NEET PG 2026 is a tough nut to crack, but that does not mean that one cannot clear it in the first attempt. Read on to know how to crack NEET PG 2026 in the first attempt by following four simple steps.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for postgraduate medical courses, popularly known as NEET PG, is the single entrance test for admission to nearly all the medical colleges in India. Barring a few institutes such as AIIMS, JIPMER and PGIMER, all the other institutes in India accept the scores of NEET PG for admission to the MD/MS courses. This raises the bar of the examination, making it difficult to score above a certain percentile if you are not well prepared. But, this does not mean that NEET PG 2026 cannot be qualified in the first attempt. There are many toppers who have cracked the NEET PG exam in the first attempt. The most important fact is your strategy and dedication to it.
Explore colleges based on NEET PG
NBE will announcd NEET PG 2026 date. The exam will be conducted in computer-based mode for admission to various MD (Doctor of Medicine)/ MS (Master in Surgery) and PG Diploma courses across the country. NEET PG test paper will comprise 200 questions of 800 marks and candidates will get 3.5 hours to solve them.
Before starting NEET PG preparation, candidates need to have plan and strategies in place. Effective time management is crucial for the preparation. First of all take stock of the situation where actually you stand in terms of preparation. You should ask yourself following questions:
- Which are the topics your are confident at
- Which are the subjects which needs more attention
- Which are the subjects where you need to start from scratch
- What are your srength and weakness
These are some of the prembles of your preparation strategies. Following after make daily schedule allocating specific time for each subject. Try to cover those subjects first where you feel confident of scoring well. Try to finish syllabus at least a month before exam.
NEET PG is a higher-level exam with a high level of competition. The NEET PG exam syllabus is extensive and covers all 19 subjects that a medico studies during the MBBS. The student's preparation time is also limited, and they must balance coursework and an internship.
This leaves little to no time to prepare for the NEET PG. A student works an internship at a hospital before the NEET PG exam, and the shifts are unpredictable. A lack of preparation time combined with intense competition makes NEET PG a difficult nut to crack. At the same time, it is not impossible task to score well in the exam. Candidates only need proper preparation, planning, and consistent efforts. What matters is that you believe in yourself and work towards your goal.
Cracking NEET PG 2026 in the first attempt needs meticulous planning and strategy. Based on the advice given by the experts and toppers, we have compiled a few tips and tricks on how to crack NEET PG in the first attempt. These four steps will ensure that you qualify for the examination in one go. Read on to know more.
How to crack NEET PG 2026 in the first attempt?
Start preparing early
The earlier you start working on something, the earlier you will see results.
The first step is to start preparing for NEET PG while still in college. Many students feel that they can complete the preparation for NEET PG during their internship and do not pay much attention to NEET PG 2025 preparation during the 4.5 years of their college life. However, this is the ideal time to start your preparation. If you start your NEET PG preparation while still in college, you can finish making the notes during these years. Because you will be attending the lectures for various topics, these notes will have far more important details than those prepared hastily during the internship. Also, this will give you enough time to clear the doubts if any, during the lectures.
Coaching or not?
NEET PG 2025 question paper was difficult as compared to last year. The overall difficulty level of the question paper was moderate to difficult. More than 80 pecent questions were based on clinical scenerio. A good number of questions were asked from topics such as Surgury, Gynaecology (OBS GYNE) and other topics. 160-170 questions were easy to attempt.
Anatomy- Pulse + Rajesh Kaushal notes Physiology- Soumen Manna Biochem- Rebecca James Pathology- Devesh Mishra Pharmacology- Ranjan Kumar Patel Forensic- Submit Seth Microbiology- Apurba Sastry ENT- Manisha Opthalmology - Sudha Seetharam SPM- Vivek Jain Medicine- Mudit Khanna Pediatrics- Sushanta Bhanja Surgery- Pritesh + Surgery Sixer by RRM Gynae & Obs- Unit Bhojani Orthopedics- Apurv Mehra Radiology- Summer Seth Skin- Pulse.
Candidates expect to devote many hours to crack any competitive exams. This rule applies in NEET exam also. Candidates have to devote serious 5-7 hours daily to prepare the exam throughly. Experts belive candidates should utilize this time with proper planning. They should have strategies in place how to use these hours to cover in and out of every topic of NEET PG syllabus. Some candidates may require more time than daily than others and this may depends on many factors especially where they actually stand before starting preparation.
The next step is to decide whether or not you want to enrol with a coaching institute. Coaching institutes plan your study in a systematic manner, but that does not mean that you cannot clear NEET PG without enrolling into one. If you decide to take the other road by not enrolling into a coaching institute, you will have to plan your NEET PG preparation strategy on your own. In any case, you must find yourself a mentor to guide you during this phase.
Also Read: How to prepare for NEET PG at home?
