1. Calculate your merit
Use the active policy calculator to estimate your score from marks, experience, publications, and other components.
New to MeritNama?
Start here to understand the portal, your merit, and your options.
Use this dashboard as a step-by-step companion: calculate your score, compare it with historical closing merits, explore current induction data, and then move into the live Induction Portal tools.
Recommended first session
- Calculate or enter your merit score.
- Run My Prediction for Safe, Target, and Reach options.
- Use What Do I Need? for specific specialty goals.
- Open the Induction Portal guide before using live simulation tools.
2. Get a personal prediction
Compare your score against historical cutoffs and get Safe, Target, and Reach options with trend confidence.
3. Check a target seat
Pick a program, quota, specialty, and hospital to see what score has historically been required.
4. Learn the induction portal
Open the portal guide to understand candidate pool, preferences, seat allocation, schedules, hospitals, and chat.
Open portal guide →What each main area is for
Follow this map if you recently joined and are unsure where to begin.
Merit TableBrowse historical cutoffs by specialty, hospital, program, and quota.
Current MeritTrack opening and closing merits from the current induction cycle.
AccreditationCheck training recognition before shortlisting hospitals.
DiscussionAsk the community about hospitals, preferences, and updates.
⚠️ Important: MeritNama is an independent community tool. Use it for orientation and planning, then verify eligibility, schedule, seat counts, and official merit lists directly with PHF / PMDC / PGMI sources.
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My Prediction
Enter your merit score to see your percentile ranking and a personalised list of safe, target, and reach options — with year-on-year trend and confidence for each combination.
All programs included — results may overlap
All quotas included — same hospital may appear in multiple columns
How to read a card
Safe — your score comfortably exceeds avg
Target — within ±5% of avg, worth applying
Reach — avg is higher, but trend may help
Avg: 49.3% Historical average closing merit (as % of max marks)
+25.1% Your score minus avg — green = above avg, amber = below avg
↓ 47.8–50.8% Projected range for next induction — ↓ falling or ↑ rising trend
Low Medium High Confidence based on years of data available (4+ yrs = High)
Merit Calculator
Estimate your merit score from individual components. Your saved score auto-fills the Prediction tab.
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⚠️ Disclaimer: This calculator is based on publicly known PHF policy components. Your actual merit calculated by PHF may differ due to rounding, verification steps, or policy updates. Always verify your official score directly with PHF.
Current Merit List
Merit data for the current induction cycle. Update data/current_merit.json to refresh this page with new data.
| Specialty | Hospital | Program | Quota | Round | Opening Merit | Closing Merit | Seats | vs Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Scoring Policy History
How the PRP merit formula evolved across induction cycles — and why normalization is essential for meaningful cross-year analysis.
📐 Cross-Year Normalization
Total marks and included components changed significantly across cycles (e.g. 95 marks in Induction 14 vs 100 in Induction 18). A closing merit of 32 in one cycle is not the same as 32 in another. MeritNama converts every score to % of that year’s maximum, making all historical trends and comparisons fair. This is what % of Max means everywhere in the app.
The active policy (used to normalize your input in the Prediction tab) is shown in the Calculator tab.
Component Comparison Across Induction Cycles
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🔍 What Score Do I Need?
Select a target specialty and hospital to find out what minimum merit score is historically required. Shows the average closing merit, latest cutoff, and projected range for the next induction.
⚖ Compare Specialties
Select up to 3 specialty–hospital combinations to compare side-by-side on key metrics: average merit, trend, volatility, seats, and competition.
How to Use MeritNama
A complete reference for every term, metric, and feature in the app. Start here if you’re new.
1
Calculate your merit score
Go to Calculator and fill in your MBBS marks, experience, publications, and other components. Hit Calculate Merit — your score is computed against the active PHF policy. Hit Save & Analyze to jump straight to step 2.
2
See your percentile & options
In My Prediction, your score is normalised to % of the policy maximum and ranked against all historical closing merits. You get a percentile, a merit band, and a personalised Safe / Target / Reach list with trend projections for every specialty–hospital combination.
3
Explore the Merit Table
Merit Table shows every specialty × hospital × program × quota combination with year-by-year closing merits (last 5 cycles). Click any row to open the detail sidebar with a full trend chart, percentile history, and seat counts.
4
Monitor the current induction
Current Merit shows live opening and closing merits from the ongoing cycle (updated via data/current_merit.json) with a vs-last-year delta so you can track how this cycle compares in real time.
📚 Glossary of Terms
% of Max
Normalisation
The PHF scoring formula has changed across induction cycles. The maximum possible merit was 95 marks in Induction 14 but 100 marks in Induction 18. A closing merit of 32 in one year is therefore more competitive than 32 in another.
