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The NTA (National Testing Agency) conducts standardised, transparent and efficient entrance exams to assess the competency of aspirants for admission. The NTA has been conducting the NEET (UG) exam since 2019. This single national-level medical entrance examination has scrapped the previous JIPMER and AIIMS. The NEET-UG 20022 is going to be conducted in the following schedule:
- The exam is scheduled for 17/07/2022 from 2 pm to 5:20 pm. The exam duration is 200 minutes.
- The application process is to be completed between 06/04/2022 to 15/05/2022. The last date for successful fee transfer is 15/05/2022 (till 11:50 pm).
- The admit card will be released a few days before the exam, for which the date will be announced soon.
The NTA official website also provides free recorded lectures, mock tests and previous years’ question papers for the NEET and other exam aspirants.
Syllabus – Overview
Aspirants must have appeared or cleared Class 12 or an equivalent exam with English, biology/biotechnology, physics and chemistry as mandatory subjects. The NEET exam gives priority to botany, zoology, physics and chemistry. Thus the question paper has 4 parts, and each part has two sections. Let’s look at the exam pattern later in this article.
The recent syllabus notification from NMC (National Medical Commission) shows no alterations from the previous year’s syllabus.
The examination is a pen and paper-based test to be answered on an OMR sheet. Also, aspirants can attempt the exam in any of the following 13 languages: English, Tamil, Assamese, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Urdu, Odia, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi and Bengali.
Exam Pattern Highlights
| Subject | Section | No.of questions given | No.of questions to be answered | Total questions |
| Physics | Section A | 35 | 35 | 45 |
| Section B | 15 | 10 | ||
| Chemistry | Section A | 35 | 35 | 45 |
| Section B | 15 | 10 | ||
| Zoology | Section A | 35 | 35 | 45 |
| Section B | 15 | 10 | ||
| Botany | Section A | 35 | 35 | 45 |
| Section B | 15 | 10 |
All four subjects comprise 180 questions, and each question carries 4 marks. Thus, it totals 720 marks. Likewise, each incorrect answer will cost a negative mark (-1), and unanswered questions will fetch no marks. The exam duration has also been increased from 180 minutes to 200 minutes. Hence, candidates will have more than a minute to solve each question.
Though the pattern and syllabus might look easy, it is the competition that makes it difficult. The approximate qualification rate is 55%, and thus, NEET aspirants must have an impressive preparation planner to crack the exam.
Preparation Tips
The aspirants must make an extra effort to top the merit list, considering the competition. As a first step, always create a timetable prioritising your weak and strong areas. Focus on the syllabus topics given in Class 11 and 12 NCERT textbooks and then move on to other materials. Then solve previous NEET Question papers to get an overview of the type of questions asked. Additionally, attend some online mock tests to have ample practice. Practising the questions with a timer will help answer the questions more quickly and efficiently. Optimistic energy is vital to crack the exam, but it is also advisable to have a backup plan.
With board exams going on in the states, it is a challenge for aspirants to concentrate on NEET by the side. There are different online portals that help in the coaching process, and the aspirants are advised to make the best use of them. As per the latest notifications, there has been no postponement of the exam date. Only the last date for registration has been moved to 15th of May. Thus, the exam will likely happen on the scheduled date and time.
