Regular Practice Test Importance while Studying for NEET PG Exam

The NEET-PG examination is one of the most crucial and the most difficult examinations for medical students. This medical examination is the gateway to getting admission to the most renowned medical colleges in India. Therefore, cracking this medical entrance examination is mandatory for the aspirants. 

This blog is specifically for the medical aspirants to assist them with their preparation for the NEET-PG examination. It is to ensure that they do not face trouble in appearing for the entrance exam. In this blog, the aspirants would find out why attempting the NEET-PG practice tests is very important before appearing for the final exam. 

Different types of practice tests for NEET-PG examination 

There are various types of prep tests or practice tests of the NEET-PG examination that prove to be major practice tools for the aspirants. These tests uplift the effective preparation for the medical entrance examination. The practise tests prepare the aspirants for the final exam day and assist them to improve their accuracy and speed. Also, the practice tests consist of a questionnaire that is predictive and clinical of the final exam. 

Depending on the requirements and preparation level of the aspirants, the practice tests can be of varied types. Following are the different types of practice tests that the aspirants can regularly attempt before the final NEET-PG exam – 

• Integrated preparation test – These particular tests are designed to assist you to revise and prepare two or even more subjects within a single time. In these practice tests, the aspirants are simultaneously tested with two or more subjects with the help of an integrated questionnaire. 

• Full-length preparation test – This test is a replica of the final NEET exam, and therefore, the aspirants should take it very seriously. The full-length practice tests cover all the segments of the NEET-PG exam. 

• PG/FMGE preparation test – Depending on the type of exam the aspirants are looking for, exam-wise practice tests are utilized by the aspirants to make themselves aware of the NEET exam pattern and prepare for the most difficult and important topics. 

• Sectional preparation test – This test functions as an efficient tool to check the specific preparation level of every section. The experts usually advise the aspirants to start attempting the section practice tests first and then look for the full-length practice tests. 

• Mini preparation test – The mini preparation tests are based on individual subjects. It also functions as an efficient way to check the definite preparation level for each segment of the test. These tests come with various themes, such as various pathology slides where several questions would test the aspirants on an image-based questionnaire based on pathology. 

• Topic-wise preparation tests – The aspirants utilise the topic-wise preparation tests to prepare for the most demanding and important topics. It helps them improve their comprehension skills for those topics and boosts confidence.

Why NEET-PG Practice tests? 

Practice tests are the most crucial method of assessing aspirants’ preparation level and re-crafting the effective preparation strategies of particular areas where the aspirants are lagging. These tests assist in familiarizing them with the exam pattern and help develop a time management strategy. 

Following are some aspects that would help the aspirants know the importance of practice tests: 

• Analysis of exam strategy – The practice tests are one of the most effective ways to evaluate the performance and preparation level. The experts and the NEET-UG toppers suggest that all the aspirants must regularly give the practice tests. Therefore, it’s important to analyze the practice tests a month before the final exam to tackle the deficiencies revealed during these tests. 

• Trial run – The practice tests are trial runs before the final exam. These tests are designed in a manner to offer you the real environment as felt on the D-day. Moreover, being placed in a similar situation and feeling similar pressure before the final exam would inculcate a huge amount of confidence and self-analytical capability in the aspirants.
  Therefore, the practice tests assist in decreasing the pre-exam nervousness because the aspirants have already practised in an environment that is similar to the final exam. On the final day, the aspirants would be calmer. 

• Attending a variety of questionnaires – The main goal of the practice tests is to assist the aspirants in practising a wide variety of questions and help them revise a huge syllabus within a short period. This implies that they would get additional time to revise and practice questions from all the subjects before the final NEET-PG exam. 

• Doubt redressal – The aspirants can mark their doubts while practising the mock tests and immediately get them cleared by their professors. This ensures timely clarity and minimum accumulation of doubts before the final exam. 

• Proper time management – Time management is considered to be the most crucial aspect of the NEET-PG examination. The NEET-PG toppers also think that time management has a huge role in cracking the exam as the questions have to be answered within definite time limits. Both – efficient time utilisation and the negative marking schemes can add to the aspirants’ pressure to answer all the questions with 100% accuracy. Therefore, practice tests assist them in improving their time utilisation and would enable them to prioritize certain specific questions that should be answered first. 

