National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is likely to be conducted on May 10, 2018. With the exam date so close, the predictions and speculations regarding the NEET 2018.
NEET 2017 Analysis
NEET 2017, which was conducted on May 7th, was moderately-difficult. The majority of the questions were in the mid-level difficulty range, and therefore, the exam did require some good amount of practice and study.
The paper’s pattern was in line with the previous year, with 180 questions to be completed in 3 hours, with 45 each from Physics and Chemistry and 90 from Biology. Each question carried 4 marks, and 1 mark was deducted for each incorrect answer.
If we talk about the weightage of Class 11 and 12 syllabi in the exam, it was more or less equal. The ratio stood close to perfect at 88:92.
Surprisingly, Zoology emerged as the most difficult section this year. The chemistry section was the easiest, while sections of Botany and Physics were of moderate difficulty. Generally, we see physics being the toughest section, which was not the case this year.
The physics section was majorly dominated by Modern Physics, Heat & Thermodynamics, and Electrodynamics. This time, the questions were more analytical and required some sort of calculation to solve, thus making Physics a time-consuming section.
The chemistry section did not feature dominance by any single sub-section. All three topics, Organic, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry, had an almost equal number of questions to their name.
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Biology was overall a moderate section, with Botany being on the easier side. The ratio between botany and zoology was that of 50:40. Most of the questions in Botany were based on NCERT concepts, which did not seem a tough call for candidates. Human Physiology and Plant Physiology were the most dominant topics of this section.
Again, if someone had to take an overall call for the paper, the only thing that can be said is that the paper was moderate, however lengthier.
NEET 2016 Phase 2 Analysis
NEET 2016 Phase 2 was conducted on 24th July 2017. After orders from Supreme Court, CBSE had to conduct the exam a second time. Well, for the test takers, it proved to be a real bonus.
The overall exam was easy-moderate, with more on the easier side. If we call 1 as easy and 2 as moderate, then the exam was around 1.5 or 1.6. The good thing for test-takers was that it was much easier than the first phase of NEET 2016.
The examination pattern did not feature any change. 3 sections, 180 questions, and 3 hours did remain the features of the pattern. The division between Class 11 and 12 syllabi stood at a ratio of 88:92, with 88 being from Class 11 and 92 from Class 12.
The sectional difficulty was a surprise this time as well. Many were expecting Physics to be the toughest section, but in reality, botany turned out to be the toughest. The rest of the three sections were quite close to each other when compared in terms of difficulty.
The weighty topics remained more or less the same as seen each year. Physics was dominated by Electrodynamics, Thermodynamics, and Optics, while Human Physiology and Animal Husbandry dominated the Biology section. There was no clear winner in Chemistry, with all three of Organic, Inorganic, and Physical chemistry staying close to each other in terms of several questions.
With all the factors combined, the paper was easier than NEET 2016 1st Phase. Candidates had good chances of scoring very high in the paper.
NEET 2018 changes
Before predicting its difficulty level, we need to look at some important changes that will be introduced in NEET 2018. The first major change is that it will have the same paper across all regional languages, as CBSE was slammed for keeping papers with varying levels of difficulty for different languages. As it will be a single paper for the whole of the country, we expect certain changes in difficulty level.
Another thing is that CBSE is no more restricting itself to the NCERT syllabus. We had some questions outside the central board in the 2nd Phase of NEET 2016, which can raise some concerns for those studying only through NCERT.
Although nothing official has been declared, we do not expect the examination pattern to change. Apart from this, it is also expected that some international examination centers will be established this year. However, the addition of new centers does not correlate with the difficulty level.
Will NEET 2018 be tougher or easier this year?
The general trend of difficulty is that it is getting tougher every year. The only exception was the second phase in 2016, which was easier, but generally, the paper is becoming more and more difficult.
Therefore, we can expect NEET 2018 to be tougher. But the very nature of our country’s competitive exams is that they tend to surprise candidates every year, and so does this one. With the level expected to rise, we can expect some other surprises within the paper.