep these dates visible on your phone or desk calendar — missing any of them can cost you a seat this round.
| Activity | Date & Time |
|---|---|
| Registration & fee payment | Ongoing till August 12, 2026 (registration till 3 PM, fee payment till 6 PM) |
| Choice filling | August 6 – August 13, 2026, till 11 AM |
| Choice locking | August 12, 4 PM – August 13, 11 AM |
| Seat allotment processing | August 13 – 16, 2026 |
| Round 1 result | August 17, 2026 |
| Reporting & joining | August 18 – 22, 2026 |
Why the lock step matters more than most candidates realise
Choice locking is a separate, time-bound action from choice filling. The locking window opens only at 4 PM on August 12 and closes at 11 AM on August 13 — the same moment choice filling itself ends. If you fill preferences but never click 'lock', the system will automatically freeze your last saved list at 11 AM on August 13.
This auto-lock is a safety net, not a substitute for care. It locks whatever was last saved, which may not reflect your final thinking if you were still reordering choices at the last minute. Once a list is locked — whether by you or by the system — it cannot be reopened, edited, or reordered for Round 1 under any circumstance. Treat the manual lock as your final checkpoint, not an optional extra.
How the allotment algorithm actually reads your list
MCC's seat allotment runs strictly in the sequence you set: choice 1 is checked first, then choice 2, and so on, matched against your NEET rank and eligibility for each seat. This means your ordering, not just your selection of colleges, decides the outcome.
A common mistake is placing a 'safe' backup college above a more preferred one out of anxiety about missing a seat. Doing this can actually cost you the better seat, because if the algorithm finds you eligible for the higher-listed (but less preferred) choice first, it allots that and stops looking further down your list for that round.
- List your genuinely most-wanted colleges/courses at the top, even if they feel like a stretch for your rank.
- Add safety options further down, not because you expect to get them soon, but as a fallback if higher choices don't come through.
- Include enough choices across quota categories and course types (MBBS, BDS, B.Sc. Nursing) if you're open to any of them, so you don't end up with an empty allotment.
- Re-check your list a day before the lock window opens; don't leave first-time entry to the last few hours.
After the result: reporting and what to carry
The Round 1 seat allotment result is expected on August 17, 2026, followed by processing checks between August 13 and 16. If you're allotted a seat, physical reporting to the allotted college happens between August 18 and August 22.
One instruction worth flagging early: candidates must save and print a hard copy of their final locked choice list, because it is required as verification proof at the time of physical reporting. Don't wait until the last day to print this — keep it with your other admission documents (NEET scorecard, ID proof, category/domicile certificates, etc.) well before reporting dates arrive.
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See My CollegesFrequently asked questions
Where do I fill my NEET UG 2026 Round 1 AIQ choices?
Only through the official MCC portal, mcc.nic.in. There is no offline process and no alternate website — any other platform claiming to do this for you is not authorised by MCC.
What happens if I don't manually lock my choices?
The system will automatically lock whichever list you last saved, at 11 AM on August 13, 2026. It's safer to lock manually once you're sure of your final order, rather than relying on auto-lock.
Can I change my choices after locking?
No. Once your list is locked — manually or automatically — it cannot be edited, reordered, or unlocked for Round 1 under any circumstance.
Should I register even if I'm undecided about which colleges to pick?
Yes — registration and fee payment must be completed by August 12 regardless of how confident you are about your final list. You can keep refining and reordering choices right up to the lock window.
Does the order of my choices actually affect which seat I get?
Yes, significantly. MCC's algorithm checks your choices in the exact sequence you list them against your rank, so a less-preferred college placed higher up can get allotted before a more-preferred one listed lower down.
What should I carry when reporting to my allotted college?
A printed copy of your final locked choice list is explicitly required, along with your usual admission documents like the NEET scorecard, allotment letter, ID proof, and relevant certificates.
With the choice-locking window opening on August 12 and the whole cycle wrapping up by August 22, this is not the week to leave preference-list decisions to chance. Finalise your ranking with a clear head, lock it manually well before the deadline, and print your confirmation immediately — then watch mcc.nic.in for the August 17 result.
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