NEET 2024 Proven Strategies By Aakash BYJU’S Expert

With only a few months left in the single largest medical examination in India, NEET UG, many aspirants are wondering what can be done in this remaining time to crack a tough exam like this one. Many students have been preparing for NEET UG for a long time, while some haven’t prepared that much and are in a dilemma of what to do next.

NEET 2024: Cutoff (OBC, SC, ST & General Category)

NEET 2024 Admission Guidance: Personalised | Study Abroad

NEET 2025: Syllabus | Most Scoring concepts | NEET PYQ's (2015-24)

NEET PYQ's & Solutions: Physics | Chemistry | Biology

To assist students with this, Careers360 brings you some master strategies to crack NEET 2024 by Aakash BYJU’S expert Nabin Kaarki. These master strategies can prove to be fruitful. Read the full article to know these master strategies and give your NEET 2024 preparation flying wings.

Careers360 - As the NEET 2024 is less than 3 months away and for candidates who haven’t started their preparation yet, is it too late for them now?

Expert - I hope anyone who is targeting for NEET examination must not be so ill-prepared that the preparation starts just 3 months before the exam. However, theoretically speaking nothing is too late to start, but if I am to be very honest, given the magnitude of the competition, and depth of the questions, if someone has not started yet. 3 months is very less for them. Beginning the preparation from scrap, preparing for NEET 2024 in 3 months is not enough.

Careers360 - How should candidates start preparing for NEET?

Expert - The NEET preparation requires a proper plan and time. The preparation is a very thoroughly planned journey, and more importantly how to prepare. Being a student one should ask themselves “why am I preparing for the NEET”, “Why do I really want to be a doctor”. There should be a purpose behind your NEET preparation. The first and foremost thing I would suggest to the beginners is to search for the “why”. You should have a clear goal and agenda about why you are preparing for the NEET.

The NEET preparation requires a dedicated 2 years, if you are going parallel with the school. Very rare cases are there, where students have cleared the NEET exam in 6 months. You should have a 2 year plan and the first thing you should know is the syllabus, have proper guidance, a mentor and a 2 year long dedicated commitment. Success doesn’t come instantly, it requires lots of hard work and patience.

Careers360 - Students who will be appearing for the second and third time, how should they go about it?

Expert - The students who have dropped out are always in a sense of guilt about whether they are making the right decision or not. There should not be an iota of doubt and iota of guilt. Everyone has their own timeline. It is not necessary that someone who gets admission two years late will always be two years late in their career. Remove the fear part and stick to your decision. The students have a misconception regarding NEET, they think that if something is difficult, then it is important. And this is where their strategy goes wrong. They invest their time and energy in the difficult part. Maybe that difficult question gives you a thrill and kick, but knowing whether that difficult part is contextual to the NEET exam is important to know. Look at past year's questions and, trend of exams. NCERT books are the holy books for NEET, tune with these books for your preparation. You should be psychologically ready before appearing in the exam.

Careers360 - What are some of the best subject-wise books to prepare for NEET 2024?

Expert - Without any iota of doubt, NCERT books for NEET are the best books for preparation without any brain. NCERT should be on your fingertips line by line. Every question within the chapters, solved, unsolved, even the solved examples, and even the points to remember. There is no alternative to this. Many times students open NCERT and they don’t want to spend time on it, and look for some other hacks.

There should be zero compromises when it comes to NCERT. For Biology, NCERT is the complete book, however, if students want some additional numerical or questions for practice, in that case, Concepts of Physics by HC Verma is a good book. Many times students face a genuine problem that when they start studying NCERT, they find it difficult to understand and don’t dive deep into it. In such cases, students can also go for the objective version of NCERT books.

Careers360 - We all know that online coaching has its own benefits, but for those who cannot enrol in any online courses, how do you think they can fill that gap and prepare better without any full-time help?

Expert - Frankly speaking if you ask me if NEET preparation without coaching can be done, my answer would be yes. But it will require 3 to 4 years because the NEET syllabus is very vast, deep and requires a lot of practice. So you always require professional help if you want to prepare parallel to the school.

In the case of online, I am not much in favour of online coaching. Instead, physical classrooms should be preferred. Online coaching should be considered only if there is no alternative option. You need to be very motivated and self-disciplined during the online coaching.

Physical classrooms have the benefits of live interaction with teachers, there is an environment to study and it also develops self-discipline. There is a very important thing which is called peer learning. When you are in the class and suddenly the teacher raises a question, and anyone sitting beside you answers that question, that triggers a big amount of inspiration that if he/she can answer that, then why can’t I? So physical classrooms should be preferred.

Careers360 - NEET syllabus 2024 has been reduced this year. What do you think will be the impact of the reduced syllabus on the difficulty level of the paper?

Expert - There will be no major difference. Altogether we have 55000 seats in medical colleges in pan India. And only 55000 students will be given admission irrespective of their score. You have to be better than others, if somebody has scored 10 and you have scored 11, then you have the upper hand. But if somebody has scored 80, then you have to score 81 no matter what, so that you come ahead in the competition. The syllabus has been reduced, but that syllabus reduction is the same for everyone. You need to study the same as before. Also, the pool for the questions has reduced, so there might be chances that now questions will be asked much deeper from the reduced syllabus. So there is not going to be any major difference in the difficulty level of the paper.

Careers360 - What is the perfect deadline to complete their NEET syllabus so that students can have enough time to have a proper revision?

Expert - Theoretically the deadline never ends, there will always be something missing. However students should finish their NEET syllabus at least 25 days before the exam, and then they should start their NEET preparation with mock tests in the final 25 days.

Careers360 - How many mock tests are enough for NEET 2024 preparation?

Expert - As I said nothing is enough, the preparation always goes in that way. But for the last 25 days, at least 2 NEET mock tests should be given per day. Altogether, given the magnitude of the competition, one should have exposure of 50 mock tests before appearing in the exam.

Careers360 - What should be the exam day strategy for NEET 2024? What subject should a student pick first?

Expert - The subject picking really depends on the individual’s aptitude. Some people are very good at mathematical aptitude, so they prefer physics first. But that's a very exceptional case. I myself am a physics teacher, but I have never found students to start with physics. Candidates who prepare for medical exams, they have a natural aptitude and flare towards biology, and it is a scoring subject also. So my NEET exam day strategy would be that one should start with biology and solve it quickly and save some time for chemistry and physics.

I would go with Biology, then chemistry and physics in the end. This is a tried and tested formula. Examination strategies are always the same - start with the easiest part, start with the one which you are more familiar with.

Watch the full interview on NEET 2024 preparation with the expert here -

Careers360 - How do you think candidates should handle stress during their preparation, as it is hectic preparing for such a big exam like NEET?

Expert - Stress is an overused word and many times we use the terminology stress for showing our convenience. The first and foremost thing is that preparation may be tiring, but you cannot say any tiring thing as stressful. If someone is interested in sports, after two hours of game, it may be tiring, but it is not stressful.

NEET is a demanding exam and it will be a tiring process. But if you are well into the whole process, you will start enjoying the whole game. Second thing is that many students believe in the concept of multitasking, which is disastrous. When you are in the study table with any particular subject, then your focus should be on that particular subject only. Be entirely with that subject at that time.

Taking stress will only result in a negative way, the thing you are preparing will not be fruitful and you will get tired unnecessarily. Make a schedule, follow a routine and continue it regularly so that you automatically start getting better results. If you do not do important things on time, those things will become urgent, and urgency always results in stress. So do not skip your schedule to avoid any urgency during your NEET preparation. Focus on important things rather than urgent things.

Careers360 - Boards exam are also coming. How can students handle both things at once?

Expert - The students should completely focus on board exams for now. The board exams will be from February to March 20, so don’t try to do multitasking. Doing so will only result in harm rather than benefit. So Focus completely on board, forget about the NEET. Once the board exams are over, then you can start your NEET preparation. Try to consolidate whatever you know and after 7-10 days of revision, follow the Mock test strategy. This way you will definitely utilise your preparation to the fullest.

Careers360 - What is the smart trick to understand physics smoothly?

Expert - There is a saying, “when you think you can, you certainly can and when you think you can’t, you are very right”. The biggest thing is to stop memorising the numericals, instead try to understand the corresponding concepts related to it. Practice numericals multiple times and don’t take any numericals for granted. Many times a student thinks that if he/she has solved that particular problem, then I can do it too. This is a very wrong misconception among students. Keep practising them yourself. Don’t make a misconception that Physics is very tough.

If you want to learn physics, then you should master the required tools of physics like derivative, integration, trigonometry and vectors. If you are in class 11, always make a separate notebook for physics and give it the title “Mathematics for Physics” and note down all the relevant formulas of physics in that notebook. And keep on revising those formulas on every alternate day. The mathematical and graph part is more difficult, so try to understand those things first.

Physics is a demanding subject and requires a lot of practice, so keep on practising. Make separate sheets for formulas, laws, and mathematical problems and keep on revising them continuously. Continuous revision is the key. If you keep doing so, you will find that Physics is an easy subject.

Careers360 - Should we focus majorly on Previous year questions for physics now?

Expert - No you should not be completely dependent on NEET previous year questions. Yes, doing PYQ is a necessary condition, but it's not a sufficient condition. You need to do multiple practice of different types of questions.

Careers360 - Can someone clear JEE by studying NEET Physics and Chemistry?

Expert - No! Absolutely not. Because there are different flavours of the JEE examination. If you are talking about JEE advanced, then it is not less than a crime even thinking about this. For JEE mains, there are some questions that may be of NEET level, otherwise, you will not be able to cover the JEE syllabus with the NEET Physics and Chemistry.

Careers360 - Is it important to read NCERT for physics as well?

Expert - Only reading is not enough, you have to understand the concepts very well. Try to go through the theory part, solved examples, unsolved examples and even exercises. Do your own survey about what type of questions have been asked from the NCERT. NCERT is the holy book for NEET preparation, hence it is important to go through NCERT books for physics.

Careers360 - NEET is conducted once a year, do you think it should be conducted twice a year so that the students get more chances?

Expert - Personally yes! And I think over time it would be conducted twice given that even board exams would also be conducted twice in upcoming years as per the New national education policy. Giving more chances is always a good idea. However, over 20 lakh candidates take the NEET exam and it is conducted in offline mode. Hence, maybe the organising committee can have some challenges in conducting it twice, but I am always in favour of it. As careers360 is a very recognised brand and platform, you should also raise this issue.

Careers360 - How important are revision notes for the NEET exam?

Expert - There is no alternative to this. It is something like how important water is. Human brain has a tendency that if you are reading something for the first time and if you try to recall it the next day, you will be able to remember only 19% of that thing. So continuous hammering is necessary with the help of revision. You should follow a revision strategy for NEET to revise all the important topics.

Even in Aakash the pedagogy we do is we create different varieties of tests so that students are compelled to revise. Given the fact neet exam is a fact-based exam, especially in Biology, without revision, it is not possible to memorise all the facts. Regularly make a habit to revise the syllabus bit by bit.

Careers360 - How to master organic chemistry?

Expert - There is no quick fix to master organic chemistry. Don’t search for any easy hack, there is no lack of knowledge nowadays. There is a vast range of platforms to learn, you just have to be consistent and keep doing what you are being taught by the teachers. Organic chemistry has its own nuances, like understanding the mechanism part, understanding the basic part, understanding the flow part. And you have to do this for every subject, you don’t have any specific different strategy.

Careers360 - Can you share some of the important topics of physics, chemistry and biology that students shouldn’t miss?

Expert - I don’t have these topics on my fingertips, but there is certainly a way to find out these important topics. All you need to do is make a list of chapters from where questions have been asked in the last 10 years. This will take about 1 to 2 hours, but it will be worth doing so. You will get an idea about how many questions have been asked from a particular topic.

For example in Physics, most of the questions have been asked about current electricity, ray optics, optical instruments, electrostatic potential and capacitance, moving charges and magnetism. Units and measurements is a topic which most students take lightly, but many questions have been asked in this chapter also. When you do this yourself, you will find lots of revelation about a particular topic which I was thinking of no importance, and several questions have been asked. Try to make this list in descending order so that you can get an idea about the most important topics.

Careers360 - Any message for the NEET aspirants?

Expert - You don’t have to do anything special. Give your best and the more you focus on the result, the more you will be nervous. Instead, focus on the process, and this is not only true for only the NEET exam, but in a candidate’s life too. You should focus on the present rather than focusing on the future. The more you focus on the result, nervousness and confusion will come up and it will paralyse your thought process.

Make a routine and follow it sincerely, and whatever happens, try to give it your best shot. With this thought process, the whole preparation will be fun and after 5 years there will not be any regrets in your mind that I should have given my best. Results will come and go, but that's another issue. After 5 years, the thing you will remember is I prepared for the exam to my fullest. The life lesson is that hard work never goes in vain. You may not see the result instantly, but you will always benefit from that. Just stay cool, stay normal.

If you remember, the hundredth century of Sachin Tendulkar came 7-8 months after his 99th century. The more you think about the result, the more you will panic. You will not be able to play normally. So just play normally, naturally and just think that whatever the condition, I will give my best.