Entrance exams
NEET preparation
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for MBBS, BDS and allied courses.
24 free guides·Conducted by National Testing AgencyOfficial website
About the NEET exam
NEET UG is the single entrance exam for MBBS, BDS, the AYUSH degrees and several allied courses across India. The National Testing Agency conducts it. You must be 17 by 31 December of the admission year, and there is no upper age limit. Check the bulletin for the Class 12 subject and marks rules that apply to you.
It is a single pen-and-paper exam: 180 compulsory questions in three hours, for 720 marks. Physics and Chemistry have 45 questions each and Biology has 90. Biology is half the paper and is also the first tie-breaker. A correct answer earns 4 marks and a wrong one costs 1. Reaching the qualifying percentile makes you eligible for admission. Seats are then allotted by rank through counselling, and the scores that win seats sit well above the qualifying line.
Read the Start here guides first: the pattern, eligibility, the syllabus and NCERT, how to read NCERT, a one-year or dropper plan, time strategy and negative marking. Then go subject by subject. Botany and Zoology follow NCERT closely. Physics often separates good ranks from average ones. Chemistry needs memory, numericals and reactions in equal measure. Check that every mock you use follows the current 180-question format.
| Paper | Pen and paper; 180 compulsory questions in 3 hours; 720 marks |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Physics 45, Chemistry 45, Biology 90 questions |
| Marking | +4 for a correct answer, −1 for a wrong one, 0 if unanswered |
| Tie-break | Biology, then Chemistry, then Physics, then the ratio of wrong to correct answers |
| Qualifying percentile | 50 (General), 40 (SC, ST, OBC), 45 (General PwBD) |
| Age | 17 by 31 December; no upper limit |
Patterns change. Confirm details in the latest notification on the official website.
Start here
New to NEET? Read these first, in this order.
- 1The NEET UG exam pattern explainedOne hundred and eighty compulsory questions, three hours, 720 marks and a penalty for every wrong answer. How NEET UG is structured, how marking and tie-breaking work, and what the pattern means for how you prepare.
- 2NEET UG eligibility and coursesWho can take NEET UG, which Class 12 subjects and marks you need, what the qualifying percentile means, and which courses the exam leads to. The basics to check before you spend a year preparing.
- 3The NEET syllabus and NCERTThe NEET syllabus is notified by the NMC and built on NCERT Classes 11 and 12. What each subject covers, how the 2024 revision changed it, where it goes beyond the current NCERT, and how to turn it into a study map.
- 4Reading NCERT for NEETNCERT is the most important book for NEET, especially in biology. How to read it in layers, what to mark, how questions are built from its lines, and how many times to revise it.
- 5A one-year NEET plan with Class 12Most NEET aspirants prepare during Class 12 while revising Class 11. A year-long plan that balances school, boards and NEET, with phases, weekly hours, a Class 11 revision cycle and a testing schedule.
- 6A NEET plan for droppersA drop year gives you full days to rebuild concepts and practise at scale. How to diagnose your last attempt, set a realistic target, plan eleven months and stay steady.
- 7Three hours, 180 questions: NEET time strategyOne minute per question on average, but biology can be faster and physics slower. A time plan that adds up, subject-order options, a two-round method, skip rules and an OMR routine you can rehearse in mocks.
- 8Negative marking and accuracy in NEET+4 for right, −1 for wrong. What that means for guessing, why a blind guess is not the same as a smart one, how accuracy decides ranks and ties, and a practical attempt rule you can test in mocks.
Subject by subject
Strategy
Guides on the pattern, eligibility, the NCERT-based syllabus, one-year and dropper plans, mocks, time strategy, negative marking and counselling. Older mocks may use the 2021–24 format of 200 questions with a choice, so check the format before you time yourself.
All 12 Strategy guidesPhysics
45 questions for 180 marks on the NMC syllabus from Classes 11 and 12: mechanics, thermodynamics, oscillations and waves, electricity and magnetism, optics and modern physics. Some topics were removed in the recent revision, so check the current syllabus. The numericals make it the slowest section for many candidates.
All 12 Physics guides