There are multiple perceptions of what is the tie breaker criteria used between candidates scoring the same raw marks in the NEET examination. It is quite essential to understand how the system works as NEET is no different from other competitive examinations where rank order matters. Many candidates aspire high scores in such competitive examination to get a better rank.

NEET 2019 examination is scheduled to be conducted by the National Testing Agency on May 5, 2019. This is an essential examination for the medical students as the NEET scores help them to get into top medical colleges. Thus, the article gives you a brief explanation of this tiebreaker criterion.

While preparing the merit list, ranks are given according to the raw scores of the candidates. Now in case you happen to have a raw score similar to some other candidates, then a tiebreaker situation is reached. In such a case, the following criterion is used to award the rank:

Candidates who have scored higher in Biology part, i.e. Botany and Zoology section combined will be getting the top rank among the pool of candidates. Now, those who are having the same scores in NEET raw score as well as Biology part, then the tie is broken by comparing the marks scored in Chemistry.

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Say if there is a pool of candidates who are having same raw scores in NEET as well as identical scores in Biology and Chemistry, then the next tiebreaker criteria is that of a number of wrong answers, i.e. the candidates with less number of wrong answers would be awarded higher rank.

Yes! There is the fourth criterion as well! So in case, there is a pool of candidate whose tie has still not been broken, in that case, the candidate whose age is higher will be awarded a higher rank.

To better understand this tiebreaker, let us take an example:

Let us consider a pool of four candidates having the same raw score of 560 out of 720. The particulars of these four candidates are as follows:

The rank order of the above candidate will look something like this:

C > B > D > A

C has done better than B despite same raw score as well as marks in Biology and Chemistry due to the lesser number of incorrect questions, i.e. C attempted lesser questions than B, reflecting that C was more precise with the answers than B. Similarly D has got a higher rank than A because of the age, i.e. higher age gets more preference in rank order.

Hopefully, this article has broken any myth that might be in your mind regarding NEET rank calculation. Just remember to do your work with your whole heart, and you will succeed – there’s so little competition.