When should you Take NEET Mock Test Series?
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET (UG) which was previously called All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT), is an entrance test for students interested in pursuing their studies in the medical fields, such as undergraduate Medical (MBBS), Dental (BDS), Veterinary (BVSc) and AYUSH (BAMS, BUMS, BHMS, etc.) courses in the government and private institutions of the country and also for those who want to pursue their degree in medical from foreign nations.
NEET (UG) is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) every year for admissions to around 65,000 MBBS and BDS seats across various colleges in India.
There are a total of 180 questions in the NEET exam with 45 questions from Physics and Chemistry each and 90 questions from Biology (Botany and Zoology) with the questions to be done in the timeframe of 180 minutes. The marking system consists of +4 marks for each correct answer, -1 mark for each incorrect answer and 0 marks for each question not attempted. Thus, the exam is of a total of 720 marks. The syllabus for the exam consists of the concepts of Physics, Chemistry and Biology which have been taught in the 11th and 12th standard as per the NCERT syllabus and curriculum.
How to Prepare for NEET (UG)
Most of the students enrol themselves in coaching classes in order to prepare themselves for NEET (UG) but apart from the coaching classes, there are some important tips that will help you a lot in being able to prepare well for NEET. They are;
- Plan your study schedule and stick to it – In a study schedule, make time slots and decide how long you will study and how long breaks you will take. Remember not to study for too long at a stretch as it will do nothing more than burn you out and will make it tougher for you to study more on that same day. Hence, remember to take regular breaks in order to keep yourself fresh and energized to continue the preparation.
Focus on the NCERT books as they are the key to making your foundation strong for the concepts that would be used ahead.
- Give equal attention to every subject – Don’t make the mistake of ignoring the subjects that you feel you are weak in. This is important because the paper comprises 180 questions and sometimes the paper can be structured in a way such that your strong subject might have difficult questions and the subject in which you are weak has easy questions which you won’t be able to solve as you left them.
- Regular Revision – One of the most important tips to prepare well for NEET is a regular revision of all the topics, because, in the long run, many important points may slip out of our mind which can cause a loss of crucial marks in the run of securing a good rank. Having and maintaining a revision notebook in which you write all the important points is a good habit in this case which would help you a lot to revise easily and quickly.
- Mock test series – NEET Mock Test Series is really important which helps you in gauging where you stand and how good your preparation is as compared to the rest of your peers.
Advantages of Giving Mock Tests –
- Mock tests help you in devising a strategy that best suits you to answer the maximum number of questions with utmost accuracy as the questions are so many but the time is less.
- Mock tests help you in getting used to the pattern of the exam and make you used to giving exams so that you don’t crumble under pressure when the main exam comes and are able to do the questions to the best of your knowledge.
- You are able to manage your time better as you give more and more mock tests and are able to develop your speed to answer as many questions as possible. Giving mock tests also exposes you to a wide variety of questions that may be asked in the main exam itself and thus helps you prepare better for what is to come.
- As you give more and more mock tests and with improvements in weak areas and constant practice, when you start scoring good marks in mock tests, it enhances your confidence and it makes you feel positive and motivated for the main exam which is a big factor and can be the major difference in whether you scoring good marks or not.
Optimum Time to give NEET mock test series –
- As most of the students are enrolled in some or the other coaching institute, most coaching institutes complete the syllabus by November or December and after that start conducting full syllabus tests.
- Even though many students would not have finished their syllabus by the time full syllabus tests start, it is advisable to not shy away from giving the tests as the mocks they give will tell them about their weak areas and where they need to focus more so that they can increase their scores.
- Everybody studies the same subjects and topics for the exam, but the thing that separates most from others is how they are able to improve upon their weak areas and keep giving the mocks despite getting low scores.
- The first few mock tests would probably return low marks, as you attempted them without revising for the topics that you had studied the last year but you should not get discouraged, as, with more and more tests as you revise more topics, your performance will improve and so will your rank among your peers.
- These mock tests will help in giving an insight into what is relevant and can be asked in the final exam from the entire syllabus which will help you in revising better accordingly.
CONCLUSION –
We can conclude that the students should start taking the NEET mock test series in December or January and start evaluating them regularly so as to identify their weak areas and continue improving on them. Even though many students might score low in the mock tests, they should not get discouraged in attempting the mocks as they are really important in building resilience, exam temperament and building confidence as NEET draws near.
GOOD LUCK!
