Higher Education in India
Becoming a Doctor: NEET and Medical College Costs
How India's single medical entrance exam works, why private MBBS seats are so expensive, and why thousands of students study medicine abroad.
Becoming a doctor is a dream for millions of Indian students. The path is highly competitive and can be very expensive.
NEET
Since 2016, admission to MBBS courses across India has been through a single exam, NEET-UG. More than 20 lakh students take it each year, competing for around one lakh MBBS seats.
A 2024 controversy over a paper leak led to court cases and calls for exam reform, highlighting the stakes.
Government vs private seats
- Government medical colleges charge low fees and are the most sought after.
- Private medical colleges can charge fees running into lakhs of rupees a year, with total costs for an MBBS sometimes exceeding a crore.
Expanding seats
India has greatly increased MBBS seats, roughly doubling them in the decade after 2014, by opening new colleges, many attached to district hospitals.
Studying abroad
Tens of thousands of Indian students study medicine in countries such as Russia, China, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Bangladesh, where fees can be lower than Indian private colleges. They must pass a licensing exam to practise in India, and many find it difficult. The 2022 war forced thousands of Indian students to leave Ukraine.
Economic questions
- High private fees may push doctors toward high-paying urban practice to recover costs.
- India needs more doctors, especially in rural areas.
- Quality must keep pace with expansion.
A student scores well in NEET but not enough for a government seat. A private seat would cost over a crore in total. Her family instead sends her to study in Central Asia for much less, knowing she must later pass India's licensing exam.
Government seats are cheap, but private MBBS seats can cost well over a crore in total.
- NEET, since 2016, is the single MBBS entrance exam.
- More than 20 lakh students compete for about one lakh seats.
- Private medical college fees can exceed a crore in total.
- Many students study abroad and must pass a licensing exam to practise in India.
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