What is the correct time to start NEET preparation?

According to me 2 years of preparation is more than enough for preparing for NEET. By 2 years I mean a very dedicated and sincere effort to study for the exam. Also, NEET Paper is a lot easier now. Two years of study is sufficient to crack NEET.

What are the key qualities that are required to crack NEET?

Accuracy would be the most important factor. NEET exam is a lot easier now. The second factor is consistency. Make a timetable and stick to it. These two are the most important qualities. Apart from these factors, there are a lot more things that influence your rank. Having a good state of mind is one such factor. Design a good NEET study plan as per your strengths. It is an important aspect of your NEET preparation strategy.

What is the importance of revision in the NEET exam preparation?

Revision is something that you have to do to score well. It is underrated. You may get frustrated with reading the same thing again and again in 2 years of time. This is how it happens pal! I have almost revised every chapter almost 4-5 times over and over again. If I am weak at that particular chapter this count was even more. Therefore, revision is a key aspect of your NEET preparation strategy or NEET study plan.

What is my NEET study strategy?

Good study strategy.Yes! Let me put it this way, Everybody has the same 24 hours/day and 2 years before they give NEET. Almost all people who have a strong determination study throughout the day. They work hard just like you do. What sets you both apart is a good study strategy. A good study strategy is not a universally accepted thing and there is nothing as a proven strategy. Don't fall for the marketing gimmicks. It evolves with time and your brain/mind. It's personalized and unique to yourself. A good study strategy helps you to maximize productive work in the same period of time which is available for everybody. I have written a post on the study techniques I have used during my preparation . Go through this article after reading this entire post.

What books should I use for NEET exam preparation?

A good material. You need a good and trusted material to rely upon. Most of the time it is NCERT. You might have listened many times that NCERT is your Bible, Gita, etc. *sighs* NCERT is the first book of choice for Biology and Chemistry. Most of you guys must have joined coaching centers and they will surely give you a set of coaching materials or modules. These can act as addons and help you. In my case, I used Srichaitanya and Allen modules. Sri Chaitanya has very good physics and Zoology materials whereas Allen has very good Botany and Chemistry materials. I used best of the both worlds here. Speaking about that other books for the theory part, I used to read MTG magazines. They are monthly magazines and are great! You can check them out too. They are available at most of the book shops. In most of the cases, these are my theory knowledge sources! I have dedicated an entire section below. Remember, NCERT books are the most important resources.

What is the importance of solving MCQs for NEET preparation?

The entire NEET question paper is purely MCQ-based. These are cute little questions that are going to test our knowledge objectively and straight to the point. One simple strategy which I have used is that I limited my theory sources to NCERT, modules, and magazines and widened my exposure to MCQs from various sources I have solved MCQs from so many sources that I lost track of the number of bits I solved. One important thing to note is that solve NEET like MCQs don't go fussy over all sorts of MCQs.

Should I join a coaching center for NEET Preparation?

You need a good learning platform to learn. You need someone to clarify your doubts. You need someone to explain all the stuff to you. For this, you can either join a good coaching center or use some online courses. But frankly speaking, I think that you need to join a good coaching center to survive in this competition. Some online platforms are good but they are not yet ready to replace a coaching center. Sometimes you need a bit more than just academic support from your teachers. If you can't afford to join a coaching center, try to get a scholarship via 'talent tests'. Many coaching institutes conduct these tests and may give you up to 80% off on their courses.

How many practice tests should I take for my NEET Preparation?

A lot of practice tests. Yes as per research, it is pretty much clear that you need to test yourself regularly to quantify your preparation and plan the rest of it accordingly. Through these tests, you will also know where you stand in this competition. You start to work on your basics and concepts for NEET. What I did was to give a practice test once every week in the initial days and then changed my strategy a bit. I used to give one test on Saturday on all the stuff that I studied during that week and I used to revise previous topics (2-3 weeks old topics) and give a cumulative test on Monday. This was a great way indeed.

Are there any Emotional and psychological aspects of NEET Preparation?

You need to have the confidence to go past this. You need to start dreaming of your future med school and you need to start working. Bhagavad Gita says man manifests out what he strongly believes. (women too :-) APJ sir said Dreams are not those which come in your sleep, they are those which don't let you sleep. You need to dream fantasize about becoming a doctor and studying in your favorite med school. You need to have an open and positive mindset. Never hesitate to help others in understanding concepts. Don't feel disheartened. Stay strong. Bonus tip: Many times during my preparation I felt disheartened. I felt things aren't going my way. Then my mom advised me to do meditation and started doing that a few minutes almost every day in the morning. This helped me a lot.

How many hours should I sleep during my NEET Preparation?

