Cracking NEET UG in first attempt

July 17, 2022. Ausmita had covered all the material thoroughly and felt confident sitting for NEET UG 2022 exam. However, as soon as the exam started, she realised that she was running out of time to finish the answers.

Ausmita had never been a fast test-taker, but she had always managed to complete her exams in the past. However, this time, she found herself spending too much time on each question and was falling behind.

As the minutes ticked by, she began to feel increasingly anxious. She rushed through the remaining questions, scribbling down whatever she could in the limited time she had left. When the exam was over, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that her lack of time management had let her down.

Time management is crucial during NEET UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Undergraduates), a highly competitive exam taken by thousands of students every year to secure admission in medical and dental courses in various colleges across India. The students need to answer 180 multiple-choice questions in three hours, which means students have less than one minute to answer each question. Therefore, it is essential to manage time effectively to ensure that test-takers can attempt all the questions within the given time.

For a medical aspirant, cracking NEET UG in the first attempt requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and a well-planned strategy. From starting the preparations one year in advance, choosing the right books and resources, creating a balanced study plan to taking mock tests, the student must prepare a smart study technique to crack India’s single-largest medical entrance exam on the first attempt.

Nachiket Bhatia, CEO, Dr Bhatia Medical Coaching Institute, emphasises the need to start the preparations for NEET UG at least one year in advance. “The earlier you prepare for the exam, the better your chances of cracking it on the first attempt. Also, creating a realistic study schedule is important. And even more important is to stick to it religiously. Dedicate at least 4-5 hours daily to studying for NEET UG,” he said. He also advised medical aspirants not to study everything under the sun. “It is important to choose wisely based on recommendations from seniors or teachers. The aspirants should focus only on what is essential. Also, NEET is a competitive exam, and hence, keeping anything for the last minute is not advisable. This might lead to forgetting essential concepts or making silly mistakes,” said Bhatia. The educationist also mentioned that an aspirant should be well-versed with the NCERT syllabus for classes XI and XII if he/she is aiming for a high score.

Dr Goutam Bachaspati, chief consultant, Techno ACE, has a word of caution for the medical aspirants too. “The success rate at NEET UG is very low in comparison to the number of students appearing for the exam. Thereby, there is every possibility of rejection if any gap exists in the study plan, practice and in thought process,” he said.

He further highlighted why the knowledge of mathematics also helps in cracking NEET UG. “NEET UG needs sound knowledge in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. However, you can’t pursue Physics without Mathematics, so better not to avoid the subject. In fact, the knowledge of mathematics is helpful to sharpen the logic-building capacity,” he added.

If you are aiming to clear NEET in the first attempt, a smart, calculative study plan is highly effective. The problem arises when a student has equal pressure to perform well in both NEET and Board examinations. “For Boards, we need to know how to present our answers. But in the case of NEET, we need to practice more on how to attempt questions. Knowledge is the same for both Boards and NEET but it is the practice that makes the difference,” said Anirban Maiti, now a first-year MBBS student at Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital. A passout of Techno India Group Public School, Hooghly, Maiti scored 96.6 % in Boards.

In fact, it’s important to invest time in preparing a realistic study plan that offers equal weightage to all subjects. “The distribution of time needs to be according to the specific topics and their understanding by the aspirants. Follow the inverse proportion rule when mapping subjects you love with subjects you struggle with. Try to devote more time to the latter,” said Dr Hitesh Nathani, Unacademy Educator.

Most educationists also stress focusing on conceptual understanding rather than rote learning during NEET UG preparations. This will help the aspirants to retain the information better and also enable them to apply the concepts in different scenarios. “Initially, such study habits may lead to slow learning but it will yield better results. Ideally, a student should focus on conceptual reading from class VIII/IX,” said Bachaspati, who has 36 years of experience in the field of education.

Meanwhile, Aakash BYJU’S has launched a self-evaluation tool for NEET aspirants — Know Your NCERT (KYN). The toolkit will offer curated modules in Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology to students of Classes XI to XII. KYN will assist students in comprehending a wide range of questions that may be asked in NEET and gain the ability to answer such questions with speed and accuracy. It also allows students to self-evaluate their level of preparation with NCERT and helps them in identifying areas for improvement. “NCERT is the first step towards success in NEET. Know Your NCERT will provide an in-depth understanding of the NCERT books, giving aspirants a competitive advantage over their peers and helping them in scoring higher in NEET,” said Abhishek Maheshwari, Chief Executive Officer, Aakash BYJU’S.