The Journey through NEET PG 2020

This post is solely for those who are targeting the upcoming PG Entrance exams and this is only about my experience so far. Many others might have used better methods to crack the exam and get ranks in the top 100 or top 1000 but I hope this will help someone starting out to reach their goal.

Background: I did my MBBS in a private college via a General Merit Seat. Academics were given importance and we did participate in quizzes at intra-college and inter-college level. The patient load was just adequate and much lesser than your average medical college. For my internship, I worked at Hassan District Hospital for 10 months under all the departments (minus the stipend though) where there was significant workload and opportunity to do procedures, assist in surgeries and conduct deliveries (due to the absence of PGs in most branches).

After this, I joined DBMCI, Bangalore for the regular classes on weekends. I was also a Plan C User of Marrow. The classes were well organized with the best faculties conducting the classes from 8 to 8 or likewise. Each subject class was followed by a few days gap and a test on the same subject in the next week after which we began the next subject. I attended VIBE and found it to be extremely useful for an Image Based revision.

After the classes got over around September, I began my revision as per a timetable and tried to complete 3 revisions. I attended the Central Institute exams as well and tried to improve after exam. I got 192 in NIMHANS, 2338 in AIIMS, 935 in JIPMER and 2093 in NEET PG.

So, here’s the deal:

I’m pretty much an average student and I think my memory fails me more often than I like to admit. But that meant I had to figure out ways to overcome this.

My father and I sat down and worked out the ranks required for the branches I’m interested in and the marks that correspond to it. I had a target to score above 800 in order to make it under 2000.

1.       Do your research.

Please sit down and look at the cut-offs for the colleges your branch of interest based on the last two years. Now look at the marks scored for these ranks. Essentially 800+ is needed for something in 2000 and under. If you are looking at Radio/ Dermat at a top college, you might have to push it a notch higher.

2.       Follow a Time table.

Be it DBMCI/ DAMS or Marrow, follow the test schedule religiously. Plan to finish that subject in the time period given and also revise it once on the last day. Take your tests seriously.

3.       Notes are important.

I cannot emphasize the important of good notes. You will thank yourself for writing things neatly, legibly and in a way that you can understand even 6-8 months later. If you missed something/ fail to understand something, make sure to clarify it in the same session or during the break. If you are one who remembers by examples and similes used by the teacher, don’t hesitate to write those down in your notes. It always made things simpler for me when I was reading the subject after a long gap.

4.       Go back and read. The same day.

This is probably the single most important suggestion given to me by a senior. I found this very hard but I tried to follow it. No matter what time your class gets over or begins, it’s important to go back and read the day’s topics and even solve MCQs on it, if possible. During the gap, read slowly and try to make sure the idea is clear in your head. If needed, refer a different source for an explanation. If there are some IMPORTANT topics left out (which are usually very few to none), add it to your notes in a few words. I solved MCQs from a few Subject books and also from Marrow QBank.

5.       Take GTs.

Now this may seem like a controversial point but I think it would be an early exposure to the length and pattern. I began taking GTs for AIIMs in April and the NEET Pattern from May using both Bhatia and Marrow as my sources. My initial scores were very low but I plotted a graph that showed my growth over the months. This graph can be a boon or bane. I Initially saw good progress but after August, the growth rate was much slower (I was stuck at getting 180-190 qs right) and also fluctuated often. Nevertheless, use it as a reminder to show yourself that you’ve come this far and to motivate yourself to go further.

6.       Read well, revise more.

Again, you might wonder why do people stress this point so much, because it’s 100000% true! It’s easy to read something once but when asked to recall it when asked in a twisted manner 6 months later, you realize what they mean. Focus on revising in between your subjects, taking GTs as a way of testing yourself. Revision should not be a passive process: It would be more effective when it is retrieval of already encoded information rather than creating a new memory of the same. 

What does that mean? 

Say you read Amino Acid Metabolism in April. One way to revise it in June would be to sit and recall whatever you can from One carbon Metabolism to Phenylketonuria to the polarity of the amino acids. When you actually sit and recall, you find gaps in your memory and then you fill it up by revising the entire chapter but at a slightly faster speed.

Personally, I found this very, very hard. I found it more convenient to just read the whole thing again but it was only few months later that I realized how important this was and began to do this, even if it meant more time. I used a white board where I started recalling everything I knew on that subject. Initially, this really affected my confidence but I realized it was the only way I would test myself before the exam.

7.       Sources are plenty, trust your own.

The truth is, there are plenty of sources for the same content. Stick to what you have and go by it. Don’t dwell on controversies. I chose Bhatia Faculty and many of the teachers overlapped with the Marrow teachers. I personally found them to be relevant, concept oriented and very helpful. I think other institutes are also equally good at what they do so just believe in what you’ve joined. I referred the Marrow videos when I had doubts in my notes in a few areas. Of course, there are going to be new points in every source you read, but you’ll have to draw a line somewhere and decide how much of it can you actually remember at the end of the year.

8.       Schedule

For the average student, a good plan is essential to get through the maze of preparation. Target the AIIMS exam. Believe me, it isn’t as hard as you think it to be. You can target your revision such that you have given a good first revision by AIIMS. Practical knowledge and common sense are two things you should remember to carry with you on the day of the exam! Plan every single day before hand, plan for the upcoming exam such that you have a few days leeway to revise high yielding points in the last 3-4 days. Make sure you’ve gone through the previous year papers well because the central institutes always have a few repeats or similar questions which you wouldn’t want to miss.

9.       Traps.

Stay on your own path, don’t dwell on comparisons with your friends or random Telegram groups. Don’t get discouraged by plateauing scores; identify where and why you are going wrong. I categorized my mistakes into 3:

·         New topic,

·         Known topic but did not read properly (reduce these by clearing the concept such that any way it is asked, you don’t fumble)

·         Known topic and silly mistake (work on eliminating these)

Don’t go chasing different sources. Keep to yourself and keep the morale high. Rejuvenate yourself with good music. A regular 15-minute walk can get you some fresh air and a change from being indoors all day. Track the number of hours, if it helps. Some days are good, some are not so good. Don’t dwell and hate yourself for the bad days but try to make the next day a better one. It's equally important to have a good support system. I'm grateful my parents stood by me through the year and for the friends who helped in making it seem less daunting. I often felt we were all in this boat together, going through the rough seas.

10.   Belief.

At the end of the day, it’s a long and tough journey. You’re running a marathon and you will need refreshments along the way to stay hydrated. You can’t afford to burn out towards the end, in fact, you need to have the ‘josh’ to push yourself even more towards the end. You need to remind yourself EVERY SINGLE DAY that you want this, and work on making the most of THAT DAY. An important line by a topper that remained with me is that if you want to score a century, you don’t think about that all the time, instead, you focus on each ball that is being bowled at you. Likewise, get down from the lofty dreams and focus on making the most of EACH DAY. At the end of the day, when you go to bed, you need to try to have the satisfaction that you made the most of that day and tried to use it as effectively as possible. Don’t look at the gap year as a struggle, but as a chance to a create a better life for yourself and your family. I am forever indebted to Dr. Thameem Sir and Dr. Apurv Mehra for their motivation and never-give up attitude.

At the end of the day, give it your best. If you can afford to prepare full time for PG, please do so. Give it everything in you. Whatever be the result, prepare such that you had no regrets or ‘what if I had read a bit more’.

Best wishes to everyone beginning this journey.