Is NORCET Tough? Competition per Seat in Numbers | NPrep

Yes, NORCET is tough mainly because of competition, not because of the syllabus. In NORCET 11, 1,00,804 candidates took Stage I for about 2,200 posts plus a 30-post addendum, roughly 45 test-takers per post. Only 12,638 were called to Stage II and 10,613 qualified it, so about 1 in 10 test-takers reached the final merit list.

Updated 29 October 2026. Figures are from AIIMS Notice 103/2026 and Result Notifications 276/2026 and 287/2026 on aiimsexams.ac.in.

NORCET competition at a glance

NORCET 11 figure	Value	Source
Applications received	1,22,099	Result Notification 276/2026
Appeared in Stage I	1,00,804	Result Notification 276/2026
Crossed the Stage I qualifying percentile	55,967	Result Notification 276/2026
Called to Stage II	12,638	Result Notification 276/2026
Qualified Stage II	10,613	Result Notification 287/2026
Posts	About 2,200, plus 30 AIIMS Madurai posts via Addendum 35/2026	Notice 103/2026 and addendum
UR Stage I cut-off	95.1589222 percentile	Result Notification 276/2026

How many candidates compete for one NORCET seat?

The table below divides Stage I test-takers by the seats AIIMS actually allotted in each cycle's online seat allocation.

Cycle	Appeared in Stage I	Seats allotted	Test-takers per seat
NORCET 8	68,074	1,939	about 35
NORCET 9	82,660	3,243	about 25
NORCET 10	92,026	2,438	about 38
NORCET 11	1,00,804	Allocation in progress (about 2,246 posts advertised)	about 45

Sources: AIIMS Stage I result notifications 50/2025, 168/2025, 138/2026 and 276/2026, and the seat allocation results for NORCET 8, 9 and 10. The NORCET 11 seat count will be final after allocation, which runs from 30 October to 6 November 2026.

The number of test-takers has grown every cycle, from 68,074 in NORCET 8 to 1,00,804 in NORCET 11.

Why is Stage I so hard to clear?

Stage I has a low minimum (50 percentile for UR) but a hard limit: AIIMS calls only 5 times the seats in each category to Stage II. In NORCET 11, 55,967 candidates crossed the minimum, but only 12,638 were called. The UR cut-off therefore rose to 95.16 percentile.

Stage I is also strictly timed. The 100 questions come in 5 locked sections of 20 questions and 18 minutes each, and a section cannot be reopened once its time ends. Every wrong answer costs one third of a mark.

Is NORCET Mains harder than Prelims?

Mains is a longer, deeper paper, but its qualifying bar is fixed. You need 50% (UR/EWS), 45% (OBC) or 40% (SC/ST) of 160 marks. The difficulty is in the rank: Stage II marks alone decide your All India Rank and therefore which institute you get.

Nobody gets close to full marks. AIR 1 scored 82.917% in NORCET 11 and 86.667% in NORCET 10. Stage II has 160 case-based questions in 4 locked sections of 45 minutes each.

What makes NORCET tough for most candidates?

1. Competition per seat. About 45 test-takers per post in NORCET 11.
2. Percentile filtering. Only 5 times the seats move to Stage II, so Stage I is effectively competitive.
3. Locked sections. You cannot return to an earlier section, so time lost cannot be recovered.
4. Negative marking. Minus one third per wrong answer makes blind guessing pointless.
5. Clinical questions. Notice 103/2026 says Stage II focuses on case scenario-based questions that test nursing skills competency.

Is NORCET tougher for male candidates?

The seat maths is different. At participating AIIMS, 80% of seats are reserved for women and 20% for men, under a decision of the 4th CIB meeting held on 27 July 2019, quoted in Notice 103/2026. Male candidates compete for a smaller pool. Read more in NORCET for male candidates.

How can I make NORCET less tough for myself?

• Practise in 18-minute and 45-minute blocks so the locked sections feel normal.
• Track your wrong answers, not just your score. In NORCET 11, the first tie-breaker is fewer wrong answers in Stage II.
• Know the ranks you need. Our NORCET marks vs rank tables show the score each rank needed in the last four cycles.
• Plan backwards from the dates. NORCET 12 Stage I is on 10 April 2027 and Stage II on 30 April 2027.

FAQs

How many candidates appeared in NORCET 11?

1,00,804 candidates appeared in NORCET 11 Stage I on 12 September 2026, out of 1,22,099 applications, according to AIIMS Result Notification 276/2026.

How many candidates qualified NORCET 11?

10,613 candidates qualified Stage II on 30 September 2026, according to Result Notification 287/2026. Category-wise: UR 1,842, EWS 1,210, OBC 4,676, SC 2,073 and ST 812.

Is NORCET tough to crack in the first attempt?

It is competitive in every attempt: about 1 in 10 NORCET 11 test-takers qualified Stage II. A first attempt can succeed with a plan built around timed sectional practice, previous year papers and full-length mocks.

What percentile is needed to clear NORCET Prelims?

In NORCET 11 the Stage I cut-off was 95.16 percentile for UR, 86.91 for OBC, 84.19 for SC, 82.24 for EWS and 79.71 for ST. The minimum qualifying percentile is lower, but only 5 times the seats are called to Stage II.

How many times is NORCET held in a year?

Twice. AIIMS's calendar lists April and September cycles: NORCET 12 is on 10 and 30 April 2027, and NORCET 13 on 11 and 27 September 2027.

What to read next

• Up: AIIMS NORCET exam guide
• Across: NORCET cut-off by category and NORCET Mains strategy
• Practice: free NORCET sample tests on NPrep courses