NEET 2024: Application Form, Exam Date (May 5), Syllabus, Eligibility, Pattern, Question Papers

The full form of NEET is National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is the sole entrance test for admission to medical and paramedical courses in India. The exam is conducted once a year in offline mode for three hours and 20 minutes. There are total 200 questions from Physics, Chemistry and Biology, out of which 180 questions have to be attempted. The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the medical entrance exam for admission to MBBS, BDS, BSc Nursing, BAMS, Veterinary, and other medical/paramedical courses in India. The exam is conducted in 13 languages. Over 20 lakh candidates appear for the NEET exam. MBBS is the most preferred course followed by BDS and BSc Nursing. 

The following table enlists the key features and highlights of NEET UG 2024.

The NEET 2024 eligibility criteria have undergone changes. Candidates who have studied, or studying Biology/Biotechnology as additional subjects along with Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and English, will also be eligible to appear for the exam. As per the official notice released by NMC, the eligibility criteria of NEET 2024 is stated as, "Candidates who have passed 10+2 or its equivalent with the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Biology / Biotechnology & English shall be eligible for appearing in NEET-UG."

NMC has also stated that candidates who were debarred from taking the NEET exam in the past due to these factors will be allowed to appear for NEET UG 2024. "The present decision shall be applicable retrospectively also on candidates whose applications for grant of Eligibility Certificate have been rejected on the grounds contemplated in the present public notice. However, for the purpose of appearing in NEET-UG, candidates who become eligible after the date of the present public notice, shall be permitted to appear in NEET-UG-2024," mentions NMC.

There will not be any upper age limit for applicants, but there is a lower age limit of 17 years as of December 31 of the year of admission. Let us take a look at the NEET eligibility criteria for 2024. It is expected that the criteria will remain same for this year.

Nationality: Candidates must be citizens of India. Non-resident Indians (NRI) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) are also eligible to appear for NEET. 

Age Limit: Candidates must have attained the age of 17 years at the time of admission or will attain the same by December 31, 2024. Accordingly, the minimum date of birth of candidates should be December 31, 2007. There is no upper age limit for NEET.

Educational and Qualifying Marks Criteria: Candidates must have passed Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology and English subjects individually in the qualifying examination.

The following table brings the qualifying aggregate for each candidate category, to be eligible to participate in NEET 2024. 

Also Read: NEET 2024 Eligibility Criteria: Upper Age Limit, Number of Attempts, Qualification

NEET UG syllabus 2024 has undergone major changes. The NEET 2024 syllabus PDF by NTA was released on November 22, which was earlier released by NMC on its official website. According to NTA, releasing the NEET syllabus PDF before the information brochure or the application form will help students plan their preparation accordingly.  However, unlike previous years, the chapters are not segregated into Class 11 and Class 12 chapters. Moreover, the NMC NEET syllabus for Chemistry has been segregated into three parts, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry. A number of chapters or topics have been removed from all three subjects, whereas a few topics have been added as well. 

Download the NEET 2024 syllabus by NTA

Also Read:

NEET Chemistry Syllabus With Chapter-wise Weightage

NEET Physics Syllabus and Chapter-wise Weightage

NEET Biology Syllabus and Chapter-wise Weightage

The NEET 2024 application form will be released tentatively in the fourth week of January 2024 in an online mode. Aspirants aiming to appear for NEET UG 2024 will have to fill up the application form online and submit it, along with the payment of the requisite application fee. Candidates will have to visit the official website to fill in the mandatory details and upload the required files such as applicants' photographs, signatures and documents. The final step is to pay the application fee through one of the slated payment modes, including Credit/Debit Card, Net Banking, UPI and Paytm. The NEET application fee is INR 1,700 for the General category candidates, INR 1,600 for the EWS and OBC category candidates and INR 1,000 for the reserved category candidates.  

Before starting the NEET 2024 registration or application process, candidates should go through the instructions thoroughly. After that, they are advised to keep all the information and the documents handy. Once they are completely ready, they have to start with the NEET 2024 application form-filling procedure.

