NEET 2022: Application Form, Exam Date , Syllabus, Eligibility, Pattern, Question Papers

NEET 2022 exam date is likely to be announced in the fourth week of March. NTA has revamped the NEET website, which is an indication that the NEET 2022 notification and information brochure will be released soon. As per reports, NEET UG 2022 is likely to be held on a Sunday of the third or fourth week of June. Accordingly, the NEET UG registration 2022 will commence in the first week of April. Generally, the application window for NEET lasts a month, but depending on the situation and the number of registrations received, the application and fee payment deadline may be extended by a week. There has been no official announcement on the NEET 2022 exam date yet. On March 9, NMC has announced that the upper age limit for candidates has been waived off. Earlier, the upper age limit for General and reserved category candidates was 25 years and 30 years respectively. Generally, the Union Minister of Education announces the date of the exam after which the National Testing Agency (NTA) releases the notification and information brochure. Although the exam authorities are mulling the idea of conducting NEET twice a year, it is most likely that NEET UG 2022 will be conducted over a single and single slot window for a duration of three hours.

What is NEET?

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is the sole entrance test for admission to MBBS and BDS courses in India. The exam is conducted once a year in offline mode for a duration of three hours. The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the medical entrance exam for admission to MBBS, BDS, BSc Nursing, AYUSH, Veterinary, and other medical/paramedical courses in India. Over 15 lakh candidates appear for the NEET UG exam every year. The exam is conducted in 13 languages in exam centres located in India and abroad (Dubai and Kuwait).

NEET 2022 Highlights

The following table enlists the key features and highlights of NEET 2022.

NEET 2022 Exam Dates and Events (Tentative)

The following table brings the list of events related to NEET 2022 and the schedule for those.  

NEET UG 2022 Application Form

NEET 2022 application process will be completely online wherein applicants will have to visit the NEET 2022 official website and complete the procedure given in the following steps:

• Visit the NEET 2022 official website
• Click on the tab indicating the application form
• Read all the instructions and register with personal details such as name, contact details, password, etc. to generate the application number and password
• After the credentials are generated, log in and fill the application form with personal and educational details, exam medium and exam city preference and photograph and signature upload
• Pay the application fee in online mode through credit/debit card, net banking, Paytm and UPI

The category-wise NEET 2022 application fees are given in the below table:

The above-mentioned fee amount is that of last year. In case it is changed, the same would be updated in the table. Refer to the video on how to apply for NEET. The video was created based on last year’s NEET registration process and will be updated as and when the NEET application process 2022 is opened. The NEET UG 2022 application process will be divided into two stages. In the first stage, the registration process of NEET has to be completed before the exam in order to be eligible for appearing for the exam. The second stage of the NEET 2022 registration process will be conducted after the exam is conducted and before the declaration of result. NTA will also provide an application correction window in both stages of NEET 2022 registration. Unless candidates fill up and submit the NEET second phase registration form, they will not be considered for counselling or admission even if they qualify for NEET.

NEET 2022 Eligibility Criteria

NEET UG 2022 aspirants who wish to apply for the entrance test are advised to check if they fit into the criteria specified by NTA. Candidates who fulfil the following parameters are eligible for NEET UG 2022

Nationality:

Citizens or applicants belonging to the following nationalities are eligible to apply for NEET:

• Indian Nationals
• Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)
• Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)
• Persons with Indian Origin (PIO)
• Foreign Nationals

Age Limit:

The age limit or age criteria for NEET candidates are as follows:

• The minimum age of a candidate as of December 31, 2022, should be 17 years.
• The upper age limit of 25 years for General category candidates and 30 years for reserved category candidates have been removed by NMC.

Minimum qualification:

Applicants should fulfil the educational qualification mentioned below:

• Candidate must have cleared Class 12 or equivalent from a recognised institute and Board.
• Candidates who are appearing for Class 12 or equivalent in 2022 can also apply for NEET 2022.
• Candidates who have completed Class 12 or equivalent from an open school are also eligible.

Mandatory subjects:

• Candidate must have cleared Class 12 or equivalent with Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
• Candidates who have passed Class 12 or equivalent with Biology as an additional subject are also eligible.

Minimum marks required in the qualifying examination:

• General category: 50 per cent
• PWD category: 45 per cent
• SC/ST/OBC: 40 per cent

Also Read: NEET 2022 eligibility criteria

NEET 2022 Upper Age Limit Removal: Students React to the Milestone Decision

NEET 2022 Admission Process

The admission process of NEET involves stages, which are given below:

• Filling and submitting NEET application form
• Downloading NEET 2022 admit card
• Appearing for the NEET 2022 exam
• Release of NEET 2022 answer keys
• Declaration of NEET 2022 result
• NEET 2022 counselling

Aspirants can go through the steps in detail here on this page.

