Out of 17,64,571 students who took the medical entrance exam – NEET, as many as 9,93,069 students have managed to pass it. While the number of students clearing the exam is higher than in past years, there still are over 7.71 lakh students who could not pass the exam. Further, among those who have cleared it, not everyone will be able to get a seat due to high competition for top medical colleges.
But for those who could not get desired marks, all is not lost. The medical field is not just limited to MBBS, there are many courses that do not require NEET marks. Students can also opt for a degree in BSc or look at an integrated course with MBA in the business field.
BEYOND MBBS
NEET offers admissions to various UG courses other than MBBS, however, some courses do not require NEET marks such as:
- BDS Bachelor of Dental Surgery
- AYUSH courses (BAMS BSMS BUMS BHMS)
- B.V.Sc. (Bachelor in Veterinary Science)
- B.Sc. courses ( Agriculture, Radiography, lab tech, clinical research, biotechnology, Physiology, Microbiology, Life Sciences, Psychology etc)
Other popular stable career options:
- Food scientist (B.Tech Food Technology)
- Paramedical (DMLT- diploma in medical laboratory technology.
- Nutrition and Dietics
- Geneticist
- Pharmacy (B.Pharm)
- Nursing (B.Sc. Nursing)
- BPT (Bachelor of Physiotherapy)
- Diploma courses
- MBA ( Hospital & Health Management)
- Forensic Science and Criminology
- B.sc (Optometry & Nuclear Medicine)
Seep Pahuja, the Top NEET UG educator at Unacademy said, “If a student is unable to achieve the desired NEET marks, it is advised that they drop the year, however, students who do not want to go for a drop year can also look at opting for admission in foreign medical colleges if they cannot enroll in private medical colleges in India. Alternatively, they can also opt for different courses based on their NEET marks. They could look at courses such as – AYUSH Courses, BAMS BHMS Unani Sidha Yogic Naturopathy, they offer seats for comparatively less marks than required for MBBS. Aspirants can also opt for veterinary and nursing courses.”
STUDYING MEDICINE ABROAD
Pursuing MBBS in India has become tougher as there are limited seats available and with foreign institutions opening up affordable options, Indian students now have excellent opportunities to study aboard. Countries such as Ukraine, Russia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan are the most common among Indian nationals for pursuing their MBBS degree. Further students who used to not to go abroad because of the fear of failing FMGE ( Foreign Medical Graduate Examination) certainly can study abroad after NEET UG.
Pahuja suggests that students must be careful while choosing the country as well as college as per the new guidelines as stated in the NMC Gazette 2021. Both Indians and students abroad will also have to go through the same process of NExT (National Exit Test ) to get a license to practice in India.