Among medical aspirants, there is a lot of confusion regarding NEET and we at Lincoln American University, School of Medicine (LAU) are happily bombarded with the NEET queries from “lots” of students. In this “Ultimate Guide to NEET 2019”, we’ll walk you through the entire NEET stuff and in case you’re left with NEET questions by the end of this post, feel free to contact us. We’ll be glad to help you. Without further ado, let’s his start to know all about NEET!

What is NEET - An Introduction

National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (UG) or better known as NEET (UG) or just NEET is an entrance examination for Indian students who want to pursue medical courses like MBBS (Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Surgery) or MD (Doctor of Medicine) or dental courses like BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery), in India or outside India.

NEET is held once in a year (most likely in May) in offline mode. NEET examines and assesses the academic abilities of the medical aspirants and checks the eligibility of the students for their admission to medical & dental institutions across the country and in medical and dental colleges run with the approval of Medical Council of India (MCI).

For those who don't know about MCI: MCI is the statutory body which grants registration to doctors and medical practitioners in India with MCI recognized medical qualifications.]

Is NEET Compulsory or Mandatory?

Every student who is a citizen of India or any other student in India (hereinafter referred to as “Indian Students”) must qualify NEET to get admission in an MCI approved medical or dental college in India or abroad. Without NEET qualification, no Indian student can be admitted in any MCI approved medical or dental college.

To study medical, Indian students need to qualify NEET irrespective of the following factors:

• Study medical in private medical college or government medical college
• Study medical in India or abroad

Is there any exemption from NEET?

No students are exempted from NEET. However, certain medical institutions enjoy the autonomy from NEET and carry out their own entrance exams to test the eligibility of the students for admission.

Following medical institutions are exempt from NEET (means NEET is not applicable to these medical institutions and students can get admission there subject to qualifying their private or internal entrance test):

1. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
2. Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), Puducherry

NEET is not required to study MBBS in above institutions as these were established through an Act of Parliament and conduct their own separate medical entrance test instead of NEET. Let’s not get into further legal stuff! All you need to understand is that NEET is not applicable to AIIMS and JIPMER.

Who Conducts NEET?

2019 onwards, National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the NEET. Till 2018, NEET was conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on behalf of the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Ministry of Health.

NEET Examination Pattern/ Criteria

NEET is an offline, paper-based examination in which 180 multiple choice questions are asked and 3 hours are allotted to answer all questions. That means students have 1 minute to attempt 1 question.

4 positive marks are allotted for each right answer, 1 negative mark is allotted for each wrong answer (negative marking) while no positive/ negative marks are allotted for un-attempted questions. Exam pattern of the NEET is tabulated as under:

NEET Questions Criteria	Marks Allotment Criteria	Time Allotted
Questions from Physics, Chemistry, Botany & Zoology (collectively called Biology) - 45 from each section. Total of 180 multiple choice questions are asked.	+4 Marks: for each correct answer -1 Mark: for each wrong answer (if more than one answer are provided for one question, it will be considered as an incorrect response and one negative mark will be allotted against such response) 0 Mark: for the un-attempted question	3 hours

With 180 right answers, a candidate can score a maximum of 720 marks!

NEET Qualifying Percentile/ NEET Qualification Criteria:

In NEET, there is no such thing as “qualifying percentage” or “cut-off percentage” but there is something called “qualifying percentile” or “cut-off percentile”. Before understanding “qualifying percentile” or “cut-off percentile” for NEET, let’s have a quick look at qualifying percentile for NEET 2019 which is tabulated below:

Student Category	Minimum Percentile Required
Unreserved/ General	50th Percentile: Means performs better than 50% of the participants
Unreserved with benchmark disability	45th Percentile: Means performs better than 45% of the participants
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (with or without benchmark disability)	40th Percentile: Means performs better than 40% of the participants

Important Note Regarding Qualifying NEET

NEET 2019 Information Bulletin clearly states that “Merely appearing and qualifying in NEET (UG) - 2019 does not confer any right to the candidate for admission to MBBS/BDS Courses. The selection and admission to MBBS/BDS seats in any Medical Institution recognized for offering MBBS/BDS Courses is subject to fulfilling the admission criteria, eligibility, rank in merit list, medical fitness and such other criteria as may be prescribed by the Government of India, respective States, Universities, Institutions and Medical/Dental Colleges.”

