NEET SS Exam Pattern 2024: Check Marking Scheme & Exam Duration, Total Marks

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Super Specialty courses NEET SS is an entrance exam for admission to super specialty courses (DM/MCh) in India.

The books recommended for the NEET SS exam can vary depending on the specific subject you are preparing for, but the following books can serve as a general guide:

• "Textbook of Medical Physiology" by Guyton and Hall
• "Harrisons Principles of Internal Medicine" by Dennis L. Kasper
• "Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology" by Tortora and Derrickson
• "Clinical Medicine" by Parveen Kumar and Michael Clark
• "Clinical Methods in Medicine" by R. Kumar

Note: It is advisable to check the official website of the National Board of Examinations NBE or consult with a qualified medical professional for the most up-to-date information on the books recommended for the NEET SS exam. The recommended books may change based on the latest syllabus and examination pattern, so it is important to get accurate information from a reliable source.

NEET SS is the single eligibility cum entrance examination for admission to Super Specialty Courses. Candidates who completed their post graduation (MD/MS) can apply for NEET SS entrance test. The exam is held once a year in computer-based mode. NEET SS is held for admission to following courses:

• All DM/MCh Courses in the country including all Private Medical Colleges/Institutions/Universities/Deemed Universities.

• All DM/MCh courses at Armed Forces Medical Services Institutions

• All DrNB Super-specialty Courses (except Direct 6 Years DrNB Courses

NEET SS stands for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Super Speciality Courses). The entrance exam is conducted for providing admission into DM/ MCh courses. National Board of Examinations (NBE) conduct the exam once a year in computer-based mode. Candidates who have already completed their PG course can apply for the exam. It is a qualifying-cum-ranking examination for admission to super speciality courses. According to the official information brochure, qualifying NEET-SS is mandatory for entry to DM/MCh/DrNB Courses under various Universities/ Institutions in the country.

According to a notification released by NBEMS, there was a time-bound sectional demarcation of questions for NEET SS. There are three sections carrying 50 minutes and 50 questions each. Unless a section is over, candidates cannot proceed to the next section. Once the next section begins, the questions of previous sections cannot be reviewed or changed. 

According to the existing pattern, NEET SS will comprise one paper of 150 multiple-choice questions, from broad speciality and super speciality course. There will be three sections carrying 50 questions each and a time duration of 50 minutes will be there. The total duration will be 150 minutes or 2.5 hours. The question paper will be of 600 marks. Total 150 Questions for 600 marks will be asked in the NEET SS question paper. Type of Questions: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). Marking Scheme: Aspirants will get +4 marks on each correct response and -1 on each negative response. NBE released the information brochure which has a detailed exam pattern for NEET SS exam.

NEET PG stands for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Post-Graduation while NEET SS is the abbreviation for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Super Speciality Courses. NEET PG is postgraduation level exam while NEET SS is conducted for super specialisation. Candidates get admission to MD/MS through NEET PG entrance test while NEET SS is held for admission for DM/MCh courses.  Basic eligibility for NEET PG is candidates should have equalified MBBS exam while for NEET S candidates should have PG level degree. 

The mode of the NEET SS exam is online, or computer-based. The NEET SS question paper or the subject-wise questions will be displayed on screen and candidates have to answer the questions by clicking on the correct answer option with the help of a mouse. Since the questions are objective, they need not type any answer. They will be provided sheets of paper to carry out rough work. Since NEET SS is a computer-based test and not computer-adaptive test, test-takers will be able to go through all questions and select the sequence of answering as per their convenience. 

The NEET SS exam is conducted for a window of two days, with two slots in each day. Hence, the total number of slots in which NEET SS exam is conducted is four. Each of the slots conduct different exam groups. The duration of the exam is 2.5 hours or 150 minutes. The table below brings the slot-wise timings of the NEET SS exam.

NEET SS Slot	Timings
Forenoon or Morning Slot	9 AM to 11.30 AM
Afternoon Slot	2 PM to 4.30 PM

There are a total of 13 groups which are covered in the NEET SS exam. These groups are divided in the four slots conducted over two days.