To compare across years fairly, MeritNama converts every closing merit to a percentage of that year’s maximum:
% of Max = (Closing Merit ÷ Year’s Total Maximum Marks) × 100
This is the default display mode in the Merit Table and is used for all prediction calculations. Switch to Raw using the toggle on the Merit Table toolbar if you want to see actual numbers.
Example: A closing merit of 76 in Induction 18 (max 100) = 76.0% of Max. The same raw score in Induction 14 (max 95) = 80.0% of Max — meaningfully more competitive.
Closing Merit (Cutoff)
Core Data
The lowest merit score of any candidate who was actually allocated a seat in a given specialty, hospital, program, and quota combination during a specific induction round. It is the “cutoff” — if your merit is at or above this number you would have qualified for that seat.
Closing merits are sourced directly from official PHF merit lists and gazette notifications.
Example: If the closing merit for General Surgery at Hospital X is 74.5 and your score is 75.0, you would have gotten that seat.
Opening Merit
Core Data
The highest merit score among all candidates allocated a seat in that combination — i.e. the first candidate selected. Together, opening and closing merit define the full score range of admitted candidates.
Example: Opening 82.0, Closing 74.5 means all admitted candidates scored between 74.5 and 82.0. A narrow gap means tight competition; a wide gap means more spread.
Percentile (in My Prediction)
My Prediction
Your percentile in My Prediction answers: “What fraction of all specialty–hospital combinations have a historical average closing merit below my score?”
Percentile = (Combinations with avg closing % of Max < your % of Max) ÷ (All combinations) × 100
- 90th percentile → your score exceeds 90% of historical averages. Almost everything is accessible.
- 50th percentile → you are at the median. Half of options are within reach, half are above you.
- 20th percentile → most competitive specialties are above your score, but many options remain.
ℹ Percentile is computed on normalised % of Max values so it stays meaningful even when the policy formula changes between cycles.
Trend
Prediction & Table
The overall direction of a specialty’s closing merit over recent induction cycles, computed from the slope of its % of Max values over time.
↑ Rising — Closing merit is increasing cycle-over-cycle. Demand is growing. Getting harder to secure a seat.
↓ Falling — Closing merit is decreasing. Reduced competition, more seats, or shifting preferences. Could be an opportunity if you’re borderline.
→ Stable — No significant directional change. Historical averages are a reliable predictor.
Why it matters: If a specialty is Rising and your score is borderline, you might just miss it next cycle. If it’s Falling and you’re below the average, it could still come within reach.
Confidence
Prediction & Table
How reliable the historical pattern is for a given combination, based on how many years of data are available.
High — 4 or more years of data. The pattern is well-established and the trend line is meaningful.
Medium — 2–3 years of data. Some evidence, but treat predictions with extra caution.
Low — Only 1 year of data. The “average” is a single data point. Treat any prediction here as speculative.
ℹ The percentage of your Safe/Target/Reach options that have High confidence is shown below your percentile in My Prediction.
Volatility
Merit Table Sidebar
How much the closing merit for a combination has varied across cycles, measured as the standard deviation of its % of Max values.
Low — Std dev <2%. Very predictable. If you’re above the average, you’re likely to get in.
Medium — Std dev 2–5%. Some year-to-year swings. Consider the full range, not just the average.
High — Std dev >5%. Merit can shift dramatically between cycles. Factor in the projection range, not just the average.
Practical tip: A Low Volatility option with an average slightly above your score is often safer than a High Volatility option with an average below your score.
Safe / Target / Reach
My Prediction
Each specialty–hospital option is classified into one of three buckets based on how your normalised % of Max compares to its historical average closing merit (also in % of Max).
SAFE Your % of Max is ≥3 points above the historical average. You comfortably exceed the average cutoff.
TARGET Your % of Max is within −5 to +3 points of the average. You are right in the competitive zone. Trend and volatility matter most here.
REACH Your % of Max is 5–15 points below the average. Below average but not impossible — especially if the trend is Falling or volatility is High.
ℹ Combinations where your score is more than 15% of Max below the average are excluded entirely from results — they are not realistic options.
Trend Projection (e.g. ↑ 41–49%)
My Prediction
Each prediction item shows a projected range for the next induction cycle. This is a qualitative estimate, not a precise forecast, based on the current trend direction and volatility.
Projected range = Latest % of Max ± trend shift ± volatility spread
- Rising trend adds ~2 points to base; Falling subtracts ~2 points; Stable is neutral.
- High volatility widens the range by ±6 points; Low narrows it to ±1.5 points.
