# Why Hundreds of MBBS Seats Remain Vacant Despite Over Eleven Lakh Qualified NEET Students

> Despite millions of students qualifying the NEET UG exam nationwide, hundreds of medical seats remain vacant in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry deemed universities due to exorbitantly high tuition fees.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Career · **Published:** 2026-10-22 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/career/nita-pariksha-pasa-karane-ke-bada-bhi-kyon-khali-raha-gain-mbbs-ki-saikaron-siten-janie-kya-hai-mukhya-vajaha-50556 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** NEET UG counseling, MBBS seats, medical college fees, stray vacancy round, Tamil Nadu medical colleges, deemed universities

Countless students hoping to become doctors dedicate day and night to preparing for the NEET examination. This year as well, more than eleven lakh students crossed the minimum NEET UG cutoff to participate in the counseling process. However, startling data emerged during the final stray vacancy round of counseling. While medical seats have been filled in several parts of the country, eight hundred twenty-four MBBS seats remained vacant in the deemed universities of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

 

## Exorbitant Tuition Fees Act as the Main Barrier
 The vacancy of these MBBS seats is not due to any technical reason, but rather because of exceptionally high tuition fees. The annual fee for MBBS in these selected deemed universities ranges from twenty-three lakh to thirty-five lakh rupees. Throughout the four-and-a-half-year course, students end up spending crores of rupees solely on tuition fees. According to data from the Medical Counseling Committee, three thousand four hundred twenty-six seats were vacant across the country at the start of the stray round, and while many were filled, several major colleges in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry faced severe vacancy rates.

 

## Institutions Most Affected by Vacant Seats
 Sri Sathya Sai Medical College in Chennai recorded seventy-five percent vacant seats. The negative impact of high fees and expensive private institutions was most severe on selected colleges in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Each medical college listed below had two hundred fifty seats, but students avoided them due to the massive financial burden

 
- **Sri Sathya Sai Medical College:** Located in Chennai, this institution faced the highest vacancy at seventy-five percent, leaving one hundred eighty-eight seats empty.

- **Meenakshi Medical College:** Situated in Kanchipuram, forty-seven percent or one hundred seventeen seats remained unfilled.

- **Mahatma Gandhi Medical College:** This Puducherry institution recorded thirty-seven percent or ninety-two vacant seats.

- **Sri Balaji Medical College:** In Chromepet, thirty-three percent or eighty-two seats received no admissions.

 Prominent institutions like SRM, Saveetha, and Chettinad also reported large numbers of vacant seats. Reports indicate that annual fees in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry deemed universities range from twenty-three lakh to thirty-five lakh rupees. In contrast, the average fee in the rest of India is approximately twenty-two lakh sixty-eight thousand rupees. Maharashtra deemed universities average twenty-four lakh fifty-eight thousand rupees, while Karnataka averages twenty lakh eighty-five thousand rupees. Consultants note that fee differences reach nearly twenty-one lakh rupees over the course duration, prompting students to turn away from these colleges.

 

## Cutoffs Plunge Amid Financial Hesitation
 Even as high fees left seats empty, institutions that offered minor fee relief saw their cutoff ranks plummet drastically. For instance, the closing cutoff rank at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research dropped sharply from seven lakh thirty thousand to ten lakh sixty-eight thousand. This demonstrates that students wanted admission despite lower scores, but hesitated due to the overwhelming financial strain.

 

## Political Reactions and Demands for Caps
 This situation has triggered strong reactions within political circles. DMK Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson criticized these institutions strongly, labeling them as profit-driven entities focused solely on earnings. He demanded that the central government immediately impose a strict ceiling on the tuition fees of deemed universities so that medical education does not remain a privilege exclusively for wealthy families.

 

## Lessons for Future Aspirants
 This serves as an important lesson for students planning to appear for the NEET UG exam in upcoming years. Aspirants must understand that they should not apply solely based on a college name, but must prioritize their budget and financial planning above all else.

## What this means for you
This situation surrounding NEET counseling and medical admissions directly impacts families aspiring to send their children to medical school.

- **For Students and Parents:** Due to exorbitant medical college fees, families must now carefully evaluate their total budget alongside institutional reputation before securing admission.

- **Locally in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry:** High vacancy rates in regional deemed universities will likely force local and out-of-state applicants to reconsider their fee structures and financial planning in future counseling cycles.

## Why this happened
Several financial and institutional factors explain why hundreds of MBBS seats remained vacant despite a high number of qualified candidates.

- **Excessive Tuition Fees:** Selected deemed universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry charge annual fees ranging from twenty-three lakh to thirty-five lakh rupees, significantly higher than national averages.

- **Significant Cost Disparity:** A difference of up to twenty-one lakh rupees in total course costs compared to other states heavily discouraged applicants from choosing these colleges.

- **Cutoff Shifts:** Institutions offering slight fee relief saw cutoff ranks drop from seven lakh to ten lakh, confirming that financial burden was the primary deterrent.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. How many students crossed the minimum NEET UG cutoff this year?
More than eleven lakh students crossed the minimum NEET UG cutoff to participate in the counseling process this year.

### 2. In which states did medical colleges face the highest seat vacancies?
Eighty-four hundred twenty-four MBBS seats remained vacant in the deemed universities of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

### 3. What is the annual MBBS fee in these deemed universities?
The annual MBBS fee in these selected deemed universities ranges from twenty-three lakh to thirty-five lakh rupees.

### 4. How many seats remained vacant at Sri Sathya Sai Medical College?
Sri Sathya Sai Medical College in Chennai recorded seventy-five percent vacant seats, leaving one hundred eighty-eight seats empty.

### 5. What political reaction has this situation generated?
DMK Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson criticized these institutions as profit-driven and demanded that the central government impose a ceiling on tuition fees.

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