The AIIMS Merger with NEET: What Changed (and What Students Lost)

For decades, getting into AIIMS meant cracking the AIIMS MBBS entrance exam. A separate test. Its own pattern. Its own difficulty level. A reputation for being arguably the toughest medical entrance in India. JIPMER had its own exam too. Then, in 2020, everything changed. Both merged with NEET.

Five years later, it's worth asking. Did the merger achieve what it set out to do? And more importantly for current aspirants — what does it mean for you?

The Pre-Merger Landscape

Before 2020, a medical aspirant targeting top colleges had to juggle multiple exams.

NEET — for most government and private medical colleges across India. AIIMS MBBS — for the 15 AIIMS institutions existing at the time (AIIMS Delhi, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Rishikesh, and so on). JIPMER MBBS — for JIPMER Puducherry and JIPMER Karaikal.

Each exam had distinct patterns. AIIMS was known for assertion-reason questions, tougher reasoning problems, and a strong emphasis on conceptual depth. JIPMER had a slightly different pattern with more focus on speed. NEET was (and is) more straightforward, testing breadth and recall.

The practical impact — students had to prepare for three different exam patterns. Coaching centres ran separate "AIIMS batches" with different books, different strategies, and different timetables. Expensive. Stressful. Logistically complicated.

The Merger — What Actually Happened

In 2019, the government announced that AIIMS and JIPMER would be brought under NEET starting 2020. The rationale:

• "One exam, one student" — reduce the burden of multiple exams
• Standardise admission — common counselling, common merit list
• Reduce coaching pressure — no need for separate "AIIMS prep"
• Save time and money — one form, one exam, one counselling

On paper, this made sense. And for many students, it did simplify things. But the implementation came with trade-offs that are still felt today.

What Was Gained

Logistical simplicity. One exam, one form, one counselling. This genuinely reduced stress for students and parents. No more choosing between AIIMS and NEET dates. No more juggling prep for different patterns.

Fair comparison. Before the merger, an AIIMS topper and a NEET topper were hard to compare — different exams, different difficulty. Now, the top NEET ranker gets AIIMS Delhi. The comparison is apples to apples.

More AIIMS seats for NEET rankers. With all AIIMS seats (about 1,200+ across all AIIMS institutions) in the NEET pool, students who previously might have missed AIIMS now have a shot through NEET counselling.

Cost savings. No separate AIIMS application fee. No separate travel to AIIMS exam centres. No separate prep material.

What Was Lost

Here's where the honest assessment gets uncomfortable. The merger solved some problems but created others.

The loss of a "deep reasoning" exam. AIIMS was known for testing conceptual depth — assertion-reason questions, multi-step reasoning, clinical scenario questions. NEET, by design, tests breadth and recall. With the merger, the exam that rewarded deep understanding disappeared. Students who excelled at reasoning but struggled with breadth (memorising all of Botany, for example) lost their edge.

The competition concentrated. Before the merger, AIIMS had roughly 3 lakh applicants for about 1,200 seats (1 in 250 success rate). NEET had about 15 lakh for about 90,000 seats (1 in 17). After the merger, all 24 lakh candidates compete for all seats, including AIIMS. The effective competition for AIIMS Delhi (AIR 1-50) is now harder than it was pre-merger, because the entire medical aspirant pool is ranked together.

The coaching industry didn't shrink. The merger was supposed to reduce coaching pressure. It didn't. Coaching centres simply shifted from "AIIMS-specific prep" to "NEET-to-AIIMS-level prep." Instead of reducing coaching, it raised the bar — now everyone needs to prep at the level required to crack AIIMS through NEET.

Pattern homogenisation. Different exams test different skills. AIIMS tested reasoning and conceptual depth. JIPMER tested speed. NEET tests recall and breadth. With one exam, we've lost the diversity of testing. A student whose strength is reasoning (not memorisation) has fewer options now.

The Impact On Aspirants Today

For current aspirants, the merger is just "how things are." You've never known a separate AIIMS exam. But understanding the history helps you understand why NEET is the way it is.

NEET tests breadth, not depth. The exam rewards comprehensive coverage of NCERT over deep understanding of any one topic. This is a direct consequence of the merger — NEET had to serve as the gateway to all medical colleges, including AIIMS, so it had to test broadly.

The cut-offs are brutally high for top colleges. AIIMS Delhi now requires AIR 1-50 (out of 24 lakh candidates). That's 710+ marks out of 720. Pre-merger, AIIMS Delhi was hard too, but the pool was smaller and the exam different. The merger made the top-end competition fiercer.

You can't "game" the system by prepping for a specific exam. Pre-merger, a student weak in Biology but strong in Physics could target AIIMS (which had more Physics weightage). Post-merger, Biology is 50% of NEET regardless of your target college. There's no alternative path.

Was The Merger A Net Positive?

Honestly? It depends on who you ask.

For the average medical aspirant, the merger was probably a net positive. One exam, one counselling, less logistics, less stress. The system is more streamlined.

For top-tier aspirants aiming specifically at AIIMS, the merger arguably made things harder. The pool is bigger, the competition is fiercer, and the exam doesn't specifically reward the "AIIMS-type" deep reasoning that the old AIIMS exam did.

For the medical education system as a whole, the jury is still out. The merger was supposed to reduce coaching, simplify admission, and standardise quality. It achieved the second goal. The first and third are debatable.

What This Means For Your Prep

If you're aiming for AIIMS (or any top medical college) through NEET, here's the strategic reality:

• Biology is make-or-break. 360 of 720 marks. If you're not scoring 320+ in Biology, you're not getting AIIMS. Period.
• NCERT is the whole game. AIIMS-level questions in NEET are still NCERT-based, just applied more cleverly. Master NCERT before anything else.
• You can't afford weak chapters. The 2025 pattern change (no optional questions) means every chapter is testable. Skip nothing.
• Physics and Chemistry are differentiators. At the top (AIR 1-1000), everyone has 330+ in Biology. The separation comes from Physics and Chemistry. If you're weak in these, you can still get a good MBBS seat but probably not AIIMS.

Final Thoughts

The AIIMS merger is a done deal. There's no going back, and no indication that separate AIIMS or JIPMER exams will return. For current and future aspirants, the only question is how to maximise your NEET score.

The students who succeed aren't the ones who wish for a "better" or "easier" system. They're the ones who understand the system as it is and prep accordingly. NEET rewards breadth, NCERT mastery, and consistency. Build those, and the merger (or its flaws) won't matter to your outcome.