By Last week, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced the date for The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2021. It will be conducted on August 1. In its official notification, the NTA confirmed that the exam will be held in the form of an offline, pen-and-paper test in a single session. The NEET is the entrance exam for admission to undergraduate medical courses like MBBS, BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery), AYUSH and BVSc (Bachelor of Veterinary Science) across India. They conduct separate exams. NEET is held in English and 11 regional languages including Hindi, Telegu Marathi and Bengali among others.
NEET is a mandatory test for admission to any medical college in India. Here are the eligibility criteria for the medical entrance test.
Age Limit: For general candidates, the age limit is 17 to 25 years (on or before 31st December of the year a student appears for the test). For the SC/ST/OBC/PWD category, the limit is 17 to 30 years
Qualification: Students have to appear for class 12 board exams before sitting for NEET. Their admission to a medical course will be confirmed if they clear the board exam. The student has to from the science background with physics, chemistry, biology and English as their subjects. While the marks criteria for eligibility is 50 per cent for general category students, examinees from SC, ST and OBC categories need 40 per cent in their 12th standard board exam. BSc. students with physics, chemistry and maths as their subjects can also appear for NEET.
Number of Attempts: Candidates are allowed to attempt the medical entrance test as many times as they can, till they hit the maximum age limit.
NTA will soon come up with the information bulletin for NEET 2021 with application dates, detailed exam schedule, pattern and marking scheme on the official website ntaneet.nic.in. However, procedures associated with the medical entrance exam are likely to remain the same as previous years. Here is a low-down on the steps that medical aspirants need to follow before and after the exam.
Applying for NEET 2021
After NTA releases the application form on its official website, medical aspirants need to follow these steps:
Step 1: Register themselves to generate login credentials. The details required for the registration process include name, mother’s name, father’s name, date of birth, gender, nationality, state of eligibility, category, person with Disabilities (if applicable), identification type, identification number, mobile number, email ID and security pin.
Step 2: Fill in the application form with necessary information like academic details of 11th and 12th standards including the marks obtained in English, physics, chemistry and biology. The additional information required include place of birth, choice of NEET examination centre , permanent and correspondence address, details of parents or guardians.
Step 3: Upload the required documents. Here are some of the important ones candidates need:
• Scanned JPG image of a passport size photograph.
• Scanned JPG image of own signature
• Scanned JPG image of own left-hand thumb impression
• Scanned JPG image of class 10 board exam marksheet
• Scanned JPG image of class 10 board exam certificate
Step 4: Pay the application fee. This can be done through credit card, debit card, net banking, UPI, Paytm.
Collecting NEET 2021 admit card
NTA releases the admit cards on its official website in the form of a link. Click o that link, enter your registration number, birth date, and a security pin. Click on the ‘Submit’ button and the card will appear on your screen. Down load it and have a print out with you. The admit card will carry the following details:
• Name of the candidate
• NEET 2021 roll number
• NEET registration number
• Date and time of the examination
• Father’s name
• Mother’s name
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Category/ Sub-category
• Address
• Medium (Language) of the examination
• Number and address of the exam centre
• Signature
Checking the answer keys
After the entrance exam is over, NTA will release the PDF of the provisional answer keys along with the OMR sheet on their official website, in the form of a downloadable link. Students will be allowed to question or challenge these answer keys by paying a fee. Final answer key will be released on the basis of candidates’ feedback. Answer keys allow students to cross-check their responses and have a rough estimate of their scores.
Checking NEET 2021 results
The final answer key is the basis of NEET result. The official website of NTA will display the all-India ranks of medical aspirants and come up with a list of category-wise cut-off marks. Here is how candidates can check their scores:
• Visit the official NTA website: www.nta.nic.in
• Click on the link that says ‘NEET UG 2021 result’.
• After clicking on the link, enter the required details: Roll Number and Date of Birth.
• Click on ‘Submit’, and the NEET 2021 scoreboard will appear on your screen.
• Download your result and take a print out.
Getting admission to a medical college
A week after the declaration of results and cut-offs, the process of the final selection for MBBS, BDS and many other UG medical courses kicks off. It includes various rounds of counselling sessions for candidates who have cleared the NEET cut off declared by the NTA. Seats are allotted to the students after the final round on the basis of their performance in the examination and the preferences they entered at the time of choice filling.
