All you need to know before applying for NEET

Make sure that you carefully read the public notice and information bulletin before applying.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2020 would be the only medical entrance examination for all the candidates who wish to apply for the MBBS or BDS courses in the country. There is no need to apply separately for the entrance tests to secure admissions to the 15 centers of the All Indian Medical Sciences and the Puducherry and Karakal centers of the JIPMER. The admissions to all the 1407 seats in these institutes would be done based on the scores of the NEET exam conducted by the National testing Agency (NTA).

The candidates could apply for the NEET online through the website. The detailed instructions are updated on this website. Make sure that you carefully read the public notice and information bulletin before applying. Candidates shouldn’t submit more than one application.

Visit the websites www.mohfw.gov.in, www.mcc.nic.in for information on the all India quotas, central and deemed universities and the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune. Detailed information about the ayurveda, siddha, homeo and unani counseling are available in the websites www.ayush.gov.in and www.aaccc.gov.in.

Eligibility

Candidates who have passed 12th standard with an aggregate of 50% in physics, chemistry and biology (or biotechnology) can apply for NEET. Scheduled and backward castes require 40% and differently abled candidates should score 45%. Those are preparing for the class 12 examination too can apply for NEET. They have to submit the mark lists during the time of the first round counseling session.

The candidates should be over 17 years before 31st December 2020; however they should not be more than 25 years before the date of the exam. The candidates from the scheduled and backward communities and persons with disabilities will have an age relaxation up to 30 years. The case related to fixing the age limit as 25 years is under the consideration of the Supreme Court. Those who are past 25 would be allowed to write the exam by securing a temporary verdict from the apex court.

Those who secure at least 50 percentile score in the NEET exam would be eligible for the admissions. The candidates from scheduled and backward communities require 40 percentile and 45 percentile for people with disabilities.

Seats for the scheduled caste/tribe/backward/economically backward classes have been reserved 15/7.5/27/10% respectively in the central universities and institutes. There are special reservations for candidates who are differently abled. Email: neetug-nta@nic.in. Phone: 0120 – 6895200.

Separate application for Kerala

Apart from the NEET application, the candidates who seek medical entrance in Kerala should submit separate applications along with the candidates who apply for the engineering and BPharm courses. However, admissions to the MBBS, BDS, homeopathy, ayurveda, unani, vetnary, agriculture, and forestry and fisheries courses would be done only on the basis of the NEET rank.

The candidates who deserve admissions in Kerala would be selected from the NEET rank list; a separate state rank list that includes only their names would be prepared. The admissions to the medical colleges in Kerala would be done based on this rank list. For instance, if the first four candidates who are eligible for admissions in Kerala get 8, 73, 154 and 207 ranks in NEET, their ranks in the state list would be noted as 1,2,3,4 respectively. The entrance exam commissioner would do the selection and seat allotment based on the state rank list and the reservation criterion in Kerala.

MCC

The Medical Counseling Committee affiliated to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is responsible for the allotment process to the 15% MBBS / BDS seats online in all the medical/ dental colleges in the country. The allotment would be done based on the choices uploaded by the candidates in the website.

The same counseling process is applicable for all the seats in the central and deemed universities, ESIC, AFMC, 15 AIMS centers, 2 JIPMER centers, and the universities of Delhi, Banaras and Aligarh. However, the admission procedure at these institutes would be based on their individual criterion including the reservation quotas. For example, a separate application would be simultaneously received through the website www.afmc.nic.in for admission to the AFMC. The students who are included in the list handed over by the counseling committee would be selected after a screening process that includes special tests.

If seats remain vacant in the all India quota even after two rounds of admissions, those seats would be transferred to the respective states. Then follows the mop - up round, for the deemed and central universities, central institutes, ESIC and AFMC. In case singular seats are still vacant, a list that includes ten times more candidates would be sent to the central/deemed universities. However, this system may change.

The all India quotas and the subsequent admission to a medical college in particular states involve complex process and criterion. There may be strict criteria, including the ones that bar a student from taking part in counseling somewhere else in India or drop the course, after they have submitted their choice in the second round. The candidates and their parents should study and understand all these instructions and criteria to make good use of the available opportunities. It is important to spend the next 5 months preparing and training for the highly competitive NEET exam that helps you secure admission in the leading medical colleges in the country.

Dress code

There is a strict dress code for the candidates who appear for the NEET examination. They should only wear clothes in light colors. It shouldn’t be full sleeved; the candidates cannot wear shoes. However, those who seek relaxation in dress code due to cultural or religious reasons should reach the exam center by 12.30 pm. The candidates who cannot follow the dress code due to health issues should get the permission from the NTA before the admit card is issued.

Application fee

The application fee for the general category is Rs 1500. Meanwhile, the candidates belonging to the backward castes and economically backward classes need to pay Rs 1400.

Schedules castes and transgender candidates and persons with disability have to pay an application fee of Rs 800.

You will have to pay additional service / processing charges and 18% GST as well.

Duration

The candidates need to answer 180 objective type questions in 180 minutes. There would be 45/45/90 questions from the Physics/Chemistry/Biology streams respectively. Every question would have four options from which the candidates have to choose the right answer. The right answers carry 4 marks each; however there would be a negative marking of 1 mark for every wrong answer. The questions would be in 11 languages including English; there is no Malayalam.

Calculators and logarithm tables are not allowed inside the exam hall. The detailed syllabus is available in the information bulletin.

Post card size photos

Documents and photos have to be uploaded in the JPG/JPEG format during the time of application.

Make sure that the following items are uploaded in the required size and format.

Latest passport size photo (file size 10 – 200 KB)

Post card size photo 4”x6” (50 – 300 KB)

Signature (4 – 30 KB); it should be in black ink on white paper

Left thumb impression (10 – 50 KB); if the candidate cannot take this, then the right thumb impression should be taken.

The pass certificate of class 10 (100 – 400 KB)

Remember these

Do not wait for the last date for submitting the application.

The application number and the fee confirmation page from the website should be kept for further use.

Changes in the application form will not be allowed after 15th January.

Fee could be paid through SBI/Syndicate/HDFC/ICICI/Paytm payment gateways.

NRA, OCA and PIO candidates also can apply.

Open school or private registration students cannot apply. However, their applications would be considered based on special ruling of the court.

As there could be changes in the instructions and criteria, keep visiting the website for latest updates. 

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