As per the exam pattern of NEET SS, there are 150 objective-type multiple-choice questions (MCQs) asked in the exam. There will not be any descriptive question in the NEET SS exam. Each question will carry four answer options, out of which one answer option will be correct. Candidates will have to select and submit the correct answer option. Submission of wrong answer option will lead to negative marking of one mark. Hence, test-takers must carefully assess all answer options or choices and select the correct answer option.  

The answers marked for review will also be considered as attempted and will be marked as per the marking scheme of NEET SS exam. Each correct answer will fetch four marks, whereas for each wrong answer, there is a negative marking of one mark. An answer will only be considered for marking when it is submitted. However, there is no marking scheme applied for unattempted questions.  

 According to the latest exam pattern of NEET SS, there are 150 multiple-choice questions, from broad speciality and super speciality course. There will be three time-bound sections of 50 minutes each, carrying 50 questions. The question paper is of 600 marks.  The question paper will consist of questions from the General/Basic component of the primary feeder broad specialty subject and from all sub-specialty/systems/component of that primary feeder broad specialty subject. All the 150 questions would be from the Curriculum of the Post Graduate Exit level of the primary feeder broad specialty subject. Candidates will get two-and-a-half hours to attempt the questions. 

The NBE has not published a fixed syllabus for the NEET SS Exam. The majority of questions are based on course material from MBBS and PG courses such as MD or DNB. The question paper consists of two parts: part A and part B. Furthermore, the questions vary depending on the chosen specialty, so the applicants' papers may differ. For instance, students who have chosen pulmonary medicine as their super-speciality course will be asked questions on general, pediatric, and respiratory medicine. Likewise, if you chose anesthesiology, the syllabus will include questions on cardiac anesthesia, organ transplant anesthesia, critical care, pediatric, and neonatal anesthesia.

No, NBE does not release NEET SS syllabus. Hence, there is no specific list of topics or chapter-wise weightage. But based on expert suggestions and students' views, preparing from the postgraduate study materials would suffice. NEET SS test-takers should complete their course syllabus and solve as many mock tests or past years' question papers to complete the NEET SS syllabus. 

The NEET SS exam does not have a fixed syllabus. Usually, questions from medical course books are asked up to the postgraduate level. You are advised to read your course books to prepare for this exam. Other than course material, you can study the following books: 1. Harrison's textbook of Internal Medicine 2. NEET SS MCQ book by Deepak Marwah & Mudit Khanna 3. Schwartz's Principles of Surgery 4. R. Kumar's book named Clinical Methods in Medicine 5. Guyton and Hall's book named Textbook of Medical Physiology.

NEET SS is a super speciality medical entrance exam. It is a doctorate level exam conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) for the admission to Doctorate of Medicine (DM), Master of Chirurgiae (MCh) and Doctorate of National Board (DrNB) courses. To appear for this exam, candidates must have completed their post graduation in medical or in the final year of MD and MS. 

The total duration of the NEET SS exam is 150 minutes or 2.5 hours. There is a sectional time limit of 50 minutes for each of the three sections. Hence, candidates have to manage the time accrodingly to attempt as many number of questions as possible within this duration. There are 150 questions in total and 50 questions in each section. Hence, to attempt all the questions, test-takers will get one minute per question. Along with maintaining to speed to complete the NEET SS exam, candidates must also maintain accuracy to avoid losing marks since there is a negative marking scheme. 

The NEET SS 2024 exam dates were announced by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) on September 13, 2024. The exam was conducted on March 29 and March 30, 2025. Generally, NEET SS is conducted over a window of two days and two shifts. The NEET SS 2024 official notification and information bulletin were released on February 4, 2025, along with the application forms.  

NEET SS exam is conducted in only one language, which is English. Candidates must prepare for the exam by referring to the best preparation books in English language for the subject and course groups selected. Taking regular NEET SS mock tests in English, or solving previous years' question papers will ensure good score in the NEET SS exam.