For students aspiring to become doctors, securing an MBBS seat is only one part of the challenge. Paying for the degree can be equally difficult, particularly at private deemed medical universities where annual tuition fees can run into tens of lakhs.
As many as 837 MBBS seats remained vacant after the NEET UG 2026 stray vacancy round across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karnatakaaccording to the reported college-wise figures. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has published the official vacancy and allotment records for the round on its website.
The vacancies include 824 seats across deemed medical universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, along with one seat at AIIMS Madurai and 12 at Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute in Kolar, Karnataka. The combined figure highlights the number of seats that remained unfilled despite the completion of the final scheduled counselling round.
FOUR COLLEGES REPORT MORE THAN 350 VACANCIES
Several colleges accounted for a substantial share of the unfilled seats. Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute in Chennai had 188 vacant MBBS seats after the round, while Meenakshi Medical College and Research Institute in Kancheepuram had 117.
Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute in Puducherry had 92 vacant seats, while Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital in Chennai had 82.
These figures point to the scale of vacancies at institutions where students may have to weigh the cost of the degree against their financial circumstances and other available options.
Fees are an important part of that calculation. Official information published by Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth lists annual MBBS tuition at Rs 21 lakh at Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute and Rs 24 lakh at Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute.
Meenakshi Medical College’s published 2025–26 admission brochure lists tuition at Rs 23 lakh annually. These are tuition figures and do not necessarily include hostel, mess or other charges. Thus, the annual fee for these colleges can range from Rs 21 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
Fees at deemed universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry reportedly range from Rs 23 lakh to Rs 35 lakh a year.
The high cost of private medical education has raised questions about whether some students are unable or unwilling to take up seats at these institutions. However, vacancies alone do not establish that fees were the sole reason candidates did not join, but definitely a major factor in deciding college admissions.
WILL THERE BE A SPECIAL COUNSELLING ROUND?
The remaining vacancies have also raised questions about whether another round of counselling could give students an opportunity to secure these seats.
The MCC has published the final allotment result for the NEET UG 2026 stray vacancy round on its official website. Reportedly, a special counselling round could be considered to fill the remaining vacant seats, subject to government approval.
For students who have already qualified NEET UG 2026, they should not assume that the vacant seats will automatically mean that admissions will reopen. Any further opportunity would depend on an official decision and the eligibility and participation rules announced for that round.
– Ends
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