Things that go wrong are often simple, avoidable mistakes. A wrong order. A same-name college in the wrong city. A college you couldn't find because you only knew its old name. A dental seat in a college that shared the name of an MBBS college, warns Ashok Hegde, founder, neet2seat.
Key Points
- The first round of All India Quota (AIQ) counselling offers a 'free exit,' allowing students to decline an undesirable seat without penalty and proceed to Round 2.
- Students must thoroughly research and decide on their preferences, including willingness to relocate, budget constraints, and acceptance of BDS if MBBS is out of reach.
- It is crucial to prepare a properly ordered list of colleges with official names before logging into the MCC portal to avoid difficulties in reordering choices.
- Always verify college names with their full addresses and institute types on the MCC portal to prevent selecting the wrong institution due to similar names.
- Understand the rules for each counselling round, especially the 'no free exit' policy in Round 2 and Round 3, where joining a seat is final and irreversible.
The Medical Counselling Committee web site (mcc.nic.in) is about to open for NEET-UG registration. For lakhs of students, after years of study and prep, an online form now stands between them and a medical seat.
But the good news is that the first round is the most forgiving in All India Quota (AIQ) counselling.
Round 1 has a ‘free exit’.
If you get a seat you don't like, don't join it. You lose nothing and you move to Round 2 with no penalty. No need to play safe and leave your dream colleges off the list.
Putting a top college high on your list costs you nothing in Round 1. Leaving it out can cost you the seat you really wanted.
But before you open the MCC portal, do the groundwork. The process will go a lot easier.
Step 1: Decide what you want
Sit down with your family and answer these questions.
Are you willing to relocate out of state if you can’t get a college in your own state? Which states are you willing to go to?
How much can you afford? A government seat, a deemed university and an NRI seat can vary by several lakhs over the full course. If you don’t have a top rank, you will probably have to think long and hard about the budget.
Are you willing to take BDS if MBBS is out of reach?
There are no right answers but take the hard decisions now.
Step 2: Be flexible with preferences
Now look at the colleges that fit those answers and are within reach of your rank.
If there are enough seats you would accept, you are most likely safe. Build your list and relax.
If the list looks thin, don’t hope for the best. Expand it now. Be ready to study in a state you had not considered. Stretch the budget or add BDS as a backup.
Step 3: Write your list in order, with proper college names
Decide your full order before you log in and write it down. Have the document ready when you sign in.
Why?
On the MCC portal, you can add a new choice only to the bottom of your list. If you forgot a college that should have been your sixth choice, and you are on the 50th, you must move it up one step at a time to get it there.
A properly ordered list will save you a lot of heartache when you are in front of the portal.
While you make this list, note each college by its official name and by the name it is known by. Many colleges have been renamed, and the popular name is often not the official one.
In Mumbai, for example, the college everyone calls KEM is officially Seth GS Medical College, and JJ is Grant Medical College.
A college you think of by its city or its hospital may appear on the portal under a longer, unfamiliar name. Keep both names in your note so you can find it when you search.
Don’t make these mistakes
The MCC software follows one simple rule: It reads your list from the top down and gives you the best college your rank qualifies for and still has a seat left.
It will not ask, ‘Are you sure you want a dental seat far away instead of an MBBS seat near home?’ If a dental college is listed above an MBBS college and your rank qualifies, it will allot you a seat there.
Add as many colleges as you wish
There is no limit to the number of colleges you can add. You can add the entire list if you wish. But make sure you get the order right.
In MCC, you submit a fresh choice list every round.
Check college names
India has many colleges with similar names. Mahatma Gandhi, for example, sits in the title of many medical colleges in different cities.
On the portal, find the ‘institute address’ and ‘institute type’ check boxes. Turn them on. This will show you the college’s full address.
Never add a college just from its name. Make sure you match the city and the address.
Be aware of MBBS and BDS
In MCC counselling, MBBS and BDS are filled on one common form.
Every row shows institute, programme (MBBS or BDS) and quota.
Many MBBS and BDS colleges share a name. If you move a BDS college above an MBBS row by mistake and your rank reaches it first, the software gives you the dental seat.
Use the programme filter to show only MBBS if that’s what you want. Or make sure you list BDS after the MBBS rows if they’re your second preference.
Check for duplicates
A single institute can show up under different quotas (all-India, deemed or paid, NRI), each with a different fee, so keep the costlier deemed and NRI rows lower.
A college may even get listed twice by mistake. If you see a duplicate of a college you want, add both rows so that if MCC removes one, you still hold the other.
Keep saving your list
The MCC portal usually has a 12-minute time-out per session.
If you’ve added many colleges but not saved the list and your session ends, you will lose all your work. So save your list every few minutes.
Your last saved list before time-out will be available in the next session.
Look before you lock
Locking is final. Once you lock, or once the deadline auto-locks your saved list, you cannot change it. Check thoroughly before you click on lock.
How to leave a seat, round by round
You need to know when and how to exit.
Round 1: Free exit
If you are allotted a seat and you don't report to the college, you lose nothing and move to Round 2.
If you like your Round 1 seat but want to try for a better college, you can choose the upgrade option. That holds the seat while you try for a better choice in Round 2.
If you are upgraded, the old seat is cancelled and you cannot go back to it.
Till last year you had to physically report to the college to opt for an upgrade but in 2026 MCC has eased the rules and you can do it online.
Round 2: No free exit
If you are allotted a seat and don't join it, you lose your security deposit.
You can still go on to Round 3, but you must register and pay the fees again.
If you aren’t allotted any seat in Round 2, you continue to Round 3 free.
Round 3
Being allotted a seat and joining it are separate things and Round 3 is where it matters.
Allotment just means the software has given you a seat. Joining means you report and take admission.
In Round 3, you have no free exit either way. If you report and join, you are locked in. You cannot resign or upgrade.
If you decide not to report, you forfeit your deposit and you are out of the counselling, including the stray rounds.
A Round 3 allotment is a one-way street. Keep only colleges you are ready to join.
What the deposits cost
In the 2025, the refundable security deposit was Rs 10,000 for general and EWS candidates and Rs 5,000 for reserved candidates, plus a small non-refundable registration fee.
Deemed universities came with a security deposit of about Rs 2,00,000.
If you registered for both, you had to pay the higher amount.
Keep it simple
A simple rule for choice filling in Round 1: List dream colleges first, likely colleges next, safe colleges last.
Things that go wrong are often simple, avoidable mistakes. A wrong order. A same-name college in the wrong city. A college you couldn't find because you only knew its old name. A dental seat in a college that shared the name of an MBBS college.
Before you hit the MCC portal, decide what you want.
Make your list first, the more the merrier for Round 1.
On the portal, enter it in order, save often, print it and read it back before you lock.
One last note
MCC conducts central counselling (15 per cent seats in government colleges + deemed) and it is far more competitive than state counselling, especially for government college seats.
So, even if you miss a seat in AIQ, you still have a chance in state counselling.
Ashok Hegde runs neet2seat.com, which tracks NEET-UG cut-offs, fees and counselling rules across 23 states and the All India Quota.
