ALL ABOUT NEET UG 2021 AND PREPARATION STRATEGY FOR NEET
The NEET exam is one of the most prestigious exams of this country and due to which there has been a lot of discussion among the government officials and concerned bodies, on how to conduct NEET this year. The Coronavirus pandemic in India really affected the timeline of NEET in the last two years. In the years 2020 and 2021, it has been difficult not only conducting the exam but also to prepare for it. The online mode of study has made the preparations difficult for the candidates. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) is a common entrance examination for all the students who wish to study MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BUMS, BHMS, etc. in government and private institutions in India and also to study MBBS Abroad. NEET qualification is a compulsory criterion for studying abroad for Indian students currently.
Eligibility criteria:
- The student must be at least 17 years of age at present. The candidate must attain at least 17 years of age or must be born on/before December 31, 2004.
- It is mandatory for the candidate to have appeared in the 12th standard. Those who have passed and appeared for 12th can appear in the NEET exam.
- The mandatory score limit for appearing in the NEET examination is 50% for General Category, 45% for Persons with a disability or the PwD candidates, and 40% for OBC-NCL/SC/ST (Other Backward Caste – Non-creamy Layer / Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribe), in subjects of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology as main subjects along with English.
- The upper age limit to apply for NEET is 25 years.
NEET is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is responsible for conducting entrance exams for Engineering, Medicals and also conduct examinations for admission in Central Universities of India. NEET is conducted in 2 phases- Phase 1 and Phase 2. Candidates who appeared for the first phase can also appear for the second phase given that they have to give up their NEET Phase 1 score.
Exam Pattern for NEET 2021
The pattern of the NEET is based on the 11th and 12th standards of the NCERT curriculum and covers topics from physics, chemistry, and biology. The aspirants are in general familiar with the pattern. The paper consists of 180 questions from these three subjects. The questions are multiple-choice questions, with 4 options for each question, where the students are supposed to choose the correct answer. The mode of examination for NEET 2020 will be offline, where pen and OMR sheets will be provided on examination centers themselves.
- The pattern of the question paper is like this – 45 questions from physics, 45 questions from chemistry, and 90 questions from biology (45 each from botany and zoology). There is a total of 180 questions.
- Each subject is divided into two sections – section A and section B.
- The time limit of the paper is 180 minutes.
- The total marks of this paper are 720 marks.
- Each question carries 4 marks.
- There is no single medium of question paper, as the candidates have the option of choosing the medium of question paper from the following 11 languages – Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil, Oriya, Kannada, Urdu, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, and Marathi language.
Marking scheme for NEET 2021
According to the NEET marking scheme, the candidates will be given marks like this – 4 marks for each correct answer, 1 mark will be deducted for each incorrect answer (negative marking), and no marks will be deducted for the questions not attempted.
- The window for registration for NEET-UG 2021 has been extended to 10th August 2021, till 5.00 PM.
- The window for correction will be opened from 11th August to 14th August 2021, as announced by NTA.
- The payment for application fees can be done till 11.50 PM on 10th August.
- The announcement of NEET 2021 exam cities is expected to be around 20th August 2021.
- The Admit card for the examination will be released three days before the examination.
- The announced exam date for NEET 2021 is 12th September 2021, by the National Testing Agency.
Preparation Strategy
The students need to strategize well, in order to crack this exam. the students are advised to focus on the NCERT syllabus, as the NEET syllabus covers both 11th and 12th standards, coupled with proper attention to the reference books as well. On the other hand, there are certain topics, in each subject, which require special attention, the students need to identify those topics and prepare accordingly. Since there is no change in pattern, the basic knowledge of the subjects would be enough, if they are studied well.
Apart from the preparation, the candidates should also take caution while filling the OMR sheets. Only a Ballpoint pen shall be used to mark the OMR sheet, which will be provided at the center. They must mark the test booklet code on the center. They should not erase any information in any case. Once the answer is marked, it is final, there is no change or correction allowed. The center will provide rough booklets for calculations. If there are two options marked in the same question, that will be counted as incorrect. The most important part, if the question is left unattended, there will be no deduction of any kind. The NEET score is calculated as follows – (Correct answers x 4) – (Incorrect answers x 1).