Ahmedabad: Admissions to medical and dental seats in Gujarat are seeing a shift this year. The number of NEET qualifiers has fallen to 38,000 from 51,000 last year. Correspondingly, the state merit list has shrunk, with 15,651 candidates included out of the 16,430 registered, against approximately 24,000 on last year’s list.Despite the smaller pool, senior education department officials predict cut-offs will remain high because candidates who qualified this year had higher scores, keeping the competition at the top of the merit list intense.Not a single Gujarat candidate secured a perfect 720/720 in 2026, compared to 16 in 2025.Sources in the admissions committee say top govt and self-financed colleges in urban centres will see high closing cut-offs as usual. Colleges in peripheral areas may offer marginal relief through slightly lower merit requirements.Students can submit online correction forms on the state website until Aug 19. The state quota admission schedule will be declared after the All India Quota process concludes.What the merit list saysCategories and merit holdersCategoryMerit CandidatesGeneral3,804SEBC4,768SC1,800ST2,282EWS2,997Total Merit List15,651Disqualified609Total Registrations16,430