Percentile is not just based on your own percentage and is determined by the percentage of other candidates.

Your success in NEET is not determined by “how well you performed” but “how well you performed in comparison to other candidates”!

To be in 50^th percentile doesn’t imply that you need to score 50% but it means that you need to outperform 50% of the candidates who took the NEET exam That means your NEET score needs to be higher than 50% of the candidates who participated in NEET examination.

Similarly, for being in the 40^th percentile, you need to outperform 40% of the candidates who participated in NEET. Means you need to perform better than 40% of the candidates. 40^th percentile means that your NEET score should be in the list of top 60% performers in NEET.

Percentile	Meaning
50th Percentile	Perform better than 50% of the candidates
45th Percentile	Perform better than 45% of the candidates
40th Percentile	Perform better than 40% of the candidates
More percentile means that you performed better than more of the candidates.

In competitive exams like NEET, where the number of seats is fewer than the number of students hunting, there is no such thing as “NEET passing marks” and students’ qualification is determined not only by their own marks but also influenced by how much marks other students have scored. Students scoring best scores get admissions for the available seats. That’s where the concept of cut-off comes.

Based on NEET results, NTA releases All India Merit List as well as the cut-off list which contains the name of the qualifying candidates along with their NEET rank. To get admission in medical colleges, you need to score high enough to get into the cut-off list. If you score good enough to get your name into the cut-off list & fulfill other eligibility requirements, you are good to get admission for medical studies.

NEET Syllabus

Core syllabus of NEET consists of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology of Higher Secondary Stage. In NEET Syllabus various topics & units from Physics, Chemistry & Biology syllabus of class 11^th & 12^th standard are covered. You can find details of complete NEET syllabus on the website of the Medical Council of India.

NEET 2019 Exam Date, Timing & Place

The NEET 2019 will be held on May 05, 2019 from 02:00 p.m. to 05:00 p.m. (Indian Standard Time), Sunday. NEET is conducted in offline Pen-Paper mode. Place of the examination center is mentioned on the NEET Admit Card that can be downloaded from the NTA website.

NEET 2019 Admit Card

Admit cards for NEET 2019 shall be released on April 15, 2019, on the NTA website. Once released, you can download the NEET Admit Card from the NTA website. When you download the admit card, you’ll also receive a copy in PDF format on your registered email ID. No admit cards for NEET are sent by post.

Further, we suggest that you don’t wait till the last day to download your NEET Admit Card. Download your NEET admit card in a timely manner and get color copies to avoid hassle when NEET exam is on your head.

Registration Fee for NEET

Student Category	NEET 2019 Registration Fee
General/ OBC	₹ 1400
SC/ ST/ PwD/ Transgender	₹ 750

NEET 2019 Eligibility Criteria

Students who are going to appear in the 12^th standard examination (with Physics, Chemistry & Biology/ Biotechnology) in 2019 or who have already completed their schooling (with Physics, Chemistry & Biology/ Biotechnology) and born on/ before 31st December 2002, are eligible to apply & appear for NEET 2019. Admission to a medical or dental college is subject to successful qualification of schooling with a minimum required percentage along with NEET qualification.

Age Limit for NEET

To appear in NEET examination, the student must complete 17 years of age till 31st December of the year of the NEET exam. If you want to appear for NEET 2019, you must be of at least 17 years by 31st December 2019.

To put it simply, if you are born on or before 31st December 2002, you can apply for NEET 2019 exam.