Example: Latest closing 72%, Rising trend, Medium volatility → projected ↑ 71–77%. If your score is 73%, this is a borderline Target moving toward a Reach.
ℹ These projections are not guarantees. PHF policy changes, seat allocation decisions, and applicant pool composition all affect the actual cutoff in ways historical data cannot predict.
Merit Band
My Prediction
A qualitative label for where your score sits relative to all historical closing merits.
| Band | Percentile | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 Top Tier | 80th+ | Exceptional — nearly every specialty is accessible. |
| ⭐ High | 60th–79th | Strong — most competitive specialties are within reach. |
| 📊 Mid Range | 40th–59th | Average — focus on moderate-demand specialties. |
| 📋 Low | Below 40th | Below average for competitive options; many specialties still available. |
Quota
Core Data
PHF allocates seats under different quota categories. Each quota has its own merit list and cutoff, so the same specialty and hospital can have very different closing merits for different quotas. Common quotas include Open Merit, Women, Disabled, Minority, and provincial sub-quotas.
Always filter by the quota you are eligible for before reading prediction results.
Induction / Cycle Number
Core Data
PHF numbers its induction cycles sequentially (e.g. Induction 9, Induction 18, Induction 21). MeritNama holds data from Induction 9 through the most recently processed cycle. Each cycle corresponds roughly to one year of admissions.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my raw score look different from the historical values in the table?
Historical values are closing merits from official PHF gazettes — actual scores of the last candidate admitted. Your score from the Calculator uses the currently active policy, which may differ from older cycles. That’s why % of Max is the default: it makes cross-year comparison fair. Switch the Merit Table toggle to Raw to see actual numbers.
What’s the difference between the Merit Table and My Prediction?
The Merit Table is a browse / explore view — all combinations, sortable, filterable, with full history in a sidebar. My Prediction is personalised — you enter your score and it ranks every option relative to you. Think of the Merit Table as a data explorer and My Prediction as a decision tool.
How accurate are the predictions?
Predictions are based entirely on historical patterns. They assume the next cycle behaves similarly to past cycles, adjusted for trend. In practice, cutoffs shift due to total applicant numbers, seat changes, policy updates, and the specific applicant mix. Treat Safe as highly likely but not guaranteed, Target as competitive, and Reach as worth considering only if the trend is Falling. Always check the Confidence label — predictions with only 1–2 years of data are far less reliable.
Why is the percentile based on % of Max and not raw merit?
Raw merit scores cannot be compared across years because the maximum changed. A 72 out of 100 (72%) is less competitive than a 72 out of 95 (75.8%). By normalising to % of Max first, your percentile fairly represents your standing across the entire multi-year dataset.
What does “Opening Merit” tell me and when does it matter?
Opening Merit is the score of the first candidate allocated — the top scorer in the batch. A narrow opening–closing gap means the batch was tight; a wide gap means there was more spread. Opening merit matters most when you’re trying to understand if a seat “opened up” early in the round or only at the end.
How do I update the Current Merit page?
Open data/current_merit.json in any text editor. Update the meta block (date, status) and add records to the records array. Each record needs: specialty, hospital, program, quota, round, opening_merit, closing_merit, and seats. Save and reload — no build step required.
What does the “Expected — Not Confirmed” warning on the Calculator mean?
When PHF has not yet released the official scoring policy for the upcoming induction, the Calculator uses the expected policy (typically the most recent confirmed one). Your calculated score may differ from what PHF actually uses. The warning disappears once the confirmed policy is loaded into the data file.
About the Author
@itskaero · itskaero@gmail.com
MeritNama started as prpdatastat — a tool that built estimated merit lists by reading candidate preferences from an exposed PHF API. It worked, but it risked getting blocked and raised data-access concerns.
The current approach flips the model: instead of scraping live candidate data, MeritNama analyses historical trends from official gazette notifications and published merit lists. That data is public, stable, and impossible to block. Predictions are trend-based rather than crowd-sourced — safer for everyone, and more transparent about what it can and can’t know.
⚠️ Important Disclaimer
MeritNama is an independent, community-built tool. It is not affiliated with PHF, PGMI, or any government body. All data is sourced from publicly available official merit lists and gazette notifications. Predictions are provided for informational purposes only. Never make application decisions based solely on this tool. Always verify closing merits and eligibility criteria directly with PHF.
MeritNama is an independent, community-built tool. It is not affiliated with PHF, PGMI, or any government body. All data is sourced from publicly available official merit lists and gazette notifications. Predictions are provided for informational purposes only. Never make application decisions based solely on this tool. Always verify closing merits and eligibility criteria directly with PHF.