Dental Entrance Exams

The two entrance exams for graduate and post graduate medical dental courses are NEET-UG and MDS-NEET, conducted by NTA and NBE (National Board of Examinations) respectively.

NEET UG

NEET - UG (Under Graduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) is an offline pen & paper test conducted by NTA (National Testing Agency) to fill the BDS seats in Government and private medical colleges in India. NEET - UG is now compulsory for students who want to pursue their BDS degree abroad as well.

NTA is an independent and autonomous testing agency established by the government of India for conducting entrance tests for higher education institutions. The responsibility of NTA is restricted to conducting the test, publishing the result and providing an "All India Rank merit list" of candidates to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) for counselling.

Eligibility to apply for NEET - UG

The Minimum age to apply for the test is 17 years and there is no maximum age limit. Candidates with a minimum of 50% marks in their 10+2 exam can apply for the NEET examination. Students who appear for their 12 th standard examination, whose result is awaited, may also apply but should pass the qualifying exam with minimum 50% marks at the time of the first round of counseling. The marks criteria are as given below:

• For Unreserved (UR) category 50% marks at 10+2 exam
• For SC/ST/OBC non creamy layer 40% marks at 10+2 exam
• For Persons with Disability (PwD) 45% marks at 10+2 exam

MDS NEET

NEET MDS is the single window national level online test for getting admission to Dental PG courses in India. It is conducted once a year. There are around 1360 MDS (Master of Dental Surgery) government seats in India. The duration of the course is generally three years; however there is a provision for two years MDS course as well.