NEET 2024 Application Process: Documents Required

The following documents are required to be uploaded during the NEET 2024 application process:

• Passport and postcard-sized photographs
• Scanned signature
• Scanned thumb impression
• Class 10 Pass Certificate
• Permanent and Present address proof
• Citizenship Certificate or Embassy Certificate (for NRI/OCI candidates)

Since the NEET 2024 application process is completely online, candidates must ensure that they have a stable internet connection and the browser used is up to date and the cookies are deleted so that there is no technical hassle while filling the NEET application form 2024.

NEET 2024 exam pattern states that it is a paper-pencil-based test (PBT) or offline test of three hours and 20 minutes duration. The exam will consist of 200 questions from Physics, Chemistry and Biology, out of which 180 questions have to be attempted. The questions will be objective-type and carry multiple choices, or four answer options. The correct answer option has to be marked by shading the correspondent circle on the OMR sheet with a blue/black ballpoint pen.

Each subject will be divided into two sections, carrying 35 and 15 questions respectively. While it is compulsory to attempt all 35 questions in Section A, in Section B, candidates will have to attempt 10 out of 15 questions. It is expected that the NEET UG 2024 exam pattern will remain the same as last year. However, given the fact that major changes have been introduced in the NEET 2024 syllabus and eligibility criteria, the chance of a revised NEET exam pattern 2024 cannot be ruled out completely.  

The below table brings the NEET 2024 exam pattern and structure.

Candidates preparing for NEET 2024 must solve previous years’ NEET question papers to be well-versed in the exam pattern and structure. Solving previous years’ NEET question papers will give much-needed exposure to candidates in terms of the difficulty level, chapter-wise weightage of question papers, and question types, to name a few. There are four sets of the NEET question papers which are further divided into six subsets. The medium or language of NEET question papers is 13.

Download NEET Papers PDF

Also Read:

• NEET 2023 Question Paper with Answer Key Solutions (OUT): PDF Download
• NEET 2022 Question Papers with Answer Key Solutions PDF Download

Candidates preparing for NEET 2024 should first be familiar with the exam pattern and syllabus. After that, they need to shortlist the best books to refer to for NEET preparation. To complete the topics in the syllabus, one must refer to NCERT books. Candidates must prepare a timetable for NEET preparation. This should be followed to complete the preparation on time. Another important aspect of preparation is solving mock tests and sample papers. Since the weightage of all sections is equal in the exam, aspirants should give equal focus on all sections or subjects to secure a balanced score. After taking regular mock tests, students would develop an understanding of their strong and weak areas and should channelise their subject or topic-wise preparation accordingly. Students should invest at least two years for NEET preparation. In general, students start NEET preparation after the Class 10 Board exam. As the NEET syllabus is the same as that of Class 11 and Class 12, it is convenient for candidates to prepare simultaneously. 

Some of the NEET 2024 preparation tips as suggested by experts and toppers are given below.

• Know the exam pattern and structure of NEET
• Assess the topic and chapter-wise weightage of the NEET syllabus
• Select the books and study materials to refer for NEET
• Take ample mock tests and solve previous years' NEET question papers
• Revise

Also Read:

• NEET 2024 Chapter Wise Weightage
• NEET 2024: Why is it important to solve the question papers of previous years and mock tests
• How to score 600+ marks in NEET 2024

Taking NEET mock tests is one of the key aspects of preparation. NEET mock tests are available at various sources, as well as at the NTA NEET website for candidates to prepare for. The NEET mock tests are categorized into sectional and full length. At the beginning of the preparation, students should take a diagnostic mock test to assess their preparation level, as well as the strong and weak areas. After that, along with subject-wise preparation, or as and when a subject or chapter is completed, they should appear for sectional or subject-wise NEET mock test. Once the preparation is complete, full-length NEET mock tests should be taken at regular intervals and must be analysed by experts or mentors for complete feedback.

Download the NEET 2024 mock tests prepared by Shiksha.com experts below.

