The NEET is a highly competitive entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency. It comes as no surprise that roughly around 15 to 20 lakh students take the NEET exam each year in the hopes of getting into prestigious medical institutes. For the first time, 18.72 lakh students registered for the NEET undergraduate entrance exam in 2022. The registrations saw an increase of 2.57 lakh candidates from 2021. Additionally, for the first time, there are more than 10 lakh female candidates who have registered for the NEET exam.
As of now, the NEET 2022 written exam has come to an end. It took place on July 17 from 2 pm to 5:20 pm. The exam happened in over 500 plus cities and 3000 plus exam centres. Here, let us have an overview of the NEET 2022 exam.
Who Can Apply?
It is important to go through the eligibility criteria before applying for any competitive exam. First and foremost, any candidate who has appeared or passed the Class 12 or equivalent exam is eligible to apply for the NEET exam. Also, the candidate must have taken Chemistry, Physics, English, and Biotechnology/Biology as the main subjects in their examinations. They should have passed the exam at the time of counselling with a minimum of 50% marks in the science field. This mark is reduced to 40% for reserved category students. Recently, the NMC has updated the requirements for NEET 2022 eligibility. The 25-year maximum age restriction has been eliminated. As of December 31 2022, applicants must be at least 17 years old to submit an application.
Furthermore, any Indian, NRI, PIO, or OCI candidate can apply for the exam if they wish to pursue medicine in India.
NEET 2022 Exam
The NEET 2022 written exam just happened on the 17th of July. Lakhs of students attempted this exam, which was considered moderate in terms of difficulty. The NEET answer keys and question papers will soon be made available on the official website of NTA (National Testing Agency). The scanned image of the OMR response sheet of each candidate is also uploaded to the website. The following are the highlights of the exam:
- The exam comprised four science subjects, each carrying 45 MCQs.
- Each objective question carried four marks. Thus, in total, 180 questions from all four subjects will fetch 720 marks.
- These 180 questions are to be answered within a 200-minute time limit.
- Incorrect answers will cost a negative mark, and unattended questions will fetch no marks. Thus, students can score anywhere between -180 to +720 marks.
- Also, in case of any discrepancy in the question, like all or none of its options are correct, then four marks will be awarded to such questions.
This year, around 95% of the registered candidates attended the exam. This makes up around 17 lakh candidates, which are more than last year’s registration.
NEET Results
Once the answer key and OMR response sheets are uploaded to the official website, students can challenge the same by paying a certain amount as a fee. This will be followed by the NEET UG results. To download the NEET result for 2022, students must enter their roll number and date of birth on the official website.
The result comprises the cut-off, percentile as well as ranks. The all India merit list will include candidates who achieve the required cut-off marks. Any candidate clearing the qualifying cut-off and percentile is eligible to appear for the counselling process. Such candidates should register online for the AIQ and state quota counselling process. For all available undergraduate medical courses, the MCC or Medical Counselling Committee will make the information regarding the counselling. Finally, candidates can join their desired medical institute after verifying their documents and eligibility during the counselling.