Clarification regarding age limit for NEET 2019: Earlier, people of more than 25 years of age (30 years in case of OBC/ SC/ ST category/ Persons with disabilities) were not allowed to appear in NEET examination. As per Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Interim Order dated 29-November-2018, upper age restriction for NEET 2019 has been relaxed. Now, even students who are older than 25 years can also take part in NEET 2019 exam. However, the matter is still subjudice and such students’ candidature is subject to the final decision of the Supreme Court.

In case you need more information on NEET eligibility criteria, read “Eligibility and Qualifications for NEET 2019” section from the NEET 2019 Information Bulletin.

Points To Remember On NEET Exam Day:

Required Documents in the Examination Center:

We suggest you keep all the required documents ready at least a week before the day of your NEET exam. Following is a list of documents that you need to carry on the day of your NEET exam:

• A copy of the same photograph in passport size as was uploaded in NEET Examination Form. It will be pasted on the NEET attendance sheet.
• A print copy of your NEET Admit Card with passport size photograph affixed on it.
• Original Photo ID [PAN Card or Driving License or Voter ID / Passport/ Aadhaar Card (with photograph)/ Ration Card]
• [For PwD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) candidates: PwD certificate issued by prescribed authority]

Be On Time. Don’t Be Late.

NEET examination centers open 2 hours before the exam time. Sitting starts at 01:15 p.m. Exam starts at 02:00 p.m. So, you are allowed to enter the examination center by 12:00 p.m.

Entry to NEET examination center closes at 01:30 p.m. It means no students are allowed to enter the NEET examination center after 01:30 p.m. You must make sure to leave for your NEET Examination center on time. Make provision for traffic, weather conditions & other commute factors.

Further, if you’ve not been to the examination center location before, we strictly suggest you visit the center once at least a day before your exam so that you don’t have to run to find the center on the day of your exam. It’ll also keep your mind calm and will help you perform better in the examination hall.  

Items not allowed inside the NEET examination center:

Following items are not allowed inside NEET examination center (as mentioned in NEET 2019 Information Bulletin):

1. a) Any stationery item like textual material (printed or written), bits of papers, Geometry/Pencil Box, Plastic Pouch, Calculator, Pen, Scale, Writing Pad, Pen Drives, Eraser, Calculator, Log Table, Electronic Pen/Scanner etc.
2. b) Any communication device like Mobile Phone, Bluetooth, Earphones, Microphone, Pager, Health Band etc.
3. c) Other items like Wallet, Goggles, Handbags, Belt, Cap etc.
4. d) Any Watch/Wrist Watch, Bracelet, Camera, etc.
5. e) Any ornaments
6. f) Any eatable item opened or packed, water bottle etc.
7. g) Any other item which could be used for unfair means, by hiding communication devices like microchip, camera, Bluetooth device etc.

NEET – Dress Code

On the NEET Examination day, you need to follow the NEET dress code. While there is no strict dress code provided, NTA instructions regarding NEET Dress code is as under:

• Light clothes with half sleeves. Long sleeves are not permitted.
• Slippers, sandals with low heels are permitted. Shoes are not allowed.
• In case, candidates come in a cultural/ customary dress at the Examination Centre, they should report at least an hour before the last reporting time i.e. 12.30 noon so that there is enough time for proper inspection.

NEET 2019 Calendar

Time Range/ Data/ Deadline	NEET Event
November 1, 2018 - November 30, 2018	Apply for NEET online
January 14, 2019 - January 31, 2019	Correction in NEET Form
April 15, 2019	NEET Admit Card Release Day
May 5, 2019	NEET Exam Day
Jun 5, 2019	NEET Results Day

NEET 2019 Results

NEET 2019 result shall be declared by June 5, 2019 and will be available up to 60 days from the date of declaration.

NEET Re-checking

NEET Exam OMR answer-sheets are machine-gradable and are evaluated through specific software. Therefore, NTA has not provided for any provision for re-checking or re-evaluation of NEET re-checking or re-evaluation.

