How to Prepare for NEET with Board Exams

NEET with Board Exams: All medical aspirants studying in class aim to take NEET with board exams. One of the key concerns that cross their minds is, “how to manage NEET and Boards?”. These students face the pressure to excel in both the NEET and board assessments.

Balancing NEET preparation and focusing on board exams is significantly challenging for students. However, this situation has a bright side. All the chapters of class 12 Science constitute the NEET syllabus. Additionally, NEET includes class 11 Science topics, which helps improve the foundation for class 12 studies.

NEET necessitates aspirants to score a minimum aggregate of 50% in their 12th board exams. Students meeting this eligibility criteria get the opportunity to take NEET and secure their seats in preferred colleges.

With a strategic plan and dedicated preparation, class 12 students can achieve excellent scores on NEET and boards. This blog discusses effective tips students must follow to perform well in both exams.

Balance NEET with Board Exam Preparation

NEET exam is a national-level entrance exam for admission to UG medical courses across Indian colleges. High competition in NEET demands considerable effort and focused preparation.

On the other hand, the class 12th board is a crucial milestone in the academic journey of students. Securing distinction marks in the 12th board helps students meet the eligibility criteria for different entrance and recruitment exams. So students often ask themselves- “should I focus on boards or NEET?”.

The best approach for class 12 medical aspirants is to find a balance between NEET and board preparation. Below are some crucial strategies to prepare for both the exams and pass with excellent scores:

Focus on Common Chapters

NEET syllabus covers class 11 and 12 Science topics. For this reason, many students think they need to pay additional attention to learn class 11 chapters. But in reality, one can excel in class 12 only by clearing their basics for class 11.

All the concepts and principles of class 12 are based on the 11th chapter. So, Students must focus on learning class 11 topics before starting with 12th board preparation. Following this approach helps secure high marks in the board exams and improves their chances of cracking NEET.

Choosing the Right Study Materials

NCERT textbooks are the primary study guides for both board exams and NEET. Past NEET achievers and experts recommend candidates to focus on understanding each detail of NCERT books. This is important because most questions in NEET are asked from topics explained in NCERT books.

Besides referring to the NCERT, selecting a reliable reference book that offers a more extensive explanation of each chapter is imperative. The reference books also include multiple practice questions to improve problem-solving skills.

To prepare for boards and NEET, students should follow a parallel approach. This includes the following:

• Developing solid foundational knowledge with the NCERT.
• Gaining advanced knowledge of concepts with reference material.

Effective Note-Taking

The practice of note-taking helps students reinforce their knowledge. It also improves recall of important topics. Both these factors facilitate better comprehension and help them quickly answer MCQs during NEET.

Preparing notes improves the writing skills of students, which is imperative to solve descriptive questions on boards. Additionally, notes help in the effective revision process, which is indispensable during exam preparation.

While preparing notes, students must use separate notebooks for every subject. Additionally, they should highlight crucial points, facilitating quick revision before the exam.

Engage in Question Practice

Practice is the key to improving problem-solving ability, which is crucial to scoring good marks in NEET and boards. Students must develop a habit of solving multiple questions during the preparation phase. Allocating deadlines to solve the questions helps improve time management with accuracy.

To improve their chances of success, students must practice with sample papers and previous years’ papers for NEET and 12th boards. This approach helps understand the question pattern and difficulty level. Both these factors are essential to perform well in the exam.

Self-Evaluation

Engaging in comprehensive self-assessment is important during exam preparation. Students must dedicate themselves to solving practice tests regularly and consistently. Next, they should perform a self-evaluation by referring to the answer key. This approach helps determine their strong and weak areas, which is imperative to streamline their preparation approach.

To enhance preparation, students must aim to complete at least three monthly test papers. If they find a subject or chapter challenging during this approach, they must dedicate extra effort to mastering it.

NEET with Board Exams: Effective Revision Plan

Class 12 students preparing for both NEET and board exams should follow an effective revision plan. This helps gain a solid comprehension of topics and improves memorising them.

The following points explain an effective revision plan for students preparing for NEET with board exam:

• Allocate a minimum of 2 hours daily for revision.
• Adhere to an organized revision cycle. This includes creating notes for a covered chapter and revising them the very next day. Students should revisit the same chapter after 3 days and then after a week.
• Participate in at least 2 tests every week.
• After taking the tests, students must conduct a detailed analysis to determine improvement areas.
• During the analysis, they should prioritize the following:
  • Addressing silly mistakes
  • Calculation errors
  • Topics that seem confusing
  • Opportunity to improve speed

Preparation for NEET with Board Exams FAQs

Q1. Should I focus on boards or NEET?

Ans. NEET aspirants studying in class 12 can follow a strategic preparation to prepare for both NEET with board exams.

Q2. How to prepare for NEET from class 12 without coaching?

Ans. To prepare for NEET and the 12th board without coaching, students must set a strategic plan, refer to relevant books, follow regular revisions, and solve sample papers. They can also seek guidance from school faculties to resolve their doubts.

Q3. How can I create a timetable for NEET and boards together?

Ans. All the chapters of class 12 are covered in the NEET syllabus. Students can follow the class 12 board preparation routine for NEET as well. However, they must keep a session to revise class 11 chapters.

Q4. What is the time gap between boards and NEET?

Ans. NEET and 12th board exams have a 2-3 month gap between them.

Q5. How to prepare for NEET in class 12?

Ans. To prepare for NEET in class 12, students must focus on common topics and dedicate time to revising the class 11 syllabus. They must also regularly prioritize solving practice papers, PYPs, and test series.