This is a mysterious little angel. It is the cure for most of the preparation headaches, mood outs, boredom, anxiety, tension, stress. It is a panacea of all preparation related to psychological and emotional states. I used to sleep regularly for 7 hours. It's a common myth that you need to burn the midnight oil to enter a med school in India. No this is not the case. Take my advice. Sleep peacefully for 7 hours a day depending on your need

What is the importance of eating healthy food and drinking a lot of water?

Food is our fuel. Avoid taking spicy foods as they add on to the stress and anxiety. Take more and more of fresh fruits and prefer home made food over junk and fast foods. There are some superfoods like walnuts,fish, apricots etc which are proven to improve memory. Who knows they might give you an advantage. *wink* Drink water appropriately. It is the elixir of life. Memory, hydration, stress free etc, it sure does lot of things. Don't be left out.

Is it important to solve previous year NEET Papers?

Absolutely! You get a better idea and become confident by solving more number of questions. This is important part of your NEET Preparation strategy or NEET study strategy.

Comprehensive NEET Preparation Strategy: How do I prepare for NEET?

Hello guys! I am Sriharsha Koduru, AIR 19 NEET, and AIR 54 AIIMS. I am currently studying at JIPMER. I am going to share with you, my thoughts on NEET Preparation. Let’s also try to make a NEET preparation strategy. This post on the NEET study strategy is going to be a long one and intended to be so. I am assuming that you are having 2 years of time in hand before you give NEET exam.

This is actually an old blog post, modified as per the changes that took place recently. Read the complete article to get a clear insight into the NEET Preparation. I received several requests by email on how to exactly prepare for NEET. So, here is a detailed analysis:

Note

This post “Comprehensive NEET Preparation Strategy ” is written based on my own experience. This is not influenced by any external agency or factor. I tried to be true to my own self.

I have also made a detailed Table of Contents and enclosed it below. Feel free to skip to relevant sections of the post.

Background: What is NEET and What are the changes that took place?

NEET is an exam that must be cleared by students to enter a med school in India. Until 2018 this exam was conducted by CBSE. NTA (National testing authority) has been conducting the exam since 2019. Another major change that took place is that NEET is now the common entrance exam for all the colleges including AIIMS and JIPMER.

I gave my NEET exam in 2018 after 2 years of preparation and secured AIR 19 rank. I did go through NEET 2019 and NEET 2020 papers too which were conducted by NTA. So now let’s try to analyze those papers and try to build a NEET preparation strategy.

NEET 2019 and 2020 Paper Analysis:

Physics:

Physics questions were very easy in 2019 and 2020 compared to previous years. Examiners tested mainly on the basics that require simple application of formulae. They didn’t go much into brain-teasing aspects of physics. This reduces the physics advantage which you might have.

I will explain what I am talking about. I was very good at physics during my NEET preparation days. In mock tests, even if I score less in Biology and Chemistry I used to score well in physics. I always felt that I had an advantage over the rest of the competition. This boosted my confidence. I call this the physics advantage.
The Physics Advantage

If we happen to get a very easy physics paper just like it happened in 2019 and 2020, most of the people would be able to answer these questions and so now it depends on the other two subjects to decide our rank or score.

Let’s look at 2019 paper, of the total 45 questions,

36 % of the questions are from the Mechanics section,
27% of the questions are from the Electrodynamics topics.
Other sections like Optics, Modern Physics and Electronics, Heat and SHM, and Waves had less number of questions, ranging from 3 to 5 % each

51 % of the questions were from the Class 11th standard
49% of the questions were from the Class 12th standard.

I found only a few questions that tapped into the brain-teasing aspect of physics.

I didn’t analyse the 2020 paper in detail. But, the pattern was roughly similar.

Summary

Physics Questions are getting a lot simpler. They are testing basic concepts. Also, there are no separate AIIMS and JIPMER exams. This means the overall standard of physics questions has fallen down. But one thing is for sure, the difference of marks reduced between every 100 ranks. So, you need to have greater accuracy while solving physics problems. Literally, every mark counts!

Chemistry

Let’s have a look at breakdown of 2019 NEET paper.

56% of the questions were from Class 11th.
44% of the questions were from the Class 12th.

Classifying the paper into three parts,

Physical Chemistry had the most number of questions, as much as 38%,
Inorganic had 36% weightage and
Organic Chemistry had 26% weightage.

Only 6-8 questions were difficult and they were from the physical chemistry part. Organic chemistry was easy with all questions being developed based on the content of NCERT textbooks. Inorganic chemistry can be answered straight out of memory. Overall chemistry was moderate to easy on the toughness scale.

In NEET 2020 questions were actually more easier than the 2019 paper.

Biology

Both the 2019 and 2020 NEET papers are balanced with equal weightage given to class 11 and class 12 as well as botany and zoology. Almost all questions were from NCERT.
Let’s have a look at the breakdown of the 2019 paper

14 questions were covered from Human Physiology of Class 11th standard
Genetics and Molecular Biology section of Class 12th standard with 10 questions
Plant Physiology of Class 11th with 9 questions
Ecology with 8 questions from the Class 12th standard.

