NEET UG Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme

Every stage, paper, question count and mark allocation for NEET UG, followed by what the penalty ratio implies for whether to attempt a question you are unsure of.

Stages

StageCounts towards
NEET (UG) written testMerit. Marks determine the All India Rank (AIR). There is no separate prelims/mains structure and no interview.
Counselling and seat allotmentMerit-based on All India Rank. NTA only provides the result and All India Rank; seat allotment and eligibility verification rest with the counselling authorities.

Only the merit stages decide the final ranking. A qualifying stage must be cleared but its marks are discarded.

Papers

PaperStageQuestionsMarksDuration
PhysicsNEET (UG) written test45180
ChemistryNEET (UG) written test45180
Biology (Botany & Zoology)NEET (UG) written test90360

Marking scheme

+4 for a correct or most appropriate answer, -1 for any incorrect option marked, 0 for unanswered. Official wording: '(i) Correct answer or the most appropriate answer: Four marks (+4) (ii) Any incorrect option marked will be given minus one mark (-1). (iii) Unanswered: No mark (0).' The bulletin also specifies remedies for defective questions: if more than one option is correct, +4 goes to candidates who marked any of the correct options; if all options are correct, +4 goes to all who attempted; and if no option is correct, or the question is wrong or dropped, all candidates who appeared receive +4 whether or not they attempted it.

Break-even accuracy

20% — A guess only adds marks if you are right more than once in every five guesses, so a blind pick from four options (25%) is marginally positive and eliminating even one option makes attempting clearly worthwhile — but wild guessing on questions you cannot narrow at all is close to a coin-flip against you.

Continue

The full set, with progress tracking and five agent perspectives per question, is in the JupiteX app — browse the exam catalogue or browse the Learn library.