Chennai: Nine students from Tamil Nadu featured in the top 100 list by scoring between 705 and 692 marks in the NEET re-exam this year. Last year, six students from the state featured in the list.Experts predict that the cut-off for medical admissions may increase by 25 to 40 marks for different categories this year, as students’ performance in the test has improved. Last year, the top score was 686. This year, data from National Testing Agency (NTA) shows that at least 12 out of 138 students who scored above 690 marks in NEET re-exam this year were from Tamil Nadu.Venkatapathi Velayutham V A from Velammal Bodhi Campus has topped the state with 705/720 and the all-India 12th rank this year.“I am interested in joining Jipmer Puducherry. I come from a family of doctors and that inspires me to take up medicine as a career,” Velayutham told TOI. He is holidaying in Courtallam with his friends at the moment.Velayutham said he was expecting 710 marks, but a challenge to the answer key was not accepted by NTA. His father Anjan Ramachandranath and mother Punithavathi are doctors.Srinika V and Sudar A M secured 27th and 45th all-India ranks respectively.Vanisha Satish, another student from the city, who scored 695/720, secured the all-India 51st rank. “I prepared myself with mock exams with varied difficulty levels. It helped. In the first hour, I finished only 18 physics questions. But it did not stress me out, thanks to my preparation. I am happy with my score,” she told TOI. She wants to join AIIMS New Delhi.“Nine students in the top 100 is a good result for TN. More students have scored between 600 and 650 marks compared to last year. We are expecting the cut-off marks to be higher,” said Santosh Singh, academic head, Allen Career Institute, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.“Overall performance of students has improved. About 10,160 students have scored above 600 this year at the national level compared to 1,600 students last year. The number of students who have scored above 500 has also increased from 52,000 to 90,780. We can expect an increase in cut-off from 30 to 40 marks for different categories this year,” said Sourav Mondal, co-founder of Edutattva Classes.NTA has not released complete data, but analysis done by consultants with candidates’ scores and ranks showed that at every level of the all-India rank for 2026, the score is higher than it was in 2025, with increases ranging from 27 to 52 points. “The number of students who qualified in Tamil Nadu is lower compared to last year. However, the cut-off marks for different categories might increase between 25 to 40 marks,” said Manickavel Arumugam, who counsels medical and dental aspirants.Over the last five years, the performance of TN students in NEET examinations has been improving. Though cut-off marks have been hovering, the all-India rank has declined. “Marks of the last student entering a medical college may vary because of overall student performance, paper standards and evaluation. Nevertheless, ranks are a better indicator of performance. Every year, we see students with better ranks getting admitted,” he added.