This is pretty much the same in the 2020 NEET paper as well.

Trying to make sense out of NEET 2019 and 2020 papers.

Let’s try to breakdown the subjects and look at them individually:

Physics:

Physics Questions are getting a lot simpler. They are testing basic concepts. Also, there are no separate AIIMS and JIPMER exams. This means the overall standard of physics questions has fallen down. But one thing is for sure, the difference of marks reduced between every 100 ranks. So, you need to have greater accuracy while solving physics problems. Literally, every mark counts!

Chemistry:

Inorganic chemistry is straight forward. Read NCERT, go to exam and mark answers from your memory. Nothing much brain crunching about it.
Organic Chemistry also became a lot easier over the years
Physical chemistry also needs improved accuracy.

Biology

Maximum weightage but minimum effort.

Looking at Results

When we look at the Results of 2019 NEET, the cut-off went higher compared to the previous year. There was a very small difference in marks between every 100 ranks. There was very high congestion. So a small silly mistake could cost you a lot of ranks. Though the paper became easy under NTA, very high competition for only a few medical seats in India makes it scary to crack. I guess you need more accuracy than before. Accuracy and consistency are key components of your NEET Preparation Strategy

Based on the above thoughts let’s try to build a good NEET Preparation Strategy. We will do this by trying to answer a few key questions. Most of these questions are asked by NEET aspirants when I hosted a Q&A session on Quora.

NEET Preparation Strategy: 2022

What is the correct time to start NEET preparation?

According to me 2 years of preparation is more than enough for preparing for NEET. By 2 years I mean a very dedicated and sincere effort to study for the exam.
Also, NEET Paper is a lot easier now. Two years of study is sufficient to crack NEET.
What are the key qualities that are required to crack NEET?

Accuracy would be the most important factor. NEET exam is a lot easier now. The second factor is consistency. Make a timetable and stick to it. These two are the most important qualities. Apart from these factors, there are a lot more things that influence your rank. Having a good state of mind is one such factor.

Design a good NEET study plan as per your strengths. It is an important aspect of your NEET preparation strategy.
What is the importance of revision in the NEET exam preparation?

Revision is something that you have to do to score well. It is underrated. You may get frustrated with reading the same thing again and again in 2 years of time. This is how it happens pal! I have almost revised every chapter almost 4-5 times over and over again. If I am weak at that particular chapter this count was even more.
Therefore, revision is a key aspect of your NEET preparation strategy or NEET study plan.
What is my NEET study strategy?

Good study strategy.Yes! Let me put it this way, Everybody has the same 24 hours/day and 2 years before they give NEET. Almost all people who have a strong determination study throughout the day. They work hard just like you do. What sets you both apart is a good study strategy. A good study strategy is not a universally accepted thing and there is nothing as a proven strategy. Don’t fall for the marketing gimmicks.

It evolves with time and your brain/mind. It’s personalized and unique to yourself. A good study strategy helps you to maximize productive work in the same period of time which is available for everybody. I have written a post on the study techniques I have used during my preparation. Go through this article after reading this entire post.
What books should I use for NEET exam preparation?

A good material. You need a good and trusted material to rely upon. Most of the time it is NCERT. You might have listened many times that NCERT is your Bible, Gita, etc. *sighs*

NCERT is the first book of choice for Biology and Chemistry. Most of you guys must have joined coaching centers and they will surely give you a set of coaching materials or modules. These can act as addons and help you.

In my case, I used Srichaitanya and Allen modules. Sri Chaitanya has very good physics and Zoology materials whereas Allen has very good Botany and Chemistry materials. I used best of the both worlds here. Speaking about that other books for the theory part, I used to read MTG magazines. They are monthly magazines and are great! You can check them out too. They are available at most of the book shops. In most of the cases, these are my theory knowledge sources!

I have dedicated an entire section below. Remember, NCERT books are the most important resources.
What is the importance of solving MCQs for NEET preparation?

The entire NEET question paper is purely MCQ-based. These are cute little questions that are going to test our knowledge objectively and straight to the point.

One simple strategy which I have used is that I limited my theory sources to NCERT, modules, and magazines and widened my exposure to MCQs from various sources

I have solved MCQs from so many sources that I lost track of the number of bits I solved. One important thing to note is that solve NEET like MCQs don’t go fussy over all sorts of MCQs.
Should I join a coaching center for NEET Preparation?

You need a good learning platform to learn. You need someone to clarify your doubts. You need someone to explain all the stuff to you. For this, you can either join a good coaching center or use some online courses.

But frankly speaking, I think that you need to join a good coaching center to survive in this competition. Some online platforms are good but they are not yet ready to replace a coaching center. Sometimes you need a bit more than just academic support from your teachers.

