NEET

NEET (National Eligibility and Entrance Test)

National Eligibility and Entrance Test or NEET is the one examination which would be considered for filling about 54,000 medical seats across the country. As per the Supreme Court's order, NEET 2016 and now NEET 2017 would be the only examination to be undertaken to fill the All India Quota Seats as well as the State Level Quota seats across the country. This examination is also valid for applying to private colleges across the country.

 NEET Eligibility

• The candidate must have completed 17 years of age as or on December 31, 2017
• The candidate must have passed class 12th examination with a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate, and must have passed in the subjects Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology and English individually.
• In respect of the candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC categories, the marks obtained in Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Biotechnology taken together in HSC examination is 40% marks.
• The candidate applying for NEET must be an Indian citizen.
• The upper age limit for candidates seeking admission through NEET is 25 years as or on December 31, 2017. Further, for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Categories there is a relaxation of 5 years.
Candidates failing to meet the above mentioned criteria shall not permitted to apply for NEET 2017. 

NEET 2017 Important dates

NEET 2017	Dates
Availability of application form	First half of January 2017
Last date to submit the application form (without late fee)	Last week of January 2017
Last date to submit the application form (with late fee)	Last week of January 2017
Receipt of confirmation page in CBSE	Last week of January 2017
Admit Card Release Date	First week of April 2017
NEET 2017 Exam Date	7th May 2017
Result Declared	First week of June 2017
NEET Counselling	After Result Announcement

 NEET Exam pattern

The exam covers the topics from Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology. Candidates appearing for NEET shall prepare thoroughly in order to secure a good score.

Subject	Number of questions
Physics	45
Chemistry	45
Botany	45
Zoology	45
Total	180

The duration of the paper is 3 hours. Each correct answer attracts 3 marks and 1 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. For every unanswered question, marks are neither be awarded nor be deducted.

Understanding the All India Quota Seats

• It is important for students/ aspirants to understand the All India Seat Quotas. Understanding the quota would help when they fill the NEET 2017 Application Form.
• There are three different kinds of seats available in all Medical Colleges across the country. In the Government Medical Colleges of the country, there is a 15 percent All India Quota.
• Students from any part of the country can apply for the 15 percent seats. For instance, say one government medical college in State A has a total of 100 seats. Out of these 100,
• 15 seats would be reserved for All India Quota. These seats are then further divided into reserved and general category.

Seat reservation for NEET:

Category	Percentage of seats reserved
General	47.5%
OBC-NC	27%
SC	15%
ST	7.5%
Physically handicapped	3%

Also, there is a further horizontal reservation for Persons with disability of 3 percent. In case the candidates for the same are not available then the seats are allotted to the individuals belonging to that category. For instance, there are two students who both belong to the OBC category and are contending for the 4th seat, but one student has a physical handicap as well. Then that candidate would get the preference of the 4th seat before the other OBC candidate.

Point to remember

Students while filling the form would be asked to provide their preference. They can opt for both the All India Quota Seats as well as the State Level seats. The selection, however, would be based on the Merit Lists created by CBSE. CBSE would release two Merit Lists - one for the All India Rank and another for the State Level Ranks. Students would be accordingly called for counseling. Hence, students should be very clear while filling the forms for NEET 2017. Understanding how the seats would be allotted can help you decide which colleges to opt for.