Also Read: NEET Prep Questions and Solutions

NEET 2024 admit card will be released three to four days before the exam date. The admit card for NEET UG 2024 will be released online in PDF format. Only registered candidates will be able to download it by logging in to the NEET website with their username and password or date of birth. The steps to download the NEET 2024 admit card are as follows:

• Visit the NEET 2024 website
• Click on the link indicating NEET 2024 admit card download
• Login by entering the NEET 2024 application number or User ID and password or date of birth
• Download the NEET UG admit card 2024 in PDF format
• Take two to three printouts

The admit card of NEET 2024 will carry information such as the candidate's name, photograph, signature, exam date and time, exam centre name and address, exam day instructions and guidelines, and an undertaking.

NEET 2024 exam centres are likely to be located in over 500 cities across India and abroad. Last year, NEET was conducted in 499 cities in India and 14 international cities. The total number of NEET exam centres was over 4,000. It is expected that the total number of NEET UG 2024 centres will be higher than last year to accommodate more candidates across geographical locations. Applicants will be given a chance to select two exam cities as per their preference, based on which NTA will allot the NEET 2024 centre. Prior to releasing the NEET 2024 admit card, where the final allotted centre will be mentioned, NTA will release an advanced intimation to exam city slip where the allotted NEET 2024 exam city name will be stated. Once the NEET UG 2024 exam centre is allotted, candidates will not be able to request for change.

Check the complete list of NEET exam centres.

As per last year’s NEET analysis, the exam is of tough difficulty level. Over the past two to three years, the overall difficulty level of NEET has been termed as moderate to tough. In NEET 2023, Botany and Chemistry subjects were tougher than the rest. The Physics and Biology sections were on the easier lines. The questions were more from Class 12 than Class 11.

As per the NEET analysis of 2022 and 2021, Physics was the toughest subject followed by Chemistry and Biology. The question paper was considered to be lengthy by some students, which made it difficult to complete it on time. A number of questions were in match the column format and there was an increase in the assertion and reasoning type of questions.

Also Read:

• NEET 2023 Paper Analysis: Check Difficulty Level, Student Reactions and Reviews
• NEET 2022 Paper Analysis: Check Difficulty Level, Student Reactions and Reviews
• NEET 2021 Student Reactions and Analysis: Check Difficulty Level and Topics

NEET answer keys refer to the correct answer options for each question. On the day of the exam, experts from top coaching institutes release the NEET answer key for each question paper set and code. Based on that, test takers can calculate the estimated scores and predict the admission chances.

The provisional NEET answer keys are released within a month of conducting the exam. NTA releases provisional answer keys for NEET along with candidates’ OMR sheets. Candidates can submit challenges or objections against one or more NEET answer keys within the stipulated date by paying a fee of INR 200. The expert committee of NTA analyses the objections and then releases the final NEET answer keys along with the result. NEET final answer keys are released for all question paper sets and codes.

Also Read:

NEET 2023 Answer Key PDFs 

NEET 2022 Official Answer Key PDFs

NEET 2021 Answer Key PDFs 

The NEET 2024 result will be declared in the second week of June 2023. The NEET result will be declared in online mode in the form of scorecards. Candidates will have to download their scorecards in PDF format by logging in to the NEET 2024 website. The NEET result 2024 will carry the following information:

• Candidate name
• Subject-wise marks or scores
• Subject-wise percentile
• Total score obtained out of 720
• Total percentile
• All India Rank (AIR)

Also Read: NEET Passing/Qualifying Marks: Know Minimum Marks to Qualify for Counselling

NEET 2024 counselling is expected to begin in the fourth week of July 2024. Candidates who will qualify for the exam by securing the NEET 2024 cutoff marks will be eligible to participate in the NEET 2024 counselling process. NEET counselling process will be conducted in two categories, for the 15 per cent All India Quota (AIQ) seats and 85 per cent State Quota (SQ) seats. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) will conduct the counselling for the AIQ seats whereas the state counselling authorities of the Directorates of Medical Education for different states will be conducting the NEET state counselling. 

The different steps of NEET counselling are as follows:

• Registration
• Choice filling and locking
• Seat allotment result
• Institute reporting

Courses Offered Through NEET UG

Take a look at the top NEET 2024 FAQs or Frequently Asked Questions.