As per the notified schedule, the Special Stray Round has been introduced to fill vacant seats after the completion of regular counselling rounds. The process will be conducted in a time-bound manner, with MCC directing all participating institutions to treat Saturdays, Sundays and Gazetted Holidays as working days to ensure timely completion.
NEET-UG 2025 Special Stray Round Schedule (Official)
| S.No | Schedule for Admission | AIQ / Deemed & Central Universities | Sharing of Allotted Candidates Data by MCC | State Counselling | ||||
| 1 | Special Stray Round for MBBS & (BDS/BSc Nursing Seats) | 18 December 2025 to 23 December 2025 | 24 December 2025 (Sharing of data of allotted candidates with states for weeding) | 20 December 2025 to 25 December 2025 | ||||
| 2 | Last Date of Joining | 31 December 2025 | - | 31 December 2025 | ||||
| 3 | Round 5 of Counselling | 1 January 2026 to 3 January 2026 | - | 1 January 2026 to 3 January 2026 | ||||
| 4 | Last Date of Joining | 10 January 2026 | - | 10 January 2026 | ||||
Candidates participating in the Special Stray Round and Round 5 counselling are advised to closely monitor the official MCC website and respective state counselling portals for seat allotment results, reporting instructions and document verification details.
This move is expected to help fill remaining vacant medical and allied health science seats across government, deemed and central institutions before the commencement of the academic session.