NEET UG - Introduction
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET (UG) is an Indian Pre-Medical entrance test for candidates who wants to pursue undergraduate medical, dental, AYUSH courses. After clearing the NEET UG examination students get admission to government and private medical institutes in India, the exam is also mandatory for admission to medical institutes abroad. National Testing Agency conducts the exam and the results are sent to the Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which then allocates the seats for passing candidates. NEET-UG is the sole entrance test for admission in all medical colleges in India including All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER). The NEET examination first took place on 5th May 2013 for both undergraduate and postgraduate students but later for some repercussion the rules were changed and NEET-UG was announced for undergraduate students and NEET-PG for postgraduate students. In 2017 the government announced that students could write their exams in 9 Indian native languages(Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, and Odia ) and in English. NEET-UG is one of the largest entrance exams in India in terms of candidate registration. Approx 20,40,000 students register each year for the NEET-UG exam. The total number of colleges that offer medical courses is 1603, there are 702 Medical, 323 Dental, 914 AYUSH, and 47 BVSc & AH colleges in which students can get admission with NEET scores, and 15 AIIMS, two JIMPER campuses also accept NEET score. The colleges offer a total number of approx 180,000 seats ( as of 2022).
NEET UG - Eligibility
Here is the eligibility criteria:
- The student must complete their 10+2 or equivalent degree.
- The student must pass their 12th exam with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/ Biotechnology, mathematics, and English are eligible for the exam.
- Candidates must pass all the subjects individually.
- The student must be Indian, NRI students can also appear for the exams if they wish to pursue medical courses.
- The general category students must score 50%, the general - PWD students must score 45%, and SC/ST/OBC/ reserved --PWD students must score 40% in their 12th examination.
- The student must be 17 years of age at the time of admission, there is no upper age limit for appearing in the NEET-UG exam.
NEET UG - Dates
Here are some important dates:
- The exam happens once a year.
- The 2024 process will start in January, and the application process will start in January.
- The application correction will take place in April.
- The admit card will be provided in May.
- The 2024 NEET-UG exam date is 5th May.
- The results of the NEET-UG exam will come out in June 2024. After that, the NEET counseling process will start.
- The result contains the candidate name, subject-wise percentile, total percentile, and All India Rank.
NEET UG - Exam Structure
Here is some important exam structure:
- The syllabus includes Physics, Chemistry, and Biology taught in classes 11th and 12th as recommended by NCERT.
- The exam consists of 180 questions, each correct answer carries + 4 marks and each wrong answer carries -1 marks
- The maximum mark in the exam is 720.
- The exam duration is 3 hours 20 minutes (200 minutes).
- Since 2021 the exam pattern has changed slightly.
- From 2021 the exam paper consists of two sections in all four subjects, section A contains 35 important questions from Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, and Section B contains 15 less important questions.
- So the whole question paper contains 200 quotations from which 180 are to be answered.
NEET UG - Cut-off
- The cut-off marks vary for students in different categories.
- The general category students must score 50 percentile (720-137) in the exam.
- The students in the SC/ST/OBC category must score 40 percentile (120-107).
- The general-PWD students must score 45 percentile (136-121).
NEET UG - Application process
The application process for NEET-UG will start in January, the process happens in online mode.
- The application process will start from the 4th week of January.
- Students have to fill out the form online and submit it along with the application fee.
- The application fee is around 1000-1700 rs. Depending on the student category.
- The payment happens through various payment methods.
- The application window stays open for two months.
- After that NTA offers a correction process.
- The student must have a scanned signature and thumb impression.
- Important documents include a class 10th pass certificate, permanent and present address proof, passport-size photos, etc.
- The students must check the instructions before filling out the form.
- The students who pass the NEET-UG examination, go through the NEETcouncelling process.
- The counseling offers two types of seats, all India quota and state quota. Only 15 percent of qualified students get All India Quota, and the other 85 percent get the state Quota.
NEET UG - Preparation Tips
Here are some tips for the students who are preparing for NEET-UG:
- Students must be well aware of the exam structure, and syllabus of the exam.
- The NCERT textbooks are very important for knowing the topics.
- Students must find books related to the NEET syllabus and study them.
- Students must have a routine or timetable to plan out the whole preparation journey so that they can finish the syllabus in time.
- Taking regular mock tests also helps students to check their preparation.
- Students must practice the previous year's NEET questions to get a clear idea about the question pattern.
- Students must invest at least two years to prepare for the NEET exam.
- Overall the students must go at their own pace learn the topic in detail and revise the whole thing as well.