Are You Preparing For Medical Entrance Exam? Check NEET 2022 Negative Marking Scheme

The candidates who desire to score high in NEET-UG must be familiar with the exam pattern of NEET 2022. From the previous year, the scope of the NEET exam has expanded. Till 2020, the NEET scores were used for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and Veterinary programmes. Notably, the admission for BSC Nursing and BSc Life Sciences also comes under it. 

The candidates who want to pursue a medical career in India have to qualify for NEET to gain admission to top government medical colleges. Candidates preparing for NEET must have all information about it. Today, we will have a comprehensive discussion of the aspects under the NEET Exam Pattern. It will include aspects like the medium of the exam, marking scheme, duration of the exam, and more. Go through this article to gain insights into the new NEET 2022 Exam Pattern and related significant information. 

NEET 2022: A Brief Synopsis

National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2022 is a national-level entrance exam in our country for admissions to MBBS, BDS, BSc nursing, AYUSH, JIPMER, and other medical courses. From 2021, the NEET scores will also be considered for admission to undergraduate Nursing and Life Sciences programmes. The candidates who clear the NEET 2022 exam can apply for the 15% All India Quota (AIQ) seats in Central Universities, Deemed universities, AFMC, and ESIC colleges. MCI will hold the NEET-UG 2022 Counselling at the Pan-India level. There are 85% state quota seats for admission across all government colleges of the Indian States or Union territories. The state-level administration will hold NEET 2020 Counselling for state quota seats.

Notably, this year the upper age restriction for NEET has been eliminated for all candidates. Formerly, there was an age ceiling for candidates applying for NEET. The upper age limit for General or Unreserved Category candidates was 25 years, and that for the Reserved Category Candidates (SC/ST/OBC) was 30 years. The NMC (National Medical Commission) has officially released the notification on NEET Eligibility Criteria. It states that there shall be no upper age limit to appear for the NEET 2022 exam. However, the minimum age limit of 17 years to be eligible for NEET remains the same.

Fact to Consider

There is a reservation of 3% of the total seats in the NEET exam for the Person with Disability (PwD) candidates.

Brief Overview of NEET 2022 Exam Pattern

On 6th April 2022, the National Testing Agency (NTA) released the NEET 2022 Exam pattern in the NEET 2022 notification and brochure. The exam pattern of NEET 2022 is the same as it was in the previous year, except for a slight change in the duration. NTA has increased the exam duration by 20 minutes. According to the new exam pattern of NEET, there will be 200 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) from four subjects, i.e., every question has four options to choose from them. Now, the total or maximum marks of NEET 2022 will be 720. 

The candidates aspiring to appear for the NEET exam must evaluate the NEET 2022 exam pattern while preparing. The new exam pattern offers a wide choice of questions to attempt the candidates. The subjects will feature two sections carrying 35 and 15 questions, respectively. In the second section, there will be the internal choice for the candidates. They will have to attempt any ten 10 out of 15 questions. 

Talking about NEET 2022, the students can apply for NEET in the medium of their choice (it is subject to regional specifications). The NTA will conduct NEET 2022 in thirteen languages. It gives more choices to the candidates in opting for their regional languages. 

Fact to Consider

The NEET 2022 Application Form is also available on the official DigiLocker app and the digilocker.gov.in. 

Aspirants must review the NEET 2022 Eligibility Criteria before filling out the NEET Application form. The NTA has specified the NEET 2022 eligibility requirements regarding the age limit, percentile, nationality, and more to appear for this exam that a candidate must fulfill.

An Analysis of the NEET 2022 Paper Pattern: Reviewing the Negative Marking Scheme

Now, we will analyse the new exam pattern of NEET concerning the structure and marking scheme. The NEET question paper will mainly cover three subjects – Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Furthermore, Biology is divided into Botany and Zoology. So, there will be a total of four subjects. Each subject has its bifurcation into two sections. 

Here we will discuss the number of questions in each section of the NEET-UG 2022 Question Paper.

Also See: How to Avoid Negative Marking in NEET

Section-oriented Analysis

Section A

It will include 35 questions on every subject. All questions in this section will be compulsory to attempt.

Section A will count the following question numbers in each subject –

Physics: Question 001 to 035, 

Chemistry: Questions 051 to 085, 

Botany: Questions 101 to 135,

Zoology: Questions 151 to 185

Section B 

For every subject, this section will include 15 questions. The candidates have to attempt any 10 questions out of the 15 in every subject.

Section B will count the following question numbers in each subject –

Physics: Question 036 to 050, 

Chemistry: Questions 086 to 100, 

Botany: Questions 136 to 150, 

Zoology: Questions 186 to 200

We advise the candidates to first go through all 15 questions in Section B of all subjects attentively before starting to solve the question paper. It will help you ascertain the 10 questions out of 15 in each subject whose answers you know or can calculate accurately. 

