What is the best time to start preparing for NEET PG?
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Post-Graduation 2025 ( NEET PG )
Counselling - 23 Nov '25 - 1 Dec '25
Want to pursue a master’s degree after completing MBBS and wondering what is the best time to start preparing for NEET PG? Read on to get the answer to your question.
NEET PG 2026: To reach the destination, one needs to make a series of decisions. One of the major decisions is to calculate the time required to reach the destination and plan the journey accordingly. When preparing for any entrance examination, your destination is the college or course that you want to get into.
Starting early does not mean that you start solving MCQs from various books during the initial years of college. Every academic year has its own importance in NEET PG preparation. However, there is no standard period defined for the preparation of NEET PG 2026. Understanding the basics during MBBS is important for a successful career in Medicine. Thus, if you have paid attention during the classes, your NEET PG preparation is half-way through. But, students still want to know the best time to start preparing for NEET PG. For them, the importance of each academic year, along with the do’s and don’ts for NEET PG have been elaborated below.
Explore colleges based on NEET PG
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
What is the best time to start preparing for NEET PG?
Up to Second Semester MBBS
The first two semesters cover the basics. Students are introduced to subjects, namely, Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology. Though it is only the beginning, focusing during the lectures and pre-clinics will help during NEET PG preparation. This is the year when you must try to resolve all the doubts pertaining to these subjects, especially Anatomy and Physiology. Once you are thorough with the basics, building a foundation for the coming years will be easier. You must also prepare notes for these subjects which can be revised during each semester.
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.
No. Unlike NEET, NBE conducts NEET PG exam in computer-based mode. NEET PG pattern is declared by NBE along with the official information brochure. NEET PG pattern comprises details regarding mode and medium of exam, total number of questions, allotted time and marking scheme. As per the existing pattern, total 200 multiple choice questions are asked in NEET PG exam and candidates are provided 3.5 hours to answer them. Medium of the question paper is English only. There is no option to choose the language of the question paper. For every right answer, 4 marks is awarded and negative response -1 is deducted.
Third to Fifth Semester MBBS
Explore more Medicine & Health Sciences exams with upcoming dates
28 Nov '25 - 30 Nov '25
5 Dec '25
7 Apr '26 - 21 Apr '26
7 Apr '26 - 8 May '26
9 Feb '28
Once the basics are clear, students are introduced to more complex subjects. The third semester introduces new subjects, namely, Community Medicine; Forensic Medicine, Pathology, Pharmacology and Microbiology. Along with these, students also start attending clinical postings and OPDs. While in the fifth semester, you must focus on understanding the basics in the clinics. Read and revise everything that is being taught to you in these classes. Notes made during clinical postings will also help with NEET PG preparation.
Sixth to Ninth Semester MBBS
This is the most important academic phase of all. With the core subjects, like Medicine and Surgery, being introduced, your focus must be attending all lectures and getting a hold of these subjects. Apart from this, you will start attending OPDs and clinical postings for a longer time. Understanding the subjects covered in these semesters will be easier if you have a good hold on the basics taught in the previous years. Again, focus on preparing notes during lectures and revisions. However, your primary focus must be academics only.
Also Read: How to crack NEET PG in the first attempt?
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.
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.
NEET PG is a national level entrance test through which the admission is offered into post-graduate medical courses. Being the national level entrance test, the exam is not an easy nut to crack. Applicants will have to study and know the syllabus well in order to do well in the entrance examination. In the article below some important tips and tricks are being provided to the candidates preparing for the NEET PG. Following are some points which can be kept in mind- 1. Don’t spend too much time on medicine as there are just 21 MCQs from there. 2. The first and second part subjects are probably more important as most people don’t study them. 3. Give online tests; virtually wherever you find a chance. 4. Keep your mind cool on the day of the exam! Be rest assured that you will clear the exam if you have worked hard for it. 5. Do not just mug up guide books' answers.