NEET Contact Information/ NEET Help Desk

If you have further inquiries regarding NEET, you can reach NEET authorities with the following NEET contact information:

NEET Help Desk Contact Numbers: +91 8076 535 482 and +91 7703 859 909

NEET Help Desk Contact email ID: NTANEET@nic.in.

NEET Requirement for Students Planning To Study Medicine at Lincoln American University, Guyana, America

Lincoln American University, School of Medicine (LAU) is one of the fastest growing medical universities in Guyana, located in Georgetown in the Caribbean region of South America.

LAU is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS), accredited by National Accreditation Council of Guyana (NAC, Guyana), registered with Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER), and certified by Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).

Lincoln American University is recognized by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and students from India who wants to study medicine at Lincoln American University needs to qualify NEET.

Any medical university & college abroad which is recognized by MCI will not admit Indian students without NEET qualification. If any medical college abroad admits students in a medical program without NEET, those students will not be able to practice in India as their medical degree will not be recognized by MCI.

Lincoln American University is recognized by MCI and therefore medical graduates of LAU are allowed to practice in India subject to clearance of MCI Screening Test.

For admission to Lincoln American University, students must qualify NEET to get admission in LAU’s MD Program. After qualifying NEET, students can study medicine at Lincoln American University subject to fulfillment of other eligibility requirements. Once students complete MD from LAU, they need to clear MCI screening test to start their medical practice and career in India as a doctor!

So, Indian students need to qualify NEET if they are planning to study medicine abroad at Lincoln American University.

Eligibility Criteria for Admission to Lincoln American University is as under:

1. The candidate must complete the age of 17 years on or before 31st December of the year of admission. To put it simply, if you are born on or before 31st December 2002, you can apply for 2019 intake.
2. The candidate must have passed in the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology and English individually and secure at least 50% aggregate marks in Physics, Chemistry and Biology subjects of 12^th Students belonging to the reserved category (OBC/SC/ST) get a relaxation of 10%. Further, physically challenged students in general/ unreserved category get relaxation of 5%. Minimum aggregate marks required for different category of students are tabulated as under:

Student Category	Required Minimum Aggregate Marks in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology Subjects of 12th Standard
Unreserved/ General	50%
Unreserved with benchmark disability	45%
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (with or without benchmark disability)	40%

3. For Indian Students, NEET is mandatory. Candidates do not have to appear for any additional entrance exam to get admission in LAU MD Program.

Come to Lincoln American University! Study MD in America!

If you are looking for medical education abroad, why not go for c at Lincoln American University which is one of the finest medical colleges in America and provides international standard medical education in Guyana following the curriculum of MD in USA.

At Lincoln American University, you get the opportunity to opt for clinical rotations in Guyana, Caribbean, Nepal, USA and other countries which prepares you to practice medicine in India, USA, Canada or any other country of your choice.

Further, Lincoln American University follows a simple admission process and provides globally recognized MD Program at affordable fees coupled with fully furnished hostel facilities and all-round development opportunities. If you want to become a Doctor of International repute, MD in America’s Lincoln American University is one of the finest options. Admissions are open. You can apply online, contact us or visit the nearest office to get counseling.

Note on MD vs. MBBS:

Frequently terms like “MBBS in America”, “MBBS in South America”, “MBBS in Guyana”, are used by the students. Kindly note that as a matter of nomenclature, term “MD in America”, “MD in South America”, “MD in Guyana” are more appropriate and correct because undergraduate medical programs in countries like Canada, USA, Guyana are referred to as “BS (Bachelor of Science)” or “Undergraduate MD (Doctor of Medicine)” while undergraduate medical programs in countries like India, United Kingdom, Ireland are referred to as “MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery)”. These BS/ Graduate MD degrees from countries like Canada, USA, Guyana etc. are considered as equivalent to MBBS in India, United Kingdom etc.