Chennai: The state selection committee began the first round of counselling for postgraduate medical students on Saturday. Candidates can fill in and lock their course and college choices online until 3pm on Tuesday.The committee conducts counselling for state-quota seats in govt colleges, self-financing medical colleges, and state private universities. At least 12,084 doctors applied for admission, which will be based on merit in NEET-PG 2026 and reservation .Tamil Nadu has 2,358 postgraduate seats in govt medical colleges. After sharing 1,115 seats for admission through the all-India quota, the state will open 1,243 seats for admission. Of these, 616 are reserved for in-service candidates, 627 are open seats, and 1,146 seats are in self-financing colleges.The rank list, released after scrutiny of applications, shows 7,968 candidates in the govt quota and 3,643 in the management quota.The selection committee secretary, Dr V Lokanayaki, said results for round 1 admissions in the state will be released on Nov 5. The last date to join colleges allotted through the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) is Nov 6. “We want to ensure students make informed decisions. They will be able to decide if they must take the Centre or state seat,” said Lokanayaki.NEET-PG 2026 was held on Aug 30, and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences released the results on Sept 24. “Every year, admission to postgraduate courses is delayed. We are forced to wait several weeks after the results are declared,” said a doctor who is applying for the PG course.