During the Internship
Note that during any of the previous years, you are not expected to solve NEET PG level MCQs. Your focus during the academic years must be on understanding the basics and making notes. When you start with your internship, you can begin focusing solely on NEET PG preparation. Start your preparation by attempting the question papers of previous years. The MBBS curriculum does not cover a few subjects in-depth, such as, Psychiatry, Dermatology and Anaesthesiology. These subjects, cumulatively known as short subjects, have to be covered in a little more depth for NEET PG. During your internship, you can focus on expanding your knowledge about ‘short subjects’ by referring to other books. You must also attempt two to three mock tests during this period.
Also Read: How to prepare for NEET PG at home?
If you start preparing after completing MBBS
If you are one of those candidates who could not decide whether they wanted to appear for NEET PG until after graduation, you still have a lot of time to prepare for the examination. The strategy will, however, change in this case. The sequence that must be followed for NEET PG preparation during the internship for beginners is listed below:
- Strengthening the basic subjects and clarifying doubts, if any
- Preparing notes for all the subjects
- Taking mock tests and practice tests
- Referring to various study material for short subjects
- Regular revision of all the subjects
A time table and disciplined routine will help cover all this before the examination. At last, you must remember that no matter when you start preparing for NEET PG, only a wholehearted preparation will reap results.
Read More:
News & 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... |
Dec '25 | NEET 2026 Notification |
16 Nov '25 - 20 Nov '25 | NEET 2025 Counselling Online S... |
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 - 14 Dec '25 | PU CET (UG) 2026 Application F... |
16 Dec '25 | PU CET (UG) 2026 Registration ... |
31 Dec '25 - 7 Jan '26 | NTA UGC NET December 2025 Exam... |
Jan '26 | NTA CMAT 2026 Exam Date |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 12 hours ago
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham NEET PG Cutoff 2025 has been released for Round 1 for all categories in the AI quota. The cutoff rank ranged between 19160 and 130225 across all specialisations for the MD/ MS courses. The hardest specialisation was MD in Biochemistry and the easiest was MD in Dermatology,
N
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a month ago
No. MCC will start registration for NEET PG 2025 counselling round-2 on December 5, 2025. Registration has to be done at mcc.nic.in. Last date for round-2 registration is December 9, 2025. Round-2 NEET PG 2025 counselling result will be announced on December 12, 2025.
N
Beginner-Level 5
Answered a month ago
NEET PG 2025 counselling involves different steps starting with registration. Only those who qualify the exam can participate in counselling process. After registration, candidates ahve to declare choices. Thereafter seat allotment result is announced based on choices, reservation criteria, NEET PG
A
Beginner-Level 5
Answered a month ago
NEET PG 2025 counselling is delayed possibly due to two reasons. One reason is Nationaal Medical Commission has to add some colleges and seats for 2025-26 session and second is the pending court case. NEET PG 2025 answer key transparency plea is scheduled for hearing in Supreme Court on October 28.
P
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 2 months ago
MCC had revised round-2 dates for NEET PG 2025 counselling. Registration for round-2 counselling will begin on December 5, 2025. Deadline for round-2 registration and choice filling is December 9, 2025. November 5, 2025. Seat allotment result for round-1 was uploaded online on November 22, 2025.
A
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 2 months ago
Yes. Candidates will have to declare preferences of choices for each round of NEET PG counselling after registration. It must be noted registration and choices can be declared online. At the same time, choices must be locked in the given deadline otherwise it gets locked automatically. Based on decl
A
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 2 months ago
Yes. If you will be allotted seat in round-2 NEET PG counselling, your round-1 allotted seat will be automatically get cancelled. In case you don't get allotted seat in round-2, then round-1 seat will not be cancelled. Candidates have to register online and declare preferences of choice for NEET PG
B
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 2 months ago
The merit list for Tripura NEET PG 2025 has been released on November 24, 2025. DME Tripura releases separate merit lists for each round. Candidates have to download the merit list from the official website or from Shiksha.com. The merit list will include information such as candidate name, applicat
P
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.