The process to prepare for NEET-PG 2021 – How to attempt the NEET-PG practice tests

The NEET-PG examination is attempted every year by millions of aspirants. A majority of these aspirants attempt and solve the practice tests in their preparation phase. But there is always something unique that successful aspirants do differently from the rest. If attempting the practice tests appropriately is the cue, then there must be a certain procedure to approach it. 

Following are some strategies recommended by the experts and the NEET-PG toppers to solve the practice tests and to get the best out of them – 

1. Attempting practice tests of different types – The NEET-PG practice tests 2021 can either be full-length or topic/subject-wise. The aspirants should compulsorily try to solve as many unique variations of practice tests for NEET-PG 2021 as befitting their unique situations. 

Particular questions related to a topic or subject can be practised from various question banks to solidify their concept and to develop their expertise. Attempting and solving subject-wise practice tests would assist the aspirants in mastering each topic individually. While preparing for the more difficult topics, this particular strategy proves extremely fruitful. 

Also, for NEET-PG 2021, practising the full-length practice tests is equally mandatory. The advantages of the aforementioned tests cannot be entirely reaped until one concentrates on the full-length practice tests. 

2. Always be conscious about the negative marking – On the final exam day of NEET-PG 2021, the authorities would not offer chances for any kind of trial and error. In this medical entrance exam, for each incorrect answer, the attendees would lose one point. Hence, the aspirants must keep evaluating their performance in this particular context while solving the practise tests and must try to limit the points lost because of the incorrect answers. 

3. Solving previous years’ NEET-PG question paper – The experts recommend that aspirants solve the previous years’ question papers of NEET and also other similar medical PG entrances; provided that their syllabus is the same as that announced for NEET-PG 2021. It is mandatory to attempt at least 15 practice tests and to solve at least the previous 12-year questionnaire before the final NEET-PG exam. The aspirants must also carry out their performance analysis. 

4. Timing each attempt – As NEET-PG is a pen and paper based exam, the aspirants must attempt approximately 15-30 odd practice tests by simulating the D-day environment. This would help the aspirants analyze the amount of time to devote to each question based on its difficulty level on the actual NEET-PG exam day. 

5. Evaluating the performance – During the NEET-PG preparation phase, the proper evaluation of the performance after each mock test is a crucial point of consideration. It assists in the identification of mistakes and also offers aspirants an opportunity to work on their specific issues. 

The following factors must be kept in mind for the best utilization of the practice tests during the preparation of NEET-PG 2021: 

• Topics resulting in negative scores 
• Analyzing the strong and weak sections
• Time management skills
• Subject-wise accuracy level

Things to consider after attempting the NEET-PG practice tests 

After attempting one practice test, the experts advise the aspirants to take at least a gap of two to three days to identify their shortcomings and re-strategise their preparation based on the result. The aspirants should compulsorily analyze the specific time taken to solve every questionnaire, identify which portion of the questionnaire took the highest time to solve and which section proved to be the most difficult. For the simple sections, the aspirants should examine their accuracy level. 

Such a refined analysis will help them achieve the highest accuracy level. Also, the NEET-PG aspirants are recommended to get their practice tests analyzed by their seniors and mentors. 

Following are some pointers to be followed after attempting the practice tests:

• Appropriate acquaintance with the NEET-PG exam pattern – By attempting the mock tests, the aspirants would be able to gather a prominent picture of the final NEET-PG exam.

• Not getting overwhelmed by the variety of practice test scores – The practice tests do not reflect the aspirant’s preparation level. If the aspirants take four weekly practice tests, they may score different points in all four practice tests. The aspirants should compulsorily note that the practice tests assist in analyzing their performance, but the results of those tests do not reflect their preparation level appropriately.
  This happens because while attempting the practice tests, the aspirants may sometimes experiment with their strategy. Thus, it is advisable to attempt each practice test to improve their confidence and not just score. 

• Building precision- Attempting the practice tests regularly would help the candidates enhance their level of accuracy and restrain the effect of negative marking in the NEET-PG exam. 

• Analysis – After attempting the practice tests, the aspirants are highly advised to analyze their performance. The practice tests identify their strengths, total duration taken and weaknesses and whether the mistakes done by the aspirants are a result of lack of conceptual clarity or lack of concentration. 
  3-4 practice tests should be attempted weekly to improve the speed as well as accuracy. 

• Boosting confidence – The aspirants achieve a specific level of satisfaction if they perform well in the previous years’ NEET-PG questionnaire and the mock test, lifting their confidence level.

