How many drops are enough for NEET?

The NEET exam is the only medical entrance exam in India. One can get admission into MBBS, BDS, BPT, Nursing and other medical courses through NEET UG. Given that it’s the only way to get admission into these courses, the competition for NEET is very intense. 

Most people cannot clear it in one go, so they choose to take a drop. This means that they do not take admission into colleges that year and prepare for the exam again. After thorough preparation, they attempt the exam again in hopes of clearing it. But what if they are unable to clear it in the drop year? Is taking another drop worth it? What about 3 drops, 4 drops or even 5 drops? How many drop years are enough for NEET? 

Let’s find out.

Reasons for Taking a Drop Year

NEET is not an easy exam. The negative marking, the number of aspirants, the stress, the vast syllabus: any of these reasons can make an aspirant opt for a drop year. 

Some aspirants also say that they started studying seriously only after the first failure. This too is a genuine reason for opting for a drop year. 

A Second drop can be due to several reasons too. Some more needed study, personal reasons interfering with preparation. Poor health during exam day, failure of filling the OMR correctly. Pure bad luck, where your weakest chapters appear most in the paper. These are just some reasons, there could be many other reasons as well. 

2 drops can be justified very easily and they are often accepted by society too. All medicos know the race for NEET and they respect the droppers. 

The problem arises when the number of drops goes beyond 3. People start raising their eyebrows, your family starts receiving taunts from relatives and extended family. Your friends start cutting ties with you. Is all this worth it? 

The bad side of Multiple Drop Years

If I were to be brutally honest, in three drop’s time you could complete another degree in the time you get selected for MBBS. You will start earning by the time you start with your MBBS degree. 

The MBBS course is a 5.5 year course, without including the bond years that come along with a government college. So, if we were to calculate. It would take you more than 7 years to start with your own clinic as a general practitioner. You will be around 27-28 by the time you even start your own setup. 

If I include the PG years, you will be around 30-31 by the time you start your own practice. When we take all these realizations into consideration, the question changes from ‘How many years are enough?’ To ‘How many years are even worth it?’

What facts say

Did you know that approximately 40-50% students appