Eamcet: 50, the new 18!

This year’s Eamcet features many candidates in their fifties and forties — those who passed out from the Intermediate batches of the 80s and 90s

A 50-year old man has reinvented his interest in studying medicine while a few other seniors from the 40-plus club are also testing their luck for a seat in medical colleges this year.

The oldest to take the medical entrance exam this year is a man who passed his Intermediate in 1980.

What attracted him to the Eamcet after so many years?

“My passion towards medicine and my mother’s wish that I become a doctor,” says the man, who doesn’t want to be named.

A native of Sattupalli in Khammam district, he missed the medical seat by two marks in 1980. He also lost his mother the same year.

“There were just 800 seats then and coming from a rural area, it was difficult for me to get through,” he told

The Hindu . Financial constraints also played a part, he says. “If I get a seat, I will serve my village that is deprived of medical facilities even now.”

After failing to make into a medical college, he completed his MBA and worked in various sectors, including as a teacher in Maldives. In fact, he came back from Maldives last December only to attempt the Eamcet.

“This will be the last attempt as Eamcet may be replaced by NEET next year.”

Giving him company are a few persons from batches of the 1980s. Thirty-two from Intermediate batches of the 1990s are also testing their luck. The numbers run into hundreds from 2005 batch.

About 417 candidates from a 2009 batch are also attempting the test. Had these candidates gotten into medical courses in their first attempt, they would have finished the course this year.

The highest number of repeaters — 20,855 candidates — are from the batch which passed out last year and 5,541 who passed out in 2011.

In the engineering stream, the oldest candidate is from the 1985 Intermediate batch. A few are from batches that passed out in 1990s.

Candidates who passed out last year and are appearing for the engineering stream again number 7,944.

This is surprising given that more than a lakh seats went vacant in engineering courses last year.

Meanwhile, officials said 1,096 candidates had applied with a penal fee of Rs. 1,000 while 44 of them applied with a penal fee of Rs. 5,000.

Till now, 2,90,596 candidates have applied for the engineering stream and 1,05,030 for the medical stream, taking the total to 3,95,626, said Eamcet convenor N.V. Ramana Rao.