• Noting the weak areas and re-strategizing the preparation – If any aspirant is making mistakes in a specific topic or section of NEET-PG preparation, they should rectify such mistakes after identifying the cause. The aspirants can also discuss the recurring issues with their friends and mentors to better comprehend the topic.
  However, it’s important to thoroughly study every topic. The aspirants must prepare each topic in a way that they don’t forget the learned concepts. The mock tests play a huge role in such preparation. 

• Attempting full-length practice tests – In the last preparation month of the NEET-PG exam, the aspirants should try to attempt as many full-length practise tests as possible. Before the D-day, the aspirants should consider this test as a rehearsal for the final exam. In this way, the aspirants would not only be prepared with all the topics and sections but also sit for the same duration, attempt the same number of questions and cover all the sections of the NEET-PG exam. 

5 key features of solving the previous years’ NEET-PG questionnaire 

The exam dates of the NEET-PG exam have already been set and students are now preparing for the same. Solving the practice tests and the previous years’ NEET-PG questionnaire is as important as preparing the theory sections. Here are the five advantages of solving the previous years’ NEET-PG examination: 

• Speed and time management – Based on the exam pattern of NEET-PG 2021, the aspirants would have to solve a definite number of questions within a definite time frame. It implies that the aspirants would get only one minute for each question. On the exam day, to attempt the highest number of questions, you are required to achieve this speed. 

Since NEET-PG’s previous years’ question papers and practice tests are designed to be solved in the same duration as the final exam, these tests would help you achieve the required speed. Also, it is advised that the aspirants continuously sit for the duration given in an actual exam for solving the practice tests. It would help their body clock adjust to the exam schedule and prevent any discomfort or hindrance. 

• Preparation for various topics and questions – During the preliminary stages of preparation, a candidate should stick to solving the questionnaire of previous years and a few basic practice tests. Later, they are advised to attempt the practice tests ranging from intermediate to advanced levels.
  The practise tests of varying difficulty levels prepare the aspirants for a mixed bag of questions. They also assist on the day of the final NEET-PG exam by not overwhelming the aspirants as soon as they see the question paper. 

• Comprehension of the exam pattern – When it comes to the comprehension of the exam pattern, there won’t be an any better guide than the questionnaire of the previous years. They would assist you to comprehend the type of questions that can be asked for a particular subject in NEET-PG 2021. Also, a thorough analysis of the questionnaire would help the aspirants judge the particular topics concerning the NEET-PG.
  With this, you would be able to review your preparation level for each topic. If the aspirants find that they are weak in a particular portion that carries a high weightage in the final NEET-PG exam syllabus, they have to rethink their preparation strategy and must study accordingly. 

• Confidence and accuracy – Solving the NEET-PG practice tests and questionnaires would not only assist the aspirants with time management but would also help them improve their accuracy and speed. Maybe an aspirant can solve 10 questions in 10 minutes. But, the crucial thing is how many of those solved answers might be accurate. Therefore, to crack the NEET-PG exam, the aspirants must achieve considerable speed and accuracy simultaneously.
  With regular practice and higher accuracy, the confidence level would be automatically boosted. Based on the exam day experiences shared by several candidates, those who regularly solve the practice tests and previous years’ questionnaires feel more confident compared to those who relied only on the textbooks. 

• Performance evaluation and preparation analysis – Solving various questionnaires and practice tests on your own would assist you in analyzing the preparation. After each mock test, you must spend appropriate time analyzing your results. Your preparation may be extremely good and you might have thoroughly read all the topics, but there can still be certain topics or sections that would prevent you from getting an appropriate score. 

Therefore, analyzing the results of the practice tests would assist you in strengthening these particular areas and help improve the overall performance on the day of the final NEET-PG exam. However, you should remember that the mock tests or previous years’ questionnaires should be attempted after completion of at least 40% or even more of the NEET-PG syllabus.

The NEET-PG exam is for all those medical students who are seeking specialization and a better career in the field of dental and medical practitioners. Since their entire career depends on this exam, therefore a great majority of medical students become nervous before taking it.
If you are one of those aspirants, you don’t require worrying anymore as you are on the perfect page. This blog is written specifically for medical students so they won’t have to face any inconvenience when they finally appear for the NEET-PG exam. 

This blog highlights the importance of the NEET practice test and provides you with some tips and tricks that would certainly assist you during your preparation for this prestigious medical entrance exam.