How To Crack The NEET Paper – Tips, Tricks, Tests & More

Kapil Gupta Dec 27, 2018

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will be conducting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) on Sunday, May 5th, 2019. In order to make it to the top-ranking government medical colleges, it is important to not just crack and clear the exam, but also to get a considerable rank.

With hardly a few months left for the examination, your preparation would be in full swing, right? While there are a few ambitious students who’ve started their preparation already, there are also a few who are muddled on how to plan their NEET 2019.

If you are somebody targeting the upcoming NEET, go through these tips to crack the upcoming examination:

Time Management

One of the worst fears that most students face is not having enough time to review all the questions, thereby not being able to answer some of the familiar questions. Remember, you have 180 questions and 180 minutes to solve them. This means, you have one minute allotted to solve each question. In order to maximize your score in the paper, set a clear subject-wise time allocation which further splits into: 45 minutes for 90 questions of Biology, 55 minutes for 45 questions of chemistry, and 70 minutes for 45 questions of Physics. All these individual subject-wise timings include time to fill OMR sheet. At the end, keep final 10 minutes for reviewing the paper.

Attempt the exam in Order

The order to attempt the exam is crucial (and should align with the sequence in which you have attempted Mock Tests before the exam. While every student can decide the order he/she feels comfortable with, we recommend to first attempt Biology, Chemistry, and then Physics. Considering the fact that PCB students find Biology easy, you’d want to ensure completing the easy section first, quickly, and then have enough time in your hand to focus on Physics.

Avoid making mistakes in filling OMR sheets

While some students fill the OMR sheet after solving each question, the rest fill the bubble on the OMR sheet after completing the paper, however; we recommend to fill it after finishing each subject. This way, you’ll refrain from wasting any time, and it’ll also help in maintaining accuracy and speed. Time is priceless, and many aspirants fail to make the proper use of time. In order to avoid being in such a situation, ensure keeping 4 to 7 minutes each, for Physics plus Chemistry, and Biology, respectively for filling OMR sheet. It is also important to practice filling OMR sheets while attempting Mock Tests before the exam.

Skip and Move On from the Unknown

It is possible that you are weak in one subject and pretty strong in the other. Do not get discouraged when you’re unable to solve all the questions. Try and focus on solving the ones that you know well, rather than investing your time in either the questions you’re unsure about or the ones that are too lengthy. Remember that even the topper of NEET does not score 100% marks. One more fact: You can reach cut off for government college by getting up to 25 questions wrong.

Stay calm and composed

Having said all of the above, keeping your nerves calm before and during the exam is quite challenging. But, do not lose confidence just because the aspirant sitting next to you is frantically marking all the answers, since he/she might have a different version of the paper. You may find the first few questions a little difficult, but do not panic and continue writing the paper with the utmost composure. Once you have attempted 4-5 questions, you will find most of your nerves go away.

Quick Tip:

For every right answer, you stand a chance to win 4 marks and for every wrong answer, you lose 1 mark. Hence, it’s important for you to have clarity on what you can attempt and what you cannot. Every negative mark avoided is similar to gaining a mark. One important thing to remember: if you are sure that one of the two choices are correct, and you are sure that remaining 2 choices are definitely wrong, you should definitely attempt it even at the risk of getting it wrong. Because you will lose 1 mark and stand to gain 4 marks considering probability of getting it right has increased from 25% to 50%.