NEET 2022 Exam Centres 

It is expected that there will be approximately 4,000 NEET 2022 exam centres located in over 200 cities of India and abroad. Last year, NEET was conducted at 3,855 centres in 202 cities of India, Dubai and Kuwait. Candidates will have to choose four test cities in order of preference while filling the application form. The final allotted NEET exam centre 2022 will be notified to them on the admit card. According to NTA, the maximum and the minimum number of test-takers were registered in NEET exam centres of Jaipur and Kavaratti (Lakshadweep Islands) respectively. Check the complete list of NEET 2022 exam centres

NEET UG 2022 Syllabus

The NEET 2022 syllabus comprises three subjects, namely Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The syllabus is the same as that of CBSE Class 11 and Class 12. However, a few topics of the syllabus are not taught in these classes. Candidates are advised to go through the syllabus before they start preparing for the entrance test. It is expected that the NEET syllabus 2022 will remain the same as that of last year.

NEET 2022 Exam Pattern

The exam pattern of NEET was changed by NTA last year. The total number of questions was increased from 180 to 200. However, the number of questions to be attempted was 180. Each subject or section was divided into two sections, Section A and Section B. While the former carried 35 questions, the latter carried 15 questions. In Section B, candidates had to answer 10 questions out of 15 questions. The duration of the exam was three hours. Each question carried four answer options and test-takers had to mark the correct answer option on the OMR sheet. It is expected that the NEET 2022 exam pattern will remain the same as last year.

NEET 2022 Preparation Tips

Candidates preparing for NEET 2022 should first be familiar with the exam pattern and syllabus. After that, they need to shortlist the books to refer for NEET 2022 preparation. To complete the topics in the syllabus, one must refer to NCERT books. Candidates must prepare a timetable for NEET preparation. This should be followed for completing the preparation on time. Another important aspect of NEET UG preparation is solving mock tests and sample papers. Since the weightage of all sections is equal in the exam, aspirants should give equal focus on all sections or subjects to secure a balanced score. After taking regular mock tests, students would develop an understanding of their strong and weak areas and should channelise their subject or topic-wise preparation accordingly.

NEET 2022 Mock Test

NEET mock tests are generally released by NTA to help aspirants prepare for the exam. The mock tests can be taken in online mode, although the actual exam is conducted in offline or paper-pencil based mode. Candidates can take offline mock tests for the exam which are conducted by the coaching institutes to assess their preparation. After taking the mock test, it is necessary to analyse it to understand the gaps and improve their performance by changing the preparation strategy accordingly. The mock tests are of various difficulty levels. The difficulty level of the questions in these mock tests ranges from very easy to difficult. Candidates who solve the mock tests gain experience in solving a variety of questions thus preparing them for the exam day.

NEET 2022 Admit Card

The NEET 2022 admit card is expected to be released a week before the exam in online mode. To download the NEET admit card 2022, registered candidates will have to log in to the official website with their NEET 2022 application number/Roll Number and password and download the hall ticket in PDF format. After downloading the admit card, candidates have to take a printout of the same and paste a recent postcard-sized photograph (preferably the same as the one uploaded with the application form) in the space provided in 4″x6″ dimensions. Also, candidates have to get it signed by a parent/guardian before the document verification. They may leave the candidate signature section blank and sign it in front of the counselling officials. Along with the personal details, candidates will be able to check the instructions and guidelines on the NEET admit card 2022. The admit card of NEET will be a mandatory document to be carried at the exam centre without which they will not be allowed entry.

NEET 2022 Dress Code

Due to a large number of test-takers, the NTA follows strict policies to maintain the discipline and fairness of NEET. One of the important policies is the dress code for NEET 2022. NTA has prescribed a particular dress code for the examination day. Below are a few important pointers about the dress code for NEET UG 2022:

• Light coloured clothes with half sleeves were allowed but long/full sleeves were not permitted
• Ornaments such as earrings, necklaces with pendants, rings, anklets, etc. were not permitted
• Candidates wearing a customary dress pertaining to any religion, in particular, had to report to the examination centre at least an hour before the last reporting time
• Slippers and sandals with low heels were permitted. Shoes were not permitted.