If you can’t afford to join a coaching center, try to get a scholarship via ‘talent tests’. Many coaching institutes conduct these tests and may give you up to 80% off on their courses.
How many practice tests should I take for my NEET Preparation?

A lot of practice tests. Yes as per research, it is pretty much clear that you need to test yourself regularly to quantify your preparation and plan the rest of it accordingly. Through these tests, you will also know where you stand in this competition. You start to work on your basics and concepts for NEET. What I did was to give a practice test once every week in the initial days and then changed my strategy a bit. I used to give one test on Saturday on all the stuff that I studied during that week and I used to revise previous topics (2-3 weeks old topics) and give a cumulative test on Monday. This was a great way indeed.
Are there any Emotional and psychological aspects of NEET Preparation?

You need to have the confidence to go past this. You need to start dreaming of your future med school and you need to start working.
Bhagavad Gita says man manifests out what he strongly believes. (women too 🙂
APJ sir said Dreams are not those which come in your sleep, they are those which don’t let you sleep. You need to dream fantasize about becoming a doctor and studying in your favorite med school.
You need to have an open and positive mindset. Never hesitate to help others in understanding concepts. Don’t feel disheartened. Stay strong.
Bonus tip: Many times during my preparation I felt disheartened. I felt things aren’t going my way. Then my mom advised me to do meditation and started doing that a few minutes almost every day in the morning. This helped me a lot.
How many hours should I sleep during my NEET Preparation?

This is a mysterious little angel. It is the cure for most of the preparation headaches, mood outs, boredom, anxiety, tension, stress. It is a panacea of all preparation related to psychological and emotional states. I used to sleep regularly for 7 hours. It’s a common myth that you need to burn the midnight oil to enter a med school in India. No this is not the case. Take my advice. Sleep peacefully for 7 hours a day depending on your need
What is the importance of eating healthy food and drinking a lot of water?

Food is our fuel. Avoid taking spicy foods as they add on to the stress and anxiety. Take more and more of fresh fruits and prefer home made food over junk and fast foods. There are some superfoods like walnuts,fish, apricots etc which are proven to improve memory. Who knows they might give you an advantage. *wink*

Drink water appropriately. It is the elixir of life. Memory, hydration, stress free etc, it sure does lot of things. Don’t be left out.
Is it important to solve previous year NEET Papers?

Absolutely! You get a better idea and become confident by solving more number of questions. This is important part of your NEET Preparation strategy or NEET study strategy.

books for NEET Preparation strategy: NCERT

NCERT Books

NCERT Books are the most important resources for your NEET Preparation. You should definitely study them well and there is no replacement whatsoever. NEET exam has become a lot easier now and examiners are testing your basics. NCERT is the source of all information to get your basics right. There is no substitute whatsoever.

BOOKS	Buy on Amazon
Class 11 NCERT text books	Buy
Class 12 NCERT textbooks	Buy

HC Verma

Must have book.

The book gives you a clear understanding of Physics and also educates about the starting chapters in Physics like concept of Forces, Newton’s Law, Friction, Work, Energy, Gravity, Motion, Mechanics, Sound, Waves etc. Overall, this book is meant to clear the basic understanding of Physics and its approach.

Buy on Amazon

Here are some of my recommendations. Choose books wisely. Don’t study theory from many books/sources. Try to practice as many MCQs as possible.

[wptb id=2494]

My Timeline of NEET Preparation:

This was my timeline of my NEET Journey:

2 years before NEET: I started my preparation when I joined Sri Chaitanya
Completed studying once the syllabus of 11th standard in 8 months
Studied few 12th standard topics for the next 2-3 months
Gave 11th standard exam (boards AP syllabus)
1 year before NEET: Entered 12th standard. Continued studying 12th class syllabus
Completed studying 12th once in the next 6 months
6 months before NEET: started revising for NEET. Took each chapter from 11th and re-read giving a lot of tests. The frequency of tests increased
3 months before NEET: Started writing Grand tests with the whole of the 11th and 12th syllabus. The frequency of tests further increased- 1 test every three days.
1 month before NEET: Started reading that short notes I have written. Began glancing at all the errors I have committed in grand tests and started to re-read those topics.
1 week before NEET: Maintained good health and sleep. Avoided all sorts of distractions. Tried to stay calm and focused
1 day before NEET: Visited my favorite Hanuman temple and slept early. Almost didn’t read anything that day.

Closing thoughts: NEET Preparation Strategy

This is the gist of it. It took me a lot of effort to write this article. Hope you liked it. Stay confident, beat stress and anxiety, and stay solid and determined on the target you set. Share this post with all your friends and family who are preparing for NEET. It would be great if this article after all my efforts really helps out someone. Try to develop a good NEET preparation strategy or neet study plan. It is unique and keeps changing with time and person.

All the Best.

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