The question about NEET being the mandatory entrance exam for all medical aspirants in India is commonly asked by many students and parents. Yes, NEET is a mandatory entrance examination for Indian aspirants who wish to study MBBS Abroad. According to the National Testing Agency (NTA), Indian citizens or overseas citizens of India planning to study Medicine Abroad will have to qualify NEET for Admissions to the medical course. To know more about the exam, let us begin here:
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test – Under Graduate is a mandatory single entrance examination for students who wish to pursue undergraduate Medical courses which include BDS and MBBS courses in India and also abroad. NEET is conducted every year by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the syllabus consists of the core concepts of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology(Botany and Zoology) as instructed by the NCERT.
NEET is conducted in 11 languages across the country. It is conducted in English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Students can opt for the language they are comfortable with while registering for the examination.
There are a total of 180 questions for a duration of 3 hours. These are further segregated into two sections for each subject. Section A and B for all four subjects – Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology. Section A consisted of 35 compulsory questions and Section B consisted of 15 questions of which the candidates could choose to answer only 10 questions. In total, there are 45 questions from each subject. The total marks for NEET is 720 for 180 questions.
NEET cut-off percentile remains the same, however, the corresponding marks change every year.
| Category | Percentile |
| General | 50th |
| General – PWD | 45th |
| SC/ST/OBC | 40th |
| SC/ST/OBC – PWD | 40th |
For each correct answer, four marks will be awarded and for every wrong answer, one mark will be deducted.
NEET is the only entrance test that provides the allotted seats in all Government and Private medical institutes for all medical aspirants who wish to study Medicine in India. Furthermore, for Indian students who wish to pursue medical studies abroad, NEET acts as an eligibility test that allows them to get admission to Top Medical Universities Abroad. Therefore, for Indian students willing to study medical courses abroad, NEET result should be treated as an eligibility certificate for admissions provided that the students meet all the eligibility criteria for studying MBBS Abroad.
From the date of declaration of result, NEET results hold a validity period of three years, allowing the students to pursue their dream career in India or abroad.
Qualifying NEET plays a pivotal role in a medical students career. NEET helps Indian Medical Aspirants get the required Registration Number from the National Medical Commission (NMC/MCI) to be able to practice medicine in India after completing their course or after qualifying FMGE/NExT.
NEET is required if the student is planning to Practice Medicine in India or pursue her/his Post-graduate course in India after completing their Undergraduate course Abroad. However, if the student is intending to practice medicine or pursue a post-graduate program Abroad, in such cases, NEET is not mandatory.
