Choosing the Right Medical College: Factors to Consider after NEET 2023

After months of preparation and appearing for NEET 2023, the time has come to make one of the most significant decisions of any student’s academic journey – CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLLEGE. The decision that can propel your medical education and most importantly your future career! 

• As on today (15.06.2023) there are a total of 680 medical colleges in India and MBBS seats are 104083 . 
• Out of these 680 medical colleges more than 372 are Govt. /semi Govt./AIIMS/ Central Universities /JIPMER/ESICs/AFMC medical colleges, 49 are deemed medical colleges and remaining 259 are private medical colleges.
• With almost these many colleges available, it is essential for students to make informed decisions about the colleges they would like to go to. 

Here are a list of key factors that can be considered:

1. Fee structure involved:

The most important factor to consider when choosing a college is the tuition fees charged by medical colleges. These fees can vary greatly, ranging from Rs 1360 per year to Rs 50 lakhs per year, depending on the type of college and quota chosen.
Government college tuition fees differ from state to state, and in some states like Uttar Pradesh, they can also vary between different colleges.
Therefore, it is crucial for candidates to prioritize colleges based on their tuition fees and then consider other factors such as location, number of patients, availability of postgraduate courses, and more, to make the best decision.

2. Age of the Medical College:

Many parents use the age of medical college as one of their primary factors in ranking colleges situated in other states during All India Counseling. This also plays a key role in determining the quality of private medical colleges. One needs to make sure that there is no debarment history when it comes to private medical colleges.
When it comes to deemed university medical colleges, you should check the year of establishment of the medical college rather than the deemed university. Attaining educational excellence, which takes a minimum of 25 years, is obviously a requirement for receiving the deemed university status.
It takes a minimum of 5 years for medical colleges to be fully operational. This is the reason why the Medical council of India gives permission to medical colleges for the first few years and later convert their status to recognized after sufficient infrastructure and facilities are setup.

3. Number of MBBS Seats:

The total number of MBBS Seats in Medical College also can be used to determine the quality of medical college. The National Medical Commission(NMC) has norms which specify the infrastructure, faculties, facilities, and resident doctors based on the number of seats. To get approval for 150 MBBS Seats, it is mandatory to have 300 Beds and average patient flow of 300/day. Medical Colleges that have 250 MBBS seats can be considered as the best medical colleges with good infrastructure and facilities. These medical colleges would have more than 1200 beds and more than 2000 patients visit them everyday.

4. Number of PG Courses:

The number of PG courses in a medical college determines how many specialized departments are there in a medical college. More the number of departments, better for clinical practice. Doctors who study PG courses are called as junior interns during the post graduate course and senior residents after completing the course.
UG Students get guidance for clinical practice from junior as well as senior resident doctors. The number of super specialty courses and post graduate courses is one of the key ranking factors for choosing a particular medical college. If you are looking for PG course admission, then you need to check the number of DM/MCH super specialty courses conducted by the medical college.

5. Patient Flow in Affiliated Hospitals:

Medical Education mainly depends on clinical practice. Clinical Practice starts during the Anatomy class of Ist Year MBBS, so it is even more important to pick colleges which have high patient flow. There are many private medical colleges in many states that have poor patient flow resulting in temporary debarment of medical colleges to conduct MBBS courses. During 2018, 83 medical colleges were debarred from upgradation or lost their recognition status. You need to check if the medical college has any debarment history in the past and avoid them during college selection or choice filling.

6. Hospital Infrastructure Like Total In-Patient Beds, Super Specialty Departments:

The total number of In-patient beds in the hospital is another important factor that can help judge the quality of clinical practice in a medical college hospital. A good medical college is considered to have more than 500 beds in the affiliated hospital. You need to add beds in each department of the medical hospital to calculate the total beds.

7. Compulsory Rural Service Years and Bond Penalty Amount:

Central govt run Medical Colleges do not insist on compulsory rural service but many state governments ask medical UG students to sign a bond for a minimum of 1 year for compulsory rural service. The number of years varies from state to state.  If you want to skip compulsory service, then you need to pay a penalty ranging between Rs 5 lakhs and Rs 40 lakhs. ESI Medical Colleges mandates 1 year compulsory rural service and AFMC mandates 7 years compulsory service. Penalty amount in Armed Forces Medical College if you resign before 7 years is Rs 60 lakhs.

8. Internal Quota For Post Graduate Studies:

University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University has 50% internal PG Quota for students who studied from the university in its affiliated colleges.
JIPMER Puducherry, Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Many Gujarat Universities, Armed Forces Medical College Pune also provides internal PG quota for its students. NEET PG cut off will be less through internal quota if PG to MBBS seat ratio is on the higher side.

9. Stipend During Clinical Rotation Internship:

Even though it is not a major factor while deciding college preference, many top scoring candidates say that internship stipend is the biggest advantage of joining central government run medical colleges apart from the no bond for compulsory service.

After 4.5 years of study, you have to do 1 year internship training in the hospital. You will work in various departments and during that time, you will get a stipend.  The stipend amount varies from state to state and is given below.

10. Location of the College:

Medical Colleges situated in the heart of the city attract a lot of patients which gives exposure to a spectrum of diseases during the study as well as during the clinical clerkship.
Students who study far away from their native should make sure that there is air connectivity if they choose smaller towns.

Another important thing to consider about medical colleges in cities is availability of PG coaching centers. Even-though there are plenty of options available for online coaching if you are keen to go for offline coaching, it would be wise to choose colleges located in big cities.
Choosing the right college after NEET 2023 is a crucial step towards achieving your academic and career goals in the medical field. Take the time to research and visit multiple colleges, speak with current students and alumni, and trust your instincts. Remember, selecting the right college sets the foundation for a successful and fulfilling journey in medicine. 
Best of luck in your college selection process and future endeavors!