How to Prepare for NEET 2019 at Home without Coaching (Self Study)

With another session coming to an end, there must be a lot of pressure building up on 12th graders. Preparing for NEET 2019 is difficult, and when you decide to do it on your own without the assistance of a coaching center, the difficulty level goes further up. But to look at the brighter side, self-study is more favorable to most students. Here are some points to remember while preparing for NEET at home.

Stay Informed

Go through the paper format and syllabus properly before starting the preparation. This is important for targeted studying. You should be well versed with the negative marking rules. There are 4 sections in the question paper - Physics, Chemistry, Botany, and Zoology. Each section consists of 45 questions (180 questions in total). Every correct answer can get you 4 marks and every wrong answer can deduct one mark from your score.

Time distribution

Devote equal amount of time to each subject. Make sure you are not missing out on one subject and giving a lot of time to another. Stay relaxed and concentrate. Do not rush with a topic just to complete it. Divide your time for all the major topics of all the subjects properly. Manage your timetable according to your school studies. Try not to study difficult topics one after another. This will result in mixing up of concepts in your head and may create difficulty in recalling the concepts later.

Take a break

Indulge in other activities that calm your mind. You can play outdoor games for short periods of time. This will provide some exercise to the body and will also calm the mind. Or you can listen to some music. But do not use social networking sites in your breaks. It results in a waste of time. Also, make sure that you have a healthy diet. Eat fruits and almonds that stimulate the brain and consume juices to stay fresh. Do not stay up till late hours. Sleeping at a reasonable hour is important to give your brain some rest. Maintaining the diet and sleep cycle is of utmost importance. But remember to keep the breaks small.

Make notes

Do not just rely on reading; always make notes of important points. You can always go through a point later if you have it written somewhere. Give complete attention when a subject is being taught in school. It makes your preparation battle easier as you just have to revise the topic later if you have properly studied it at school. Note down the important formulas or equations for better understanding. Summarize the information in flowcharts, tables or points. It helps in memorizing it quickly and you can find the points you want easily. Also, practice diagrams to identify various components of it.

Covering all the subjects

Chemistry and Physics are generally difficult for students with a biology background. Do not avoid these subjects or stock them for the last minute. Start with the topics that you are comfortable with and try covering the complete syllabus for all the subjects. Try to find out the topics which are frequently asked and give more emphasis on them.

Keep practicing

Go through the question papers of NEET previous exams and try solving them. Try solving the paper once before starting your preparation and then again after completing some topics. You can see the difference and assess your own progress.

Keep practicing numerical and equation balancing as it can be confusing. Practicing it beforehand will save a lot of time in the test. Find out and note down the botanical names of the things you see in daily life, say like onions (Allium cepa). Questions related to scientific names and taxonomy are common in the Botany and Zoology section.

Seek advice

Talk to your seniors who have attempted/cleared NEET. Those who have taken an examination can best explain the format and tips and tricks. Seek advice from your teachers and try to learn how to understand complicated questions easily. Keep the basics of all the subjects very clear as the basic concepts may seem easy but can create a lot of confusion.

Do not take stress

If you feel stressed about the exam preparations, talk to your friends and parents. Do not let it pile up on you. Being stress affects the performance and should be totally avoided. If you distribute your time properly and follow your plan, you would be able complete your syllabus and would also find time for revision.

Keep distance

Friends are an important part of everyone’s life but for achieving something you have to lose something, only in this case you have to lose your friends temporarily. This does not mean that you have to be all distant from your friends but limit your conversations. Restrict yourself from going out for long hours and spend more time with the books.

These are some Do’s for NEET preparation. But the most important thing to keep in mind is to start on time. If you start a month before the exam and aim at completing the whole syllabus and all the topics, that is not possible. You cannot cover all the units of all the 4 subjects in a month or two.

If you are a procrastinator

Now, if you planned on doing everything mentioned above and ended up postponing every plan, then here are some points for you to remember:

Class notes

Collect all the notes that you prepared in classes and arrange them topic wise. Gathering material from the internet and compile all your material. Start reading the topic that is the easiest to you, this builds up some confidence and then you can shift to more complicated or difficult topics.

Shortlist the topics

Collect the previous year questions and look for the frequently asked topics. Short-list those topics and spend more time on them. Solve the papers and look for the answer keys. Understanding the explanation to an answer is very important as you solve many different questions based on the same logic. Cover the rest of the topics as well but in brief.

Supplementary material

If possible, try to get the NEET preparation guides from the market. If not, search for material on the internet. Keep reading and studying daily till the date of the exam. Do not miss even a single day as it can build a lot of pressure before the test.

These simple steps can help with managing the stress and workload that comes with exam preparations. Keep up with the hard work and the smart work and give your 100%.