The West Bengal Medical Counselling Committee (WBMCC) has provided the much-awaited clarity for thousands of NEET-PG 2025 aspirants by publishing the final, overhauled schedule for the state quota counselling process. This crucial notification confirms the dates for all subsequent phases, including Round 2, Round 3 (Mop-Up), and the Stray Vacancy Round, effectively extending the entire admission cycle for MD/MS/PG Diploma seats in West Bengal into January 2026. With Round 1 results already declared on November 27, 2025, the focus for all eligible candidates, including those looking for seat upgrades or fresh allocations, shifts entirely to the meticulous adherence to this comprehensive timeline. This revised schedule is a decisive tool for medical aspirants to strategize their choice filling, document preparation, and institutional reporting to secure a prestigious postgraduate medical seat.
I. Decoding the December 2025 Counselling Timeline (Round 2)
The immediate attention must be paid to the schedule for Round 2, which is critical for candidates who did not get a seat in Round 1 or wish to upgrade their current allocation.
- Registration and Fee Payment (New Candidates): This is a final opportunity for newly eligible or previously unregistered candidates to enter the process.
- Dates: December 10 to December 13, 2025.
- Round 1 Seat Surrender Window: Candidates who wish to exit the process or avoid the ₹3 lakh bond penalty must formally surrender their Round 1 seat during this period.
- Dates: December 15 to December 16, 2025.
- Choice Filling and Locking: Candidates must carefully update or fill their preferences, keeping in mind the upgraded and vacated seats from Round 1.
- Dates: December 16 to December 18, 2025.
- Seat Allotment Result: The result for the second round will be published before Christmas, a key date for all participants.
- Date: Expected on December 23, 2025 (after 2 PM).
- Reporting and Admission: Candidates allotted seats, especially those with upgrades, must report promptly to their designated college.
- Dates: December 24, 26, and 27, 2025.
II. January 2026: The Final Gateway (Round 3 & Stray Vacancy)
The admission process extends into the new year, offering the final opportunities for unallotted NEET-PG 2025 aspirants via the Mop-Up (Round 3) and the Online Stray Vacancy Round.
- Round 3 (Mop-Up) Key Dates: Round 3 serves as a mop-up round to fill remaining seats before they are transferred to the institutional level.
- Registration: December 31, 2025, to January 2, 2026.
- Choice Filling & Locking: January 7 to January 9, 2026.
- Allotment Result: Expected on January 14, 2026.
- Reporting: January 15 to January 17, 2026.
- Online Stray Vacancy Round: This is the ultimate stage, conducted by WBMCC itself, unlike the previous year's offline institutional stray round. It is only for candidates who have NOT been allotted a seat in any previous rounds.
- Registration & Fee Payment: January 21 to January 22, 2026.
- Choice Filling & Locking: January 24 to January 25, 2026.
- Allotment Result: Expected on January 28, 2026.
- Reporting and Joining: The final stage of the entire NEET-PG 2025 admission cycle.
- Dates: January 29 to January 31, 2026.
- Crucial Penalty Note: Candidates joining a seat in Round 2 or Round 3 will not be allowed to resign and must serve an indemnity bond, typically amounting to ₹3,00,000, if they discontinue the course afterward.
III. Strategic Planning and Essential Compliance for Aspirants
Given the tightly packed schedule, medical aspirants must adopt a strategy focusing on accuracy, adherence, and continuous monitoring of the official portal, wbmcc.nic.in.
- Document Verification: Only candidates whose documents are successfully verified are eligible to participate in the Choice Filling and Locking steps. Ensure all required original documents, including the NEET-PG 2025 scorecard, registration certificate, and domicile certificate, are ready.
- Optimizing Choice Filling: This is the most crucial stage. Aspirants should thoroughly research the seat matrix published before each round and rank their preferred colleges and courses based on their NEET-PG All India Rank (AIR), category reservation, and personal preferences, avoiding the mistake of listing only highly competitive options.
- Bond and Penalty Awareness: Understand the discontinuation penalty clearly. Once a seat is joined in Round 2 or beyond, leaving the course entails a significant financial penalty, making choice-filling decisions even more serious.
The WBMCC’s release of the complete NEET-PG 2025 counselling schedule provides the final roadmap for all MD/MS/PG Diploma aspirants targeting seats in West Bengal. This clarity demands proactive engagement with the process, from timely online registration to meticulous choice filling and prompt institutional reporting. All eligible candidates must immediately download the official notice from the wbmcc.nic.in portal and map out their personal admission strategy, especially for the high-stakes Round 2 and Stray Vacancy rounds, ensuring they meet the final January 31, 2026, joining deadline to realize their postgraduate medical dream!
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