Things to Keep in Mind Regarding the NEET Exam 2022

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is India’s most prestigious medical entrance exam. This is carried out on a pan-Indian basis, for the MBBS, BDS, BAMS (Ayurvedic), BUMS (Unani), BHMS (Homeopathic), BPT (Physiotherapy), and other paramedical courses as well.

Applications for the NEET Exam 2022 are currently underway. Though there’s still no official data on how many students have registered as of yet, one can easily judge the potential number by the fact that a total of 16 Lakh students had registered for the NEET Exam of 2021.

The last date to fill the online application form for NEET 2022 had been earlier extended by the NTA to 6th May 2022. As far as the exam is concerned, it will be held on 17th July 2022.

This post covers some of the most important details that the candidates need to keep in mind before applying for the NEET Exam 2022. Additionally, it also comprehensively lays down the various updates regarding this exam, which have taken place in the last few days.

Top Colleges for NEET 2022 Aspirants

Considering that the NTA NEET is a pan-Indian exam as already mentioned above, there are a plethora of medical colleges/universities that it covers. What this does is that it confuses the students when it comes to filling out their “preferences” of colleges.

To ensure that doesn’t happen, the table below mentions the top 25 medical colleges/universities that should be on the students’ radar i.e. the primary preferences must be between them.

How the NEET 2022 Will be Different

To start out, the NTA NEET exam will be much larger and widespread than its predecessor. This is primarily due to the increased number of exam centers this year. The NEET 2022 brochure says that keeping in mind the Covid-19 protocols, this year’s exam will be held in 543 cities all over India, and about 14 centers outside India.

Another factor why it’s “Bigger” than before is the fact that students will get some “extra time” for attempting the paper. This means that instead of 3 hours, the duration will be 3 hours and 20 minutes. The biggest reason for this was the incessant demands by the students.

They highlighted that although they had to attempt only 180 questions out of 200, they had to read all the 200 questions before making that choice. A duration of 180 minutes wasn’t enough for this. Thus, the NTA has now provided 200 minutes to attempt the paper.

Apart from this, candidates also need to remember that the fees for the NEET have also increased this year for all categories, which have been mentioned below.

No More Upper Age Limit

One of the biggest respites for the candidates giving the NTA NEET this year is that the “Upper age limit” has been done away with. This means that from now on, the General Category candidates above 25 years of age and Reserved Category candidates above 30 years of age can also give the NEET Exam.

The petition asking for this had been pending in the Hon’ble Supreme Court since 2018 and underwent multiple hearings. It was finally this year that Dr. Pulkesh Kumar (Secretary, NMC) and later the Union Education Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced the “removal of the upper age limit”.

Dr. Kumar further highlighted that the decision regarding the same had been taken in the 4th NMC meeting that was held on 21st October 2021.

The statement by the Education Minister perfectly captures how this decision will be beneficial to medical students and aspirants.

“Good news for the aspirants of NEET-UG! The National Medical Commission removes the fixed upper age limit for appearing in the NEET-UG examination. The decision will immensely benefit aspiring doctors and further help in strengthening medical education in the country,”

Final Words

One thing that is for certain as of now, is that the turnout for NEET 2022 is definitely going to be as much as last year, if not more. This is due to the increased number of exam centers in India and abroad.

Though the fees this year is quite high as compared to the previous ones, a respite for the students is the extra time given to attempt the paper properly. Additionally, there has been NO CHANGE currently in the pattern of the NEET Exam this year.

The only issue persisting regarding this exam is the recent demands by the students to postpone the NEET Exam 2022 by around 8-10 weeks. The reasoning given is that the NEET Counseling 2021 was recently concluded in March, while the 2022 exam was being held in July.

This gives just 3 months for the students to cover the vast NEET syllabus. Moreover, these 3 months would also see the Board Exams, CUCEt, JEE Mains, and other important examinations being held thus, clashing with the NEET schedule.

More on this shall be heard in the coming days/weeks. As of yet, the NTA NEET will be held on July 17th, 2022, while the registrations will last till May 6th, 2022.