22/09/2026
NEET-UG 2026 MBBS All India Quota (AIQ) counselling, the situation is now quite clear as of 22 September 2026.
📌 Where counselling stands now MCC has completed Round 1 and Round 2. Round 3 registration has started today, 22 September 2026.
🏥 What about vacant MBBS seats?
This is the important part.
After Round 2, MCC has specifically published Clear Vacancy, Virtual Vacancy and Newly Added Seats. MCC’s current-events page confirms these lists are available for Round 2, and MCC has also issued a notice regarding additional UG seats for Round 3.
So yes, there are still MBBS seats moving into Round 3. But we should distinguish:
Clear vacancy → actually vacant and available for allotment.
Virtual vacancy → occupied by a candidate who may be upgraded/replaced, so it can potentially become available.
Newly added seats → seats added to the counselling matrix later.
Therefore, seeing a large vacancy number does not mean every one of those seats will remain vacant until the end
💰 Will MBBS fees come down?
This is where I would be careful.
Vacant seats do not automatically mean colleges will reduce their official tuition fee.
For government/AIQ seats, the fee structure generally doesn’t suddenly fall just because seats remain vacant.
For private/deemed universities, however, colleges can have substantial vacant seats later in counselling, and individual institutions may have different fee structures or policies. But you should not assume that a college will reduce its fee unless there is an official fee notification or the college confirms it in writing.
⚠️ Can MBBS seats actually lapse?
Yes, some seats can ultimately remain unfilled.
MCC has a Stray Vacancy Round specifically to fill seats remaining after the earlier rounds. The 2026 schedule currently has the stray round beginning in October.
But there’s an important distinction
Vacant today ≠ lapsed seat.
A seat can move through:
Round 2 → Round 3 → Stray Vacancy → finally remain vacant if nobody takes it.
Also, after Round 3, MCC’s rules become much stricter regarding resignation/participation, so candidates need to understand the rules before accepting a seat.
