Maharashtra Vacant Seats: Seat Matrix & Trends

NEET UG 2025 has been concluded on 4th May, and thousands of medical aspirants want to know about the Maharashtra MBBS seat matrix information, vacancy details, and admission prospects. Maharashtra is the second-largest state in India in the context of MBBS seats, and a total of 11,745 seats are present under 79 medical colleges. These comprise 6025 seats in 42 government colleges and 5720 seats in 37 private colleges. This blog gives an overview of seat matrix data, year-on-year growth data, vacancy insights for 2024, and factors behind vacant MBBS seats in Maharashtra.

Seat Matrix – Maharashtra MBBS 2025

Maharashtra is offering 11,745 MBBS seats in the year 2025, and the seats are distributed among 79 medical colleges, out of which 42 are government colleges and 37 are private medical colleges. Seat allocation is done on the basis of the State Quota, which constitutes 85% of the seats, and the remaining 15% constitute the All India Quota. Hence, we have the detailed seat matrix of Maharashtra in 2025:

Year-wise Seats Comparison

Maharashtra witnessed a 14% growth in MBBS seat capacity from 2023 to 2025. Government medical colleges went up by 800 seats in these 2 years, giving a 15.3% increase, while private colleges went up by 650 seats with a 12.8% increase since 2023. The table below shows the seat capacity of government and private colleges:

Vacancy of Seats in 2024

In 2024, during CAP Round 2, some of the most renowned government medical colleges remained vacant. 10 colleges saw more than 190 seats vacant amongst them, with many of those colleges lying in metro cities. The reasons for the vacancies are institute preferences, fee affordability, competitiveness for cut-off, and delays in counselling. Refer to the table below for several vacant MBBS seats in the prominent government colleges:

Factors Influencing Seat Vacancies

Several key factors contribute to MBBS seat vacancies in Maharashtra, even after multiple counselling rounds. The factors are mentioned below:

1. Cut-Off Marks and Competition

• Greater cut-offs for Maharashtra's seats for the state quota and AIQ seats cause many lower-scoring aspirants to not qualify, making some seats vacant.
• The increasing competition in government colleges leads to a higher proportion of seat vacancies in colleges that were less preferred.

2. Preference for Government vs. Private Colleges

• In general, government colleges are preferred for lower fee structures and for a better reputation.
• Private colleges with exorbitantly high fees mostly experience vacancies whenever candidates cannot afford those fees, either through scholarship or on their own.

3. Reservation and Category-Based Allocations

• Reservation (SC/ST/OBC/EWS/PH) sometimes creates delays or vacancies when candidates of a particular category just do not meet the cut-offs.
• Such unfilled reserved seats might be converted into general seats later during counselling.

4. Counselling Process Delays and Admission

• When delays or complications arise in counselling rounds, some seats may remain vacant in the initial rounds.
• Some candidates may not join even after seat allotment, therefore leading to vacant seats further in the rounds.

5. Geographic and Institutional Preferences

• Seats in remote or less popular colleges remain vacant because candidates prefer urban and reputed colleges.
• Vacancies may be higher for new or less established private colleges.

6. Financial Constraints

• A tuition fee, probably, is the least of a patient's concerns when a seat at a private medical college is being rejected by an aspirant, thus resulting in a vacancy.
• Availability of loans or scholarships can influence a candidate's acceptance of a seat.

7. Faculty and Infrastructure Requirements

• A medical college that does not meet faculty or infrastructure norms might have some or all of its seats reduced or withheld.
• Ongoing efforts to fill faculty vacancies (such as the DMER drive) are useful to prevent the cancellation of seats.

What to Expect in 2025?

• Expansion of Seat Capacity: Maharashtra has a total of 11,745 MBBS seats, which comprise 6,025 government seats and 5,720 private ones.
• Continued Vacancies in Later Counselling Rounds: Most vacant seats come in the third round and mop-up (stray vacancy) rounds. 
• Faculty Recruitment Drive: DMER has undertaken a massive recruitment drive to fill 792 faculty and 10 dean positions in various medical colleges in order to prevent cancellations of seats and to enhance the strength in the education system. (Times of India)
• Counselling Process Reforms: More streamlined online counselling process, transparent to all, with real-time updates on vacant seats, seat matrix.
• The Presence of Legal and Reservation Issues: Pending legal issues (for example, Maratha reservation) regarding seat distribution and availability.
• High Competition and Cut-Offs: The competition will be very intense; cut-offs for government colleges will be high, whereas private colleges will have a variable cut-off, although they charge very high fees.

Conclusion

Despite regular expansion of seats and through various recruitment drives, the issue of vacant MBBS seats in Maharashtra is expected to persist in 2025, specifically in private institutes and the less popular ones. The state has added 1,450 seats in the last two years, with a total of 11,745 in 79 colleges, yet even some reputed government colleges have reported over 190 vacant seats only in CAP Round 2 of 2024. The cut-off marks have increased substantially, being generally above 590–610 in government colleges under the state quota, thereby blocking a large number of qualified aspirants from getting a seat.