NEET is one of the prime competitive medical entrance exams of the country in which more than 10 lakh students appear every year. Looking at the number of NEET 2019 applications, around 15.19 lakh students are expected to appear in the exam to get admission in MBBS and BDS colleges in the country.
This number alone is indicative enough of the competition for the seats in medical colleges in India. In that case, many parents and students would be considering this question: should they start aiming and preparing for NEET and AIIMS as early as possible? How early is too early? And if we didn’t, is it too late?
Given below are some of the benefits of starting early preparation of medical entrance exams:
A clear understanding of your dream
More often than not, reality and dreams are far apart. Thus, while you might dream of being a doctor, studying plant tissues and human anatomy might not even interest you.
In this case, it is good to get a reality check at the earliest. If you are dreaming of NEET or AIIMS in school, you can gauge your own interest and passion for biology. Does it exist or is it phantom?
If you can, congratulations! You can work on deepening it. If not, you’ll know you are better off being a mathematician going for commerce or humanities altogether.
Good command on basics
11th and 12th-grade-course material is completely novel and introduces so many dimensions to a single topic. To be able to grasp these new concepts, you’ll need strong basics.
If you have already set your sights on appearing for NEET and AIIMS, you can work on concentrating more on Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. In 11th and 12th, you’ll sometimes need to remember these concepts at the drop of a hat. A strong foundation will help you here.
Knowledge of more options
We begin with a narrow field of possibility. So while in 8th, 9th, or 10th, you might dream of becoming a dentist or simply a ‘doctor’, with heightened focus and ambition, you can explore other options.
There are so many options today- biotechnology, genetic engineering, microbiology, cardiology, immunology etc. As you study other subjects and discover other interests, you can search whether they intersect with biology or the medical field at some point. If yes, there is a high chance that you’ll end up working in a new, highly creative field (think genetic engineering). You can even test that interest as a viable career option, by reading scientific journals or Googled articles, meeting with concerned professors at a local university, or attending an expo.
All of these might seem like time-demanding and serious steps. But, dreaming and preparing for your future doesn’t have to be serious and bleak. It can and should be fun. So pick one approach that rings with you. You’ll get amazing insights that will aid your decision-making process when 11th grade finally rolls around.
Finally, keep an open mind and keep exploring. NEET is simply a step on your journey to success- if taken the right route, one you can climb very easily. Good luck!
