NEET UG 2026 counselling: over 800 seats vacant after stray vacancy round

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) released the provisional seat allotment result for the NEET UG 2026 stray vacancy round on the morning of October 20, 2026. The result, last updated on October 21, 2026, at 08:50 IST, indicates that over 800 MBBS, BDS, and B.Sc. Nursing seats remain vacant across various institutions after this final round of counselling.

The stray vacancy round was conducted to fill 4,068 vacant seats, but only 3,108 allotments were made. Candidates who have received a provisional allotment are required to report to their allotted institutes between October 19 and October 26, 2026. Failure to join an allotted seat in this round will result in the forfeiture of the security deposit.

Vacancies in Medical and Nursing Courses

Following the NEET UG 2026 stray vacancy round, 837 MBBS seats remain vacant. Most these, 824 seats, are concentrated in deemed medical universities located in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Also, one MBBS seat at AIIMS Madurai and 12 seats at Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute in Kolar, Karnataka, also remain unfilled.

Specific institutions with significant MBBS vacancies include Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute in Chennai with 188 seats, Meenakshi Medical College and Research Institute in Kancheepuram with 117 seats, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute in Puducherry with 92 seats, and Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital in Chennai with 82 seats. The stray vacancy round initially aimed to fill 3,426 MBBS, 499 BDS, and 143 B.Sc. Nursing seats.

High Tuition Fees and Allotment Trends

The high cost of private medical education has been cited as a potential factor contributing to the remaining vacancies. Annual MBBS tuition at institutions such as Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute is Rs 21 lakh, while Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute charges Rs 24 lakh. Meenakshi Medical College’s 2025–26 admission brochure lists tuition at Rs 23 lakh annually. Fees at deemed universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry reportedly range from Rs 23 lakh to Rs 35 lakh per year, leading to a total 5-year cost for MBBS ranging from Rs 1.15 crore to Rs 1.75 crore.

The stray vacancy round included fresh registration, and choices from previous rounds were not reused. The closing ranks for various categories in the MBBS stray vacancy round were 10,26,157 for Open (including General), 11,90,058 for OBC, 99,596 for EWS, 1,83,081 for SC, and 2,26,490 for ST. For BDS, open-category self-financed merit seats at deemed universities closed at 8,91,113, and open-category non-resident Indian seats at deemed universities closed at 9,39,925.

Counselling Schedule and Reporting Instructions

The provisional result for the NEET UG 2026 stray vacancy round was published on the official MCC website, mcc.nic.in, as a downloadable PDF. The final allotment list and further instructions regarding college reporting are awaited. Candidates are advised to regularly check the MCC website for updates. The reporting period for allotted seats is scheduled from October 19 to October 26, 2026.

The NEET UG 2026 counselling process included Round 2, Round 3, and the Online Stray Vacancy Round. Round 3 registration concluded on September 27, 2026, with its seat allotment result due on September 30, 2026. Round 2 of counselling saw 8,828 seats allotted, comprising 7,485 MBBS, 1,057 BDS, and 286 B.Sc. Nursing seats. The Rajasthan NEET UG Stray Vacancy Round 2026 provisional seat allotment result is scheduled for October 22, 2026, following offline document verification conducted from October 18 to 20, 2026.

Further reading

• NEET UG 2026 Round 3 admissions conclude for MBBS at Medical College, Kolkata
• WB AYUSH UG round 2 merit list released: admission based on NEET UG 2026 scores
• NEET cutoff: previous closing ranks and marks Next step
• CUET 2027: Register by November 25
• KCET registration 2027 to open tentatively in January, application fee details
• KEAM 2026: Apply for 84 MBBS, 106 BDS stray seats. CEE to announce dates Applications open

Written by Nishit Kumar

Nishit Kumar is a senior EdTech industry leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling education platforms, shaping their product, content, and growth strategy. At FindMyCollege, Nishit oversees content and editorial strategy, guiding topic selection and content frameworks to ensure accuracy, relevance, and student-first value across the website.

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