National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET)
The National Eligibility Entrance Test is conducted every year by the National Testing Agency (NTA). NEET examination is score and rank is used to offer admissions to eligible students for undergraduate and post-graduate medical courses in government and private medical colleges. Students who write the NEET exam become eligible to take admission to courses like MBBS, MDS, and postgraduation specializations. MBBS is one of the most sought after courses in India for a student passing XII with PCB subjects and that makes NEET exam one of the most competitive exams in India. Every year lakhs of students who wish to become doctors write this examination. The estimated number of applicants for the NEET exam is around 11- 15 lakhs every year. The NEET is conducted as an offline examination unlike the entrance examination for the engineering programs.
NEET | Sections of Examination
NEET is a pen and paper-based examination. The duration of the exam is 3 hours (180 minutes). Students are given 45 minutes to attempt each section. The question paper has three sections Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. The biology section consists of questions from both Zoology and Botany. There are 180 questions of 720 marks in total. Four marks are awarded to every correct answer and one mark is deducted for every wrong answer.
NEET | Examination Pattern
The exam is conducted in an offline mode. The questions paper is in the format of multiple-choice questions with only one answer as the correct answer. There are 3 sections of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Candidates are given an OMR sheet where they have to mark the option having the correct answer with a blue or black ballpoint pen.
| Subject | Type | Time | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physics | MCQ with one correct answer | 45 mins | 45 | 180 |
| Chemistry | MCQ with one correct answer | 45 mins | 45 | 180 |
| Biology (Botany & Zoology) | MCQ with one correct answer | 90 mins | 90 | 360 |
| Total | 180 mins | 180 | 720 |
NEET | How to apply?
Candidates can fill the NEET exam form online through the official website of NEET exam. They will be asked to fill out personal details like name, address, contact information, and educational details at the time of submission. Applicants also have to scan and upload few required documents with the form. There is a small registration fee charged by the exam authority.
The step by step process of how to apply online for NEET exam is as follows:
- Registration – students have to enter their phone number and email address on the official website to register. The official website of NEET exam is the NTA website. Type NEET UG on google to get to the web page.
- After one has successfully registered on the website, he/she will receive a confirmation mail and message with login details.
- Students have to use the email id and password to log in and fill the online application form.
- Candidates have to fill name, parent’s name, address, and education qualifications of class 10th and 12th in the form.
- After submitting the above-mentioned details applicants need to scan and upload some documents.
- The required documents are photo id proof ( Aadhar card, pan card, driver license or passport), class 10th certificate, class 12 admit card or mark sheet, passport size photograph, postcard size photograph, and signature.
- The last step is registration fee payment. Students can pay the fee online through net banking, credit card, debit card, or UPI methods.
Who can apply for the NEET exam?
There is a set of eligibility criteria that one must meet to avail admission to medical colleges through the NEET exam. Candidates must read carefully the admission eligibility criteria before applying for the NEET exam. Any student who fails to fulfill the minimum requirement will be rejected from the admission process.
The eligibility criteria for appearing in NEET exam is:
- There is no certain set number of attempts to write the exam. One can appear as many times as one wishes only if he/she is eligible for it.
- Recently NTA has also removed the upper age limit for the exam. This has helped students above 25 years to write the NEET exam.
- Applicant must have Physics Chemistry and Biology as the main subjects in class 12th to apply for the exam.
- Those students who have Biology as an additional subject in class 12th can also apply.
- English is also a compulsory subject in class 12th.
- Only those who have passed class 12th or equivalent examination from a recognized board or university.
- Class 12th is the qualifying exam but the minimum percentage of marks required depends on the category.
| Category | Qualifying marks |
|---|---|
| General / GEN – EWS | 50% marks in XII |
| OBC/SC/ST category | 40% marks in XII |
| Persons with Disabilities | 45% marks in XII |
Colleges that accept the NEET exam scores
There are approximately 400 colleges that consider the scores of the NEET exam for admission to MBBS and postgraduate courses. Some foreign medical colleges also accept NEET scores to give admission to Indian Nationals in their medical courses. Some of the colleges are renowned medical institutes of India which are considered as difficult to get entry to. A student who scores the highest marks becomes eligible for admission to the top medical colleges. So the scores and ranks in the NEET exam matter the most. The top popular medical colleges in India that accept NEET scores are:
- All India institute of medical science (AIIMS)
- Armed force medical college, Pune
- Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi
- Lady Hardinge Medical college, New Delhi
- Grant medical college, Mumbai
- King George’s medical university, Lucknow
- Bangalore medical college and research institute
- John’s medical college, Bangalore
- Institute of medical science – Benaras Hindu university – Benaras
- S. Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore
- Christian medical college, Vellore
- NIMS Jaipur
- Madras Medical College Chennai
- Aligarh Muslim university
NEET | Result announcement
The result will be released on the official website of NEET exam. Applicants can check their results by entering the date of birth, roll number, and security pin received on the registered phone number. The result is in the form of a scorecard which shows the students’ overall marks and marks scored by them in each section. The percentile marks are also mentioned in the result. These percentile marks will be helpful to decide the candidates’ ranking. The AIR ranking is released as per the quota and category. To get admission to one of the top colleges, it is important to have a name within the top 100 ranks. One has to score 600+ marks out of a total of 720 marks in the NEET exam to be in the top merit list of the colleges. One can get admission to MBBS, BHMS, BDS, BAMS, BSMS, BNYS, and AH courses.
