Full Form of NEET

Full Form of NEET

Many of us may dream of becoming doctor. We all know the gateway of making this dream true is through qualifying the NEET examination.  But have you ever wondered what does NEET stands for?

The full form of the abbreviation NEET is National Eligibility cum Entrance Test.

This tutorial will briefly cover the definition, overviews, which candidates are eligible to sit in NEET exam, who conducts NEET, Eligibility Criteria for All India Quota, NEET eligibility criteria, the role of NEET in seeking admissions to Medical Courses, and other detailed information related to NEET or National Eligibility cum Entrance Test.

What is NEET?

"NEET or National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is an all India pre-medical entrance exam for candidates who want to seek a career in MBBS, BDS and equivalent AYUSH (BAMS, BUMS, BHMS, etc.) programs from government or reputed colleges of India. By qualifying the students can secure their seat in more than 66,000 MBBS and BDS seats across India."


NEET is a single-level national test conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), for medical students allowing them to pursue undergraduate medical courses from different medical colleges of India. From 2020, the government of India introduced NEET as the only medical entrance exam to promote One Nation One Examination policy replacing several other medical exams that were previously conducted at state levels. NEET is an offline mode exam taken on pen-paper. The NEET exam is also carried online in 11 Indian languages, i.e., English, Hindi, Odia, Marathi, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, Urdu, Telugu, Kannada, and Assamese. The student has to answer a total of 180 questions in 3 hours. The NEET paper is broken into Chemistry, Physics, and Biology (where biology includes both Botany and Zoology).

The overviews of NEET or National Eligibility cum Entrance Test are as follows:

Overviews	Criteria
Mode of NET paper	Offline mode (Pen and paper based)
Introduced by	Central Board of Secondary Education (2013–2018)
Administrator/ conducted by	National Testing Agency (From 2019)
Subjects tested	BiologyChemistryPhysics
Purpose	To seek admission for various undergraduate Medical courses in government and private.Qualification mandatory for pursuing the medical courses abroad.
Languages	AssameseBengaliEnglishGujaratiHindiKannadaMarathiOriyaTamilTeluguUrdu
Exam conducted in a year	Once a year
Countries / regions	India
Year started	2013 (except 2014 & 2015) Formerly AIPMT
Duration of NEET	3 hours
Official Website	www.ntaneet.nic.in

NEET: Who is Eligible to sit in NEET EXAM?

1. For candidates who wish to sit in the NEET examination, the educational qualification required is to pass class 12-th grade from a recognized board. 
2. Moreover, a student must be from a science background, typically having Physics, Chemistry, and Biology/Biotechnology as their main subjects. One must pass the higher secondary exam to book their seat in government medical colleges for the undergraduate degree. 

Note: Students are advised to visit NEET's official website before the exam to fetch the latest updates and eligibility criteria. 

NEET: Who Conducts NEET?

NEET is carried out by NTA (National Testing Agency) every year. National Testing Agency (NTA) has been verified as a premier, professional, independent, and self-governing examining body to administer the entrance examinations for admission in higher educational foundations. Earlier, it was challenging to estimate students' potential and give them admissions and recruitment by matching research-based general criteria, productivity, transparency, and error-free delivery. Therefore NTA (National Testing Agency) was introduced, and it is entrusted to address and prevent all such challenges. NTA is working its best in every area, starting from exam preparation to paper delivery and paper marking.

NEET: Eligibility Criteria

Age Criteria	The minimum age limit set by the government for candidates who can appear in the exam is 17 years, belonging to all the categories.There is no limit set by the government on the upper age limit of students who want to sit in the NEET examination.
Aggregate Marks	For General Category – 50% Physically Handicapped– 45%For OBC/SC/ST – 45% (PH – 40%) Note: The marks scored for Math would not be taken into consideration in this exam
Number of Subjects	PhysicsChemistryBiology
Number of attempts to give paper	NA (Since 2021 NEET)

NEET: Eligibility Criteria for State Quota

Do you know that 85% of MBBS/BDS or equivalent course seats are allotted for students applying for NEET states quota counseling. The remaining 15% seats are reserved for All India central level Counselling. Hence, to apply for NEET states quota, the aspirants should satisfy the given below criteria:

1. The applicant applying for state quota must be a resident of the respective state.
2. The aspirant should have valid evidence and documents of their address or residency.
3. Aspirants should have passed (or have given an exam) their schooling (12th-grade) from the respective state.

NEET: Eligibility Criteria for All India Quota

• Candidates applying for the All India Quota must be a citizen of India.
• The age of the aspirant should be equal to or greater than 18 years.
• Applicants above 25 years of age can temporarily apply for the NEET as the upper age limit's decision is still pending in the court.

Note: Candidates applying from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Jammu & Kashmir, are eligible to reserve a seat only at Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune.

NEET: Role of NEET in Seeking Admissions to Medical Courses

Students who wish to pursue their career in medical courses and dream of becoming a doctor take up the NEET examinations.  If the student successfully qualifies for the NEET paper, he/she reserves a seat for medical studies, including MBBS/BDS/AYUSH courses.

Even if the candidates don't qualify for the NEET paper, the NEET score is still essential. The marks are accepted and evaluated to get admission in private medical colleges or other equivalent courses as it is a fair and transparent exam.

Hence, we can conclude that NEET offers a reasonable share of opportunities.