Every year, lakhs of aspiring students appear in several cities across the nation to take the NEET entrance exam. NEET (UG) is for the admissions of all undergraduate medical, AYUSH and dental courses. This year, NEET is scheduled for July 17, and the admit card for the same was released on July 12. The exam conducted by the National Test Agency will happen in 543 Indian cities. The exam is also mandatory for foreign students to pursue medicine in India. Thus, NTA has also organised 14 overseas centres for this exam.
The entrance assessment happens in 13 languages, and students can choose their comfortable medium during registration. NTA is known to conduct uniform, standard and efficient assessment exams. Thus, one can expect transparency in the NEET exam process. Here, let us see what things an aspirant can expect from NEET.
Things to Expect From NEET
NEET comprises Botany, Zoology, Physics and Chemistry topics from Classes 11 and 12 NCERTs. To know more about the exam, go through the NEET 2022 question paper analysis. This will give more insight into the difficulty level and pattern of questions asked under each subject. One should always start the preparations only after analysing the exam standard.
This highly competitive exam lasts 3 hours and 20 minutes, within which one has to answer 180 MCQs. This is a common assessment that ensures uniformity across all the education boards. Thus, one can expect common science concepts that are usually covered in the high school syllabus. But the question framing differs in NEET, for which one has to analyse all previous years’ papers.
Seats in top colleges
NEET has scrapped all other medical entrance tests; thus, it is the only mandatory exam for medical aspirants. The exam is conducted for a grand score of 720. NEET aspirants must score a minimum of 650 plus to get into top-tier medical institutions like JIPMER, CMC and AIIMS. Also, one can visit the NIRF website to have a look at the top medical and dental institutions in India. Then go to the NTA website and look at the previous year’s qualifying cut-off for each and every top college. Thus, one can arrive at a target score even before preparing for the exam.
NEET Question Pattern
More than 80% of the questions are derived directly from the NCERT textbooks. As mentioned earlier, the NEET exam questions include 4 main science subjects, which are further grouped into Section A and Section B. A detailed overview of the exam pattern is given below.
| Subjects | No.of Questions | Marks | Total (720 marks) |
| Physics | Section A – 35 compulsory questions | 35 × 4 = 140 | 180 |
| Section B – 10 out of 15 questions to be attempted | 10 × 4 = 40 | ||
| Zoology | Section A – 35 compulsory questions | 35 × 4 = 140 | 180 |
| Section B – 10 out of 15 questions to be attempted | 10 × 4 = 40 | ||
| Botany | Section A – 35 compulsory questions | 35 × 4 = 140 | 180 |
| Section B – 10 out of 15 questions to be attempted | 10 × 4 = 40 | ||
| Chemistry | Section A – 35 compulsory questions | 35 × 4 = 140 | 180 |
| Section B – 10 out of 15 questions to be attempted | 10 × 4 = 40 |
Points to remember
The table clearly depicts that every correct response will fetch 4 marks. Likewise, incorrect responses will cost a negative mark (-1). Thus one can expect a score anywhere from -180 to +720. It is better to leave difficult questions unattempted as they won’t cost any marks. Remember, the qualification rate for this exam is just around 56%, and thus, it is always safe to have a backup plan in terms of your studies.
