NEET Full Form with All Details

NEET full form is the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test. Formerly known as the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT), the NEET is a single national medical entrance test for students who are looking to pursue undergraduate medical courses (MBBS), dental courses (BDS), and AYUSH (BHMS, BAMS, etc) across government and private institutions in India as well as abroad. NEET UG stands to be one of the largest exams in India in terms of applicants' strength.

Since 2019, the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the NEET and shares the results with the Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and State Counselling Authorities for seat allocation. Till 2018, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was the exam conducting body for NEET along with other competitive examinations.

In this article, we have provided the NEET full form, what is NEET, eligibility criteria for NEET, age limit for NEET, educational qualification for NEET, syllabus for NEET, exam pattern for NEET, and participating top 10 colleges for NEET.

NEET Full Form Overview

Candidates can check out the table below to get an overview of the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET).

What is NEET?

NEET is abbreviated for National Entrance cum Eligibility Test. This is a single national-level entrance examination conducted for admission into undergraduate medical courses in MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH programmes in top Indian Medical and Dental colleges. The examination is conducted by the National testing agency annually. 

As per data from the National Testing Agency (NTA) on the number of students appearing for the NEET every year, we can see that a total of 15,19,375 candidates registered in NEET (UG) 2019, a total of 15,97,435 candidates registered in NEET (UG) 2020, a total of 16,14,777 candidates registered in NEET (UG) 2020, and a total of 18,72,343 candidates registered in NEET (UG) 2022.

History of NEET

Before the implementation of NEET (UG), states resorted to their own entrance tests while prestigious medical colleges such as AIIMS, IMS-BHU, JIPMER conducted their own medical entrance exams. 

NEET was held first in May 2013 across India for admission for both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) medical courses. However, the exam was deferred due to Supreme Court ruling. After the enactment of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 in September 2019, the NEET UG exam became the single national medical entrance test for admissions to medical colleges in India including the AIIMS and JIPMET.

NEET Eligibility Criteria

Age Limit

Candidates must be 17 years of age to appear for the NEET examination. There is no upper age limit for the NEET exam.

Educational Qualification

Candidates must have passed 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English as core subjects. In the 10+2 eligible marks, Candidates must have secured 50% marks (general), 40% (OBC/SC/ST), and 45% (PWD).

NEET Exam Pattern

NEET is a competitive entrance examination conducted for candidates willing to pursue medicine in their careers. NEET is held in offline mode (pen and paper mode). The exam duration of NEET is 3 hours and 20 minutes. Candidates are asked a total of 200 questions of which 180 questions are multiple-choice based questions (MCQs) from Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.

There is a negative marking in the NEET exam for every wrong answer. Each right answer is awarded 4 marks and 1 mark is deducted as a penalty for a wrong answer.

The medium of NEET exam is available in 13 languages namely English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and Punjabi.

NEET Syllabus

NEET Top 10 Colleges In India

Post securing high marks in the NEET examination, a candidate becomes eligible to seek admission to the MBBS, BDS, AYUSH colleges. There are a plethora of colleges offering MBBS courses. 

Check below the top 10 medical colleges in India after the NEET exam: