By Minal Anand
NEET- the only door to take admissions in the premium medical institutions is quite hard to crack. It’s a competitive exam taken by lakhs of aspiring medical students. There’s fierce competition due to less number of seats. But, with strategic planning, determination, hard work and dedication, you can qualify and get good scores in the exam. It is not mandatory to join a coaching institute to ace the NEET exam. Understanding syllabus, strengthening concepts, revisions and preparing mind maps can be some of the possible methods to prepare for NEET exam at home. There are many online tutoring platforms that offer online or home tuitions too. Some of these platforms also provide practice test papers for students to solve and improve your speed and accuracy. Are you also a NEET aspirant? Then, check out these innovative methods while preparing for the exam at home.
Here are six innovative methods that can help students to crack NEET:
Understanding exam pattern: The first and foremost method of acing NEET is to understand its pattern and syllabus. Until and unless you are aware of the exam pattern &syllabus, you will not be able to ace it! Before starting your NEET preparations, focus on understanding the syllabus, try to look at each topic, check out each topic’s weightage and prepare accordingly. Covering NCERT books from Class 9th to 12th is must for the exam!
Prepare a schedule: Discipline is the key to ace in any competitive exam! Prepare a schedule before starting your NEET preparations. Dedicate time to each topic and subject. Also, include practice sessions when preparing it. Don’t forget to keep slots for your revision.
Strengthening concepts: There is no hard and fast rule for cracking NEET. It requires smart work, dedication and time management. You will be able to manage your time only if you have conceptual clarity. MCQs are based on concepts that are covered in each topic. So, clarify all your doubts beforehand so that you remain stress-free during exams. Tutor Sandeep Kumar suggests to avoid referring multiple books but rather focus on strong study material such as NCERT. This will also save the time spent on juggling between the study material
Revision: Revision is the deciding factor for exams like NEET. No matter how good you are as a student, you need to revise and go through each topic multiple times to remember the information that might help you in the exam. Due to stress and other factors, you might also become forgetful. Therefore, it’s best to revise before exams with a calm mind. Revision will help you to cope with your fear & anxiety when you appear for the exam. You can also take extra help from your tutor to utilise your revision time efficiently. This will help you to improve your confidence and build a positive mindset.
Prepare notes and cue cards: Oops! Are you struggling with the periodic table or are you unable to remember the scientific names of several species? Most students face such issues when preparing for NEET.That’s why, not just revision but taking notes when studying is equally important. Did you know? Our brain recollects and remembers what we write more thanwhat we listen or just study. Tutor Shweta Varshney, suggests to prepare short notes with important topics, formulae, mention small tricks, draw diagrams, prepare cue cards. This will help you to revise concepts easily without going through the textbooks.
Solve mock tests and previous years’ question papers: There is only one way to improve speed and accuracy- practice! Once you familiarize yourself with all the topics and concepts, then attempt a few mock tests and solve previous years’ question papers to understand the pattern of questions asked in the exam. DrAshleshaGogoi suggests not to fear the tests. They will train your mind to remain more focused and manage time during the exam.There are many platforms that allow students to solve as many mock tests as they want. Utilize these resources.
Final results depend on a lot of factors and preparation is a long journey. Ensure that you are preparing for exams with a calm mind. Avoid over thinking at any cost rather you should just focus on your studies. Take short breaks in between your studies, meditate, involve in some kind of physical activities and keep your stress levels under control.
The author is founder, CEO at GuruQ.
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