Final Call for INI CET 2026 Round 1 Choice Filling: Aspirants Must Lock Preferences by 5 PM Today
Today marks the final, absolute deadline for thousands of postgraduate medical aspirants participating in the INI CET January 2026 counselling session. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, which conducts the Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI CET) counselling, has set the strict closing time for Round 1 Choice Filling and Locking at 5:00 PM, December 13, 2025.
Candidates who qualified for the examination and participated in the Mock Round must now ensure their final list of preferred courses and Institutes of National Importance (INIs) is submitted and locked. This is the last opportunity for aspirants to exercise their choices for the primary seat allocation round.
The Urgency of the 5 PM Deadline
Unlike some other counselling processes, the INI CET system may auto-lock the last saved choices at 5:00 PM if the candidate fails to manually lock them. However, relying on auto-locking is extremely risky, as network issues or last-minute technical glitches could lead to loss of valuable preferences.
Critical Action Items Before 5 PM:
- Review Mock Round: Candidates should have used the Mock Round Allotment Result (released on December 11) to intelligently assess their ranking position for specialties like Radiodiagnosis, General Medicine, and Surgery across top INIs (AIIMS, JIPMER, PGIMER, NIMHANS, SCTIMST).
- Edit and Prioritize: Log in to the official AIIMS counselling portal, verify, edit, and most importantly, rearrange the list of colleges and specialties. The order of preference is the single most critical factor in securing a seat according to merit.
- Lock Choices: The final and most secure step is to manually click the "Lock Choices" button and take a printout of the locked preferences for future reference. Locked choices cannot be changed.
The Next Step: Seat Allotment
Once the choice filling window closes, the AIIMS counselling team will begin processing the massive volume of preferences against the seat matrix. The subsequent stages are non-negotiable and follow a strict timeline:
| Activity | Date | Time | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 Choice Filling & Locking | Dec 13, 2025 | 5:00 PM | Final Deadline |
| Announcement of Round 1 Seat Allocation Result | Dec 18, 2025 | Scheduled | First binding seat allotment result. |
| Online Acceptance of Allotted Seat | Dec 19 – Dec 24, 2025 | Up to 5:00 PM | Mandatory online action to confirm intent. |
| Reporting & Submission of Documents | Dec 19 – Dec 24, 2025 | Up to 5:00 PM | Physical verification and fee payment at the allotted INI. |
Statistical Strategy Check
The competition for seats in premier institutes like AIIMS New Delhi and PGIMER Chandigarh is immense. Aspirants with ranks hovering near the previous year's cut-offs must ensure their list is long and includes secondary options across different campuses to avoid missing out in the first round.
For regular updates, detailed cut-off analysis, and last-minute guidance on the INI CET counselling process, aspirants must follow Only Education News. This afternoon is the moment to execute a well-thought-out plan.
For regular updates follow Only Education News. For more details on medical entrance exams and courses, check here: Medical Exams List.