Dr. Vijay Garg
The declaration of the NEET UG 2026 results on July 16 once again highlighted an interesting trend in India’s most competitive medical entrance examination. While female candidates outperformed their male counterparts in overall qualification rates and numbers, boys continued to dominate the highest score bracket, particularly among candidates securing 690 marks and above. This recurring pattern has become one of the most striking features of NEET results in recent years.
Nearly 20 lakh students appeared for NEET UG 2026 at 5,440 examination centres across 551 cities in India and 14 international locations. Out of them, more than 11.21 lakh candidates qualified for admission to undergraduate medical, dental, AYUSH and allied health science courses.
The most significant takeaway from the results is the continued rise of female candidates. Women accounted for over 58 percent of all successful candidates, reaffirming a trend that has been visible for several years.
The qualification rate among girls also remained slightly higher than that of boys. Around 56.8 percent of female candidates who appeared for the examination qualified, compared with 55.1 percent of male candidates. In absolute numbers, 6,54,049 girls qualified, while the number of successful boys stood at 4,67,134.
This performance reflects both the growing participation of women in competitive examinations and their consistent academic excellence. Female candidates have been registering for NEET in larger numbers year after year, and their success rate has also remained marginally higher than that of boys.
However, the picture changes when one examines the highest ranks.
Among the candidates scoring 690 marks or more, boys once again formed an overwhelming majority. This year, 138 candidates crossed the 690 mark, while 26 candidates scored above 690. Seventeen state toppers even crossed the prestigious 700 mark.
The country’s highest score of 715 out of 720 was jointly secured by Aryan Gupta from Punjab and Panshul Bansal from Haryana, both male candidates. Data also revealed that nearly 93 percent of students in this elite category were appearing for NEET for the first time, and almost all belonged to the 17 to 19 years age group.
The trend is not unique to 2026.
In NEET UG 2025, Mahesh Kumar from Rajasthan emerged as the national topper, while Delhi’s Avika Aggarwal was the highest ranked female candidate with All India Rank 5. In 2024, male candidates occupied most of the highest positions despite women performing strongly overall. The same pattern was visible in 2023 and 2022, when boys secured the majority of top national ranks even though girls formed the larger share of qualified candidates.
These repeated outcomes suggest a consistent pattern rather than a statistical coincidence.
Women dominate the broader success story. They register in larger numbers, appear in greater numbers and qualify in greater numbers.
Men, however, continue to dominate the very top of the merit list.
Education experts believe several factors may explain this phenomenon.
One important reason is the concentration of top coaching institutes in cities such as Kota and Sikar in Rajasthan. These centres attract thousands of highly competitive students focused exclusively on securing top ranks. Traditionally, these intensive coaching environments have seen greater participation from male candidates, including students willing to dedicate multiple years solely to achieving the highest possible score.
Although most candidates in the 690 plus category this year succeeded on their first attempt, the influence of these highly competitive coaching ecosystems remains significant.
Another explanation relates to examination strategy.
Research on competitive testing has often found that male candidates are generally more willing to attempt uncertain questions despite the risk of negative marking. In an examination where a difference of just two or three questions can dramatically alter national rankings, calculated risk taking may sometimes provide an advantage.
Female candidates, on the other hand, are often observed adopting a more cautious and accuracy based approach. Such a strategy helps maintain consistently high scores and qualification rates but may occasionally limit the exceptionally high marks required to enter the topmost ranks.
Experts also point to differences in coaching access, family expectations, socio economic factors and category wise competition as additional influences on performance at the highest level.
Interestingly, the highest ranked female candidate this year was Maharashtra’s Kudale Shravani Krishna, who secured All India Rank 5 with an impressive percentile of 99.99965. She also emerged as the highest ranked OBC NCL candidate nationally. Haryana and Tamil Nadu produced the largest number of female candidates within the top twenty ranks, reflecting the growing strength of educational ecosystems in these states.
Despite the attention given to national toppers every year, educationists argue that the larger story lies elsewhere.
With women consistently accounting for the majority of NEET qualifiers, India’s future medical workforce is undergoing a significant transformation. Increasing numbers of female doctors will strengthen healthcare delivery across the country, particularly in disciplines such as obstetrics, gynaecology, paediatrics and community medicine, where women patients often prefer female practitioners.
This changing demographic is likely to improve healthcare access in rural and socially conservative regions while contributing to greater gender diversity within the medical profession.
At the same time, the continued male dominance among the highest scorers raises important questions. It prompts policymakers and educators to examine whether coaching systems, preparation models and examination strategies unintentionally favour a particular profile of aspirants at the very highest end of the merit list.
As NEET UG 2026 qualified candidates prepare for the counselling process conducted by the Medical Counselling Committee for All India Quota seats and respective state authorities for state quota admissions, the results present a fascinating picture.
India’s medical entrance examination is increasingly being shaped by the academic excellence of young women. Yet at the summit of the merit list, boys continue to retain a noticeable edge.
Whether this gap narrows in the coming years will depend on evolving coaching practices, changing educational opportunities and the aspirations of a new generation of students determined to excel in one of the country’s toughest examinations.
Dr. Vijay Garg is a retired Principal, educationist and columnist based in Malout, Punjab.