NEET 2022 Exam Day Guidelines

NTA releases exam day guidelines for the exam day to help candidates stay calm and have a hassle-free day. Last year, some additional exam day guidelines were issued by NTA for NEET. These guidelines were released in view of the exam being conducted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Candidates can refer to the general guidelines for NEET UG 2022 exam day that are given below:

• Candidates have to reach the exam centre at least an hour before the reporting time, i.e. 12.30 pm, so that they can undergo the security checks and frisking procedure properly.  
• Candidates have to take the allotted seat.
• They have to paste their passport size photograph on the admit card.
• The exam is video recorded by the conducting authorities and candidates had to agree to it. They have to keep their head in an upright position and face the camera so that their identity could be clearly established.
• To ensure COVID-19 safety protocols, masks are provided to all candidates at the exam centres and staggered entry, exit, contactless registration and seating arrangement with the maintenance of social distancing is ensured.

• NEET Question Paper Analysis
• According to the NEET 2021 analysis, the difficulty level of the exam was moderate. Most students felt that Physics was difficult, Chemistry was moderate and Biology was easiest. The new exam pattern was considered to be time-consuming and the majority of the test-takers did not find it much conducive. No technical glitches were reported in the exam by any of the students that Shiksha interviewed.
• NEET 2022 Question Paper
• NEET 2022 question papers will be released by NTA on the day of the exam. Since NEET is a paper-pencil based test (PBT), test-takers will be able to carry the hard copy of the NEET question paper 2022 outside the exam hall. The question paper of NEET is divided into four sets, each further divided into six sub-sets. Last year, the NEET question paper codes were named M (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 and M6), N (N1, N2, N3, N4, N5 and N6), O (O1, O2, O3, O4, O5 and O6) an P (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6). Although the questions vary in the different sets of question papers, uniformity in terms of topics and difficulty level are maintained across the question papers. The NEET 2022 question paper booklet will carry a total of 200 questions out of which 180 questions have to be attempted from the Physics, Chemistry and Biology sections. The language or medium of NEET question paper is 13 including English and Hindi. Last year, two new languages were added, Punjabi and Malaylam. Candidates will have to submit the OMR sheet but carry the booklet outside the exam hall. NEET question papers of previous years are released by NTA on the official website of NEET and aspirants can solve those for practice purpose.

NEET 2022 Answer Keys

NEET answer keys refer to the correct answer choice for each question of the exam. By utilising the marking scheme, test-takers can calculate an estimated score. The NEET 2022 answer key will be released both officially and unofficially. On the day of the NEET 2022 exam, coaching institutes will release unofficial NEET answer keys, which can be utilised to calculate an estimated score. NTA will release the provisional answer keys of NEET 2022 within a month of conducting the test. Candidates can submit objections or challenge one or more NEET 2022 answer key by paying a fee of INR 1,000 per question. The final NEET answer key will be released along with the result.

NEET 2022 Result

NEET result 2022 is likely to be released in the fourth week of July. It is likely that the NEET 2022 scorecard will be sent to candidates via email and then on the official website. To download the NEET 2022 result, candidates will have to login through NEET application number and date of birth. The NEET result or scorecard will carry test takers’ subject-wise and overall scores, percentile and All India Rank (AIR). Last year, out of 15,44,275 candidates who appeared for the exam, 8,70,074 candidates qualified for the exam. Refer to the table below to know the category-wise qualifying cut off pre-defined by the Medical Council of India.

NEET 2022 Counselling Process

After the declaration of the result, the NEET 2022 counselling process will be conducted within a month. The NEET counselling 2022 will be conducted for 15 per cent All India Quota (AIQ) seats and 85 per cent State Quota seats. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) will conduct the AIQ counselling process and the respective state authorities will conduct the State Counselling for NEET 2022. There will be four rounds of counselling, Round 1, Round 2, mop-up round and stray-vacancy round. Upon the release of the NEET 2022 counselling notification, qualified candidates will have to register by filling up the form, uploading the necessary documents and paying the registration fee. The next step is the choice filling and locking. Once the seat allocation order is released, candidates will have to download it and report to the institute and complete the admission formalities to claim the seat. They may not accept the seat in the first round and participate in the second round for upgrading their seat. In case candidates are not allotted a seat in both rounds, they will be eligible to participate in the mop-up and stray-vacancy rounds.

Courses Offered Through NEET

NEET UG is the gateway to admission to multiple medical and paramedical courses:

• MBBS
• BDS
• Ayurvedic Medicine
• Homoeopathy Medicine
• Unani Medicine
• Siddha Medicine
• Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry
• BSc (Hons) Nursing
• Bachelor of Physiotherapy
• Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
• Bachelor of Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology
• Bachelor of Prosthetics and Orthotics.

In India, there are a total of 542Medical, 313Dental,914AYUSH, and 47 BVSc & AH colleges that will accept NEET 2021 scores. There are a total of 15 AIIMS and two JIPMER campuses that also accept this exam score for admission. This year, BSc (Hons) Nursing course admission will also take place through NEET but the seat matrix is yet to be released.