The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Undergraduate courses (NEET-UG) 2025 was conducted across India on Sunday, with around 22.7 lakh candidates attempting what is now being widely described as “one of the most difficult NEET-UG papers”. With Physics proving particularly tough, Biology unusually lengthy, and Chemistry moderately difficult, experts predict a significant drop in the cut-off for medical college admissions this year.
Sudha Shenoy, a parent-representative from Mumbai who mentors medical education aspirants, explained the difficulty level of the exam paper. “Physics was high difficulty, Biology lengthy, and Chemistry average. Overall, not an easy paper, so ranks will get well distributed,” she said.
Drawing parallels with the earliest years of NEET, Shenoy added, “2016 was the first NEET batch where government medical college admission was done through the Common Entrance Test (CET), and private and deemed college admissions were through NEET. The cut-off went low due to the tough paper, and nobody scored 720/720.”
Commenting on student reactions, she noted, “Students came out crying as they had not expected such a high difficulty level, considering the paper had been relatively easy from 2018 onwards. They have been getting three hours and twenty minutes since 2020, but time management still proved challenging with this paper.”
Brijesh Sutaria, a Mumbai-based medical education activist, emphasised that Physics continues to be the decisive subject in NEET-UG.
“I’ve always said that Physics is the game-changer — it can make or break a student’s score. This year’s paper reinforced that with its tough, concept-driven numericals requiring extra focus and preparation,” he said.
On the other subjects, he added, “Chemistry was moderately difficult, especially with tricky reactions in Organic and Physical Chemistry, while Biology remained largely NCERT-based and scoring, though speed and accuracy were still essential.”
Importantly, Sutaria raised concerns about the fairness of the examination process, referring to emerging reports of question paper leaks in some states. “Such incidents not only damage the integrity of the exam but also demoralise sincere aspirants. Strict action must be taken against the culprits. I sincerely hope this doesn’t delay or distort the result process for lakhs of hardworking students.”
Additionally, reactions from students and parents on Sunday reflected a deep sense of anxiety and frustration. Several students said they felt completely unprepared for the paper’s unexpected difficulty. “We’ve been solving past years’ papers and mock tests, but nothing matched this. Physics drained us, Biology took too much time, and there wasn’t enough breathing room to revise anything,” one student said.
Parents too were left disheartened by the situation. “I was not worried so much during my own exams. Today’s kids are really hardworking. But our country’s system is pathetic. These exams are not selection rounds but elimination rounds,” said one parent.
Another parent criticised what they perceived as a punitive approach by the exam body. “The unusually tough paper is a rebound effect by the National Testing Agency after last year’s fiasco,” they said, referring to allegations of widespread paper leaks in NEET UG 2024. “But it’s not fair on the kids. Biology and Chemistry were quite moderate, but the overall paper was unreasonably tough.”
With widespread agreement among experts, students and families that NEET UG 2025 was far more difficult than expected, the focus now shifts to how the National Testing Agency (NTA) will handle the evaluation and result declaration process. A drop in cut-offs appears likely, but for now, lakhs of aspirants and their families are left anxiously awaiting the outcome.