In cases of ties between two applicants where they have the same scores, the selection of inter-state merit or AIR (All India Rank) is based on certain tie-breaking rules. In the NEET exam, the preference is given to the candidate who has scored the highest marks in Biology. If the Biology marks are also the same, then the second preference is given to the student who has more marks in Chemistry. The third preference for admission is given to the candidate who has fewer number of wrong answers in the NEET exam. The fourth rule of tie break is to consider admission to the older student.
NEET | Cut off
The cut off is also released on the official website of NEET exam. You can check the cutoff from the notification section of the website. The cut off is different for every category. There are certain factors that play a role in deciding the cutoff of each course and category. The factors that affect the cutoff of NEET exam are:
- The total number of candidates have appeared in the exam.
- The difficulty level of each shift of the exam.
- The average marks scored by the students in the exam.
- The number of seats available in that year of the exam.
- The cutoff marks the trend of the previous years.
NEET | Syllabus
In the NEET Examination, 90 out of the 180 questions are from Biology. The rest of the 90 questions are from Physics and Chemistry. The syllabus for NEET exam is as follows:
Chemistry: Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers, Aldehydes, Ketones, and Carboxylic Acids, Bio-Molecules, Chemical bonding, Chemical Kinetics, Chemistry in everyday life, Coordination Chemistry, d-and f-block elements, Electrochemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Equilibrium, Haloalkanes, and Haloarenes; Amines, Hydrocarbons, Hydrogen, N containing Organic Compounds, Organic chemistry some basic principles and techniques – 1, Organic chemistry some basic principles and techniques – 2, p-block elements(13 14), p-block elements(15 16 17 18), General Principles and Process of Isolation elements, Periodic table, Polymers, Redox reactions, s-block elements, Solutions, States of Matter, Structure of Atom, Surface Chemistry, The Solid State and Thermodynamics.
Physics: Physical-world and measurement, Laws of Motion, Kinematics, Properties of Bulk Matter, Thermodynamics, Oscillations and Waves, Behaviour of Perfect Gas and Kinetic Theory, Energy, Work and Power, Optics, Atoms and Nuclei and Electronic Devices, Alternating Currents, Electromagnetic Induction, AC & DC, Electromagnetic Waves, Gravitation, Motion of System of Particles and Rigid Body, Electrostatics, Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism, Current Electricity, Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation.
Biology: Diversity in Living World, Reproduction, Genetics and Evolution, Biology and Human Welfare, Structural Organisation in Animals and Plants, Plant Physiology, Human physiology, Biotechnology, and Its Applications, Cell Structure and Function, Ecology and environment.
On the NEET Examination Day
Exam day is very important for every candidate as this exam will decide whether they will get into the best medical college or not. It is very crucial to give focus on the exam day guideline for the NEET exam. Students are required to reach the examination center 2 hours before the exam time. The reporting time is also mentioned in the exam admit card. No student is allowed entry after the reporting time. So you must be very careful about the time. Candidates are allowed entry to the examination hall only after checking their admit card and Id proof. So one must carry a print out of his admit card and valid photo id proof with two passport size photographs. The exam authorities are every strict about the rules of the exam. They prohibit any kind of cheating or unusual method during the exam. If any candidate is found cheating he will be discarded from writing the exam immediately. Some prohibited items are not allowed inside the exam hall. Students must submit their bags at the designated bag counter at the examination center. They should not be carrying any kind of paper, written material, phone, calculator, digital watch, simple watch, digital pen, water bottles, pencil box, sunglasses, bag, camera, and any other digital device. Female students are prohibited from wearing earrings, necklaces, bracelets, or rings. Male candidates should not be wearing shoes and caps. If found so the items will be confiscated by the exam authorities.
National Testing Agency (NTA)
NTA is an independent body under the government of India that supervises and conducts national level entrance exams like NEET, JEE, entrance exams to Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and other central universities. They help bodies such as the CBSE to focus on their core duties. It is a professional and committed organization that conducts the examination fairly. The National Testing Agency also relieves AICTE and other agencies from carrying out such entrance exams and thus sharing the burden.
The key features of the National Testing Agency are:
- It is a highly reliable Government Agency
- They standardize the difficulty level of the exams.
- They analyze the aptitude, IQ level, and skills of students.
- There is no doubt of any malpractices within the NTA as it has a leak-proof management system.
NEET is one of the most difficult competitive exams in India. Those who qualify for the exam get admission to renowned medical colleges. Holding an MBBS degree from the top medical college like AIIMs is beneficial for the future career prospect of the student as a Doctor.