Fill the gaps by completing the syllabus
Since the college examinations are mostly subjective, barring those 20 MCQs in the first section of the question paper, the approach while preparing for these examinations is different. While every student tries to complete the syllabus, their primary focus is the common long answer questions that are asked in these examinations. This leads to a lot of gaps and incomplete preparation. While preparing for NEET PG, you must address these gaps. Students who start their preparation while still in college have fewer gaps in NEET PG 2026 syllabus as compared to others. This is primarily due to the fact that their preparation strategy is different from the beginning. They not only prepare for the internal examinations but also for NEET PG. Nevertheless, whenever you start your preparation, focus on those topics/chapters that were missed earlier.
Also Read: How many subjects are there in NEET PG?
Practice
The last tip is to get enough practice before the exam day. NEET PG questions papers, mock tests and sample papers, you need to solve all these before you attempt the final examination. Practicing will help you gain speed while trying to maintain accuracy. Practicing will also ensure that you do not get overwhelmed on the exam day and attempt the question paper with a calm mind.
Read More:
Mukul Mishra is a master degree holder in science with more than 10 years of experience in medical content writing and editing. Having nose for news and development in medical education field, he has been a recogniz
Read Full BioNews & Updates
Explore Other Exams
18 Jun '20 | Result (July 2020 session) |
11 Jun '20 | Exam day (July 2020 session) |
27 Jun '20 | |
21 Jun '20 | JIPMER PG 2020 Exam - July 202... |
Feb '26 | NEET Registration 2026 |
Feb '26 | NEET 2026 Notification |
Jun '20 | AIIMS MBBS 2020 Results |
May '20 | AIIMS MBBS 2020 Exam |
Jan '26 | OJEE 2026 registrations |
Mar '26 | OJEE 2026: Last date of fee pa... |
Jul '22 | DAVV CET 2022 Registration |
14 Nov '25 - 22 Apr '26 | PU CET (UG) 2026 Application F... |
24 Apr '26 | PU CET (UG) 2026 Registration ... |
Jan '26 | NTA CMAT 2026 Exam Date |
21 Jan '26 - 30 Jan '26 | NTA JEE Main 2026 Exam Date Se... |
Student Forum
Answered 4 days ago
The Shivaji University NEET PG Cutoff 2025 was released till Round 2 for all categories under the All India quota. For the General AI category, the cutoff ranged from 5391 to 93592 for admission to the , wherein MD in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and MS in ENT were t
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
Yes. MCC has announce round-3 NEET PG 2025 counselling dates and schedule will be announced only after reduction of NEET PG 2025 cutoff percentile. MCC may reduce cutoff by 10 to 15 percentile. Students will have to register and declare choice of college and course for round-3 seat allotment.
A
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 4 days ago
MCC reduces NEET PG cutoff to fill vacant seats remain after starting two rounds. It is being said students who score top rank wish to get top branches and colleges and they do get usually in round-1 and round-2 NEET PG counselling. Once these coveted seats get filled, students have least chance to
P
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 4 days ago
There is a chance MCC may reduce NEET PG 2025 cutoff by 15 percentile. Though counselling body has not clarified what percentile will be reduced, experts believe it will be same like last time. In 2024 cutoff was reduced by 15 percentile for general category while for SC/ST, it was reduced by 10 per
A
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 5 days ago
The Bundelkhand University NEET PG Cutoff 2025 was released for all categories under the All India quota. For the OBC AI category, the Round 2 closing cutoff ranged from 4595 to 122734, wherein MD in General Medicine was the toughest course for admission. On the other hand, the easiest course for ad
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
The Bundelkhand University NEET PG Cutoff 2025 was released till Round 2 for all categories under the All India quota. According to the last round closing cutoff in Round 2, the cutoff ranged from 1390 to 39189, wherein the easiest and the hardest course for admission for the General category studen
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
The HPU University NEET PG Cutoff 2025 has been released for admission to MD and MS courses for all categories under the All India quota till Round 2. For the General AI category candidates, the cutoff in Round 2 ranged from 205 to 97725, wherein MD in General Medicine was the most-sought after cour
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Most likley. MCC will begin round-3 registration for NEET PG 2025 counselling in second week of January 2026. Registration has to be done at official website, mcc.nic.in. Registration will be followed by choice filling and seat allotment result. MCC will release a seaparate PDF for each round of sea
K
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 6 days ago
The Kerala University NEET PG Cutoff 2025 has been released for all categories belonging to the All India quota. The closing cutoff in the round 2 for the General AI category ranged between 3839 to 59967, wherein the easiest and the hardest course for admission were MD in Anatomy and MD in Pulmonary
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Not yet. MCC is expected to announce round-3 revised dates for NEET PG 2025 counselling anytime soon. Registration may begin in third week of January 2026. Students have to register and declare choices to participate in round-3 counselling. MCC had postponed round-3 counselling, scheduled to begin o
A
Beginner-Level 5

As such no section is easy in NEET PG syllabus. Some candidates may find clinical section easy while others may perceive para clinical as difficult. In reality, all the three sections clinical pre and para clinical are equally difficult and candidates have to devote good amount of time to prepare in and out of every subjects. It must be noted, a good number of questions are clinical based, so this section holds huge importance.
Some topics of pre and para clinical are utmost important as lots of questions are from them. Point is candidates should prepare all three sections in such manner so that 90 percent questions can be answered easily. Last year, clinical section was difficult in comparision to other two sections.