Fact to Consider

If a candidate attempts more than ten questions, then only the first ten questions the candidate has answered will be considered for evaluation.

Section-wise number of Questions corresponding to their Marks distribution – At a Glance

Physics Section A    35    140

Physics Section B    15      40

Chemistry Section A    35    140

Chemistry Section B    15      40

Botany Section A    35    140

Botany Section B    15      40

Zoology Section A    35    140

Zoology Section B    15      40

NEET Mock Test 2022 is an all-inclusive test comprising questions from Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. It will help the students to have an idea about the questions coming in NEET.

NEET 2022: Marks Distribution

The candidates must be aware of the negative marking scheme in NEET-UG 2022. Here are the critical points of the marking scheme of NEET 2022. 

Candidates will get four marks for every correct answer.

There will be a deduction of one mark for each wrong answer.

The questions that will have two or more responses marked by the candidates on the OMR sheet will be considered incorrect, and there will be a deduction of one mark for them.

Fact to Consider

There will be no deduction of marks for the unattempted questions in NEET 2022. Evaluators will not consider such questions while calculating a candidate’s overall marks.

Choosing the medium of NEET 2022: Points to Remember

The candidates have to choose the medium of question paper in the NEET 2022 application form. Here are a few points to remember for this: 

The language that a candidate has selected cannot be changed afterwards.

The candidates who have selected the English language as a medium will receive their Test Booklet in English only.

Candidates who have chosen any language other than English will receive a Bilingual Test Booklet, i.e., it will have questions in the English language and the language selected by them.

If there is any doubtfulness in the translation of any of the questions in the NEET Question Paper, the English version of the NEET paper shall be treated as ultimate.

Conclusion

All the medical students who are busy preparing for the NEET 2022 medical entrance should be conscious of the exam pattern and syllabus of NEET. They should have a good command of all the vital concepts, and our high-quality study material can help them do so. The candidates can take the NEET Mock Tests 2022 curated by our experts to assess their preparation and learn efficient time management skills. Notably, NTA will release the NEET 2022 Result on its official website. The candidates can check their results by entering their vital details on the portal. Also, it has announced the NEET 2022 Cut-Off for the competing candidates. We hope this information proves to be useful for you all. Best of luck to all aspirants!

FAQs

1. When and Where can I register myself for NEET-UG 2022?

The registration process for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2020 started on 6th April 2022. The NTA has announced that NEET UG 2022 will be held on 17th July 2022. It has released the NEET UG 2022 notification on its official website. Here’s a direct link for NEET 2022 Registration. The aspiring candidates can visit this link and complete the registration process. We advise all the candidates to keep all the essential information and documents handy at registration.

2. What are the changes in the NEET 2022 exam pattern compared to the previous year?

This year, the National Testing Agency has expanded the exam duration for the NEET UG 2022. Now, NEET will be of 3 hours and 20 minutes, i.e., 200 minutes. The students will have an additional 20 minutes for solving their NEET paper. However, the paper pattern and the number of questions in NEET-UG will remain. Notably, NEET will be a tougher examination this year, so the students must study hard to obtain a good NEET score.

3. How many total sections will be there in NEET 2022? Are there any sectional qualifying criteria?

The NEET-UG question paper includes four main subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Botany, and Zoology. Each of these subjects has two sections, namely Section A and Section B. In total, there are eight sections, two for each subject. Section A of each four includes 35 questions, and Section B of each of the four involves 15 questions. In the NEET 2022 question paper, there are no sectional qualifying criteria. During the preparation of the rank list, they will observe the overall marks of the candidates, not any sectional score.

4. How much time will I get to solve each section?

The candidates will get three hours and twenty minutes to solve the entire NEET-UG question paper. They have to solve 200 questions in these 200 minutes. So, they can spend a maximum of one minute on one question. No time limit is specified for each section in the NEET exam pattern. The candidates can divide their time across different sections at their convenience. They should remember not to get stuck on one question longer. Candidates should attempt easy questions first, as each question has an equal mark.

5. How many attempts are permitted for the NEET?

After the amendments for NEET eligibility criteria in 2018, the limitation on the number of attempts a candidate can make for NEET-UG was withdrawn. Now, there is no limitation on the number of attempts for NEET. Hence, according to the NEET 2022 eligibility criteria, after attaining 17 years of age, the candidates are entitled to appear for the NEET entrance exam as many times as they want. However, they must be eligible for it as per the set eligibility criteria.

6. If a student had a gap in his Class 11th and Class 12th, can he give the NEET 2022 exam?

Of course! The candidates having a gap year are eligible to appear in NEET 2022. Many students also take a drop after class 12th to prepare for NEET. Previously, there were amendments by MCI regarding the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, which specified that a student must complete two continuous years of study to become eligible to give NEET. However, this amendment was abolished by the Delhi High Court. Now, the candidates with gap years can appear for NEET 2022.