National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET)

The National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), formerly known as the All-India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) is a medical qualifying entrance exam for aspiring students to enter MBBS or BDS programs in India. The test is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA). NTA is an independent, autonomous, and premier testing organization in India.

The exam is usually conducted online in 11 languages including English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Urdu, Kannada, Bengali, Odia, Telugu, and Assamese. The students can select the language of their choice while filling out the application form. The examination format provides three hours to answer 180 questions from three sections. The sections are divided into Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (Botany and Zoology).

The examination provides around 90,000 seats in MBBS to 612 medical colleges in India. In total, the students can avail 48012 seats in government and 43915 seats in private medical colleges in the country. Out of these, around 5024 seats are available for students in Uttar Pradesh alone. Similarly, 26949 seats are provided for BDS in 612 dental colleges in the country.

The selection is based on the cut-off scores of the students. In the year 2022, the cut-off for NEET was as follows:

• OBC/SC/ST-PH: 104-93
• OBC/SC/ST: 116-93
• General-PH: 116-105

Eligibility Criteria

The aspiring doctors and dentists are eligible for the examination if:

• They have completed 17 years of age at the time of admission.
• They have passed 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology/Biotechnology as the main subjects.

This 10+2 certificate in core medical subjects is crucial during the counselling round. Marks in Mathematics instead of Biology are not considered for the examination.

Number of Attempts

Earlier, the students could attempt the examination three times. Recently, however, the government removed the limit on the number of attempts. Today, students can write the examination as many times as they want.

Time Duration

The duration of the examination is around 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Seats in Uttar Pradesh

The number of MBBS seats in government colleges in UP is around 4303 and 4750 in private colleges. Similarly, 250 BDS seats in government colleges are available in UP.

Examination Pattern

The National Medical Commission (NMC) updates the syllabus of NEET. The subjects are divided into 2 sections with a specific number of questions.

S.No	Subject	Section	Number of Questions
1	Physics	Section A/Section B	35/15
2	Chemistry	Section A/Section B	35/15
3	Botany	Section A/Section B	35/15
4	Zoology	Section A/Section B	35/15
Total Marks			250

Section A:

A correct answer in this section gives (+4) and an incorrect answer gives (-1). The unmarked or unanswered question is not considered.

Section B:

The students need to only attempt 10 questions out of 15 questions in this section. Additionally, there is also no negative marking for an incorrect answer in this section.