Vijayawada: Counseling for medical admissions in Andhra Pradesh is set to begin from August 13.
According to Dr. P. Chandrasekhar, Vice-Chancellor of Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences, Vijayawada, NEET UG All India Quota (AIQ) MBBS counselling will commence from August 5 across the country.
He noted that counselling for medical admissions in Andhra Pradesh is expected to begin from August 13.
Addressing the media at the university, Dr. Chandrasekhar said that over 20 lakh candidates appeared for the NEET UG examination across the country this year, of whom around 11 lakh qualified.
He said that, in line with the guidelines issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC), first-year MBBS classes in all government and private medical colleges for the 2026–27 academic year will commence on September 8.
University Registrar Dr. Sai Sudhir said that Government Order (GO) 151, issued in 2020, stipulates that candidates need to register their web options only once during the counselling process. Referring to concerns raised by some students last year, he noted that the Andhra Pradesh High Court had clarified that candidates are free to choose colleges according to their preferences and may opt out of institutions they do not wish to join.
He said the state government issued GO 102 on July 30 in compliance with the court’s directions. Under the revised provisions, candidates who do not secure a seat in the first phase of counselling will have the opportunity to exercise options again during the second and third phases. He urged students and parents not to be misled by misconceptions regarding the counselling process.
Explaining the seat allocation mechanism, Dr. Sudhir said that if a meritorious candidate from a reserved category secures admission under the open category and later gets a seat in a preferred college under the reservation quota, the candidate may opt for “sliding” to the new seat. The vacated seat will then be allotted to the next eligible candidate from the same reservation category.
The university officials said that Andhra Pradesh had 6,940 MBBS seats in government and private medical colleges last year. For the current academic year, the National Medical Commission has approved an additional 325 MBBS seats.
Among the additions, Siddhartha Medical College in Vijayawada has received 75 more seats, increasing its intake capacity from 175 to 250 MBBS seats. Officials said the state counselling notification will be issued after the government releases the necessary order in this regard.
