NEET vs AIIMS: The Unified Medical Entrance Landscape

Historically, medical aspirants in India had to navigate a complex web of entrance examinations: NEET (for general colleges), AIIMS (for All India Institutes of Medical Sciences), and JIPMER.

As of 2026, this distinction no longer exists. The Indian medical education system has undergone a “One Nation, One Exam” consolidation. Understanding this shift is critical for allocating preparation bandwidth.

The Consolidation (Post-2020 Era)

The separate entrance exams for AIIMS and JIPMER have been abolished. Admission to all undergraduate medical seats in India—including the prestigious AIIMS New Delhi and JIPMER Puducherry—is now conducted exclusively through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

Implication for Aspirants:

• Zero Diversification: You cannot “hedge” your risks. A bad performance in NEET cannot be salvaged by a good performance in AIIMS or JIPMER.
• Cutoff Inflation: Since the entire talent pool competes in a single arena, the cutoff ranks for top institutes like AIIMS Delhi have become hyper-competitive (often requiring Top 50 All India Rank).

The “AIIMS Tier” Within NEET

While the exam is unified, the “AIIMS Standard” prevails in the counseling phase. To secure a seat in AIIMS, aspirants must target a customized score profile:

Feature	General Medical College	AIIMS (New Delhi & Old 7)
Score Target (out of 720)	620+	700+
Percentile Requirement	98th %ile	99.99th %ile
Physics Focus	Standard competency	Absolute Mastery (The differentiator)

The Physics Differentiator: In the NEET ecosystem, Biology is the baseline (most serious candidates score 340+). Physics is the rank decider. To enter AIIMS, losing marks in Physics is not an option.

Conclusion

Strategic Focus: Stop searching for “AIIMS Syllabus” or “AIIMS Pattern.” Focus entirely on the NEET Pattern (NCERT-centric).

The Selection Hierarchy:

1. AIIMS New Delhi: The ultimate goal (Top 50 Rank).
2. Top Central Institutes: MAMC, JIPMER, VMMC.
3. Peripheral AIIMS: AIIMS Jodhpur, AIIMS Bhubaneswar (Rapidly rising in quality).
4. State Govt Colleges: The standard path for most successful aspirants.

Final Advice: The battle for AIIMS is no longer about a “tougher paper”; it is about “zero error” in the standard paper. Accuracy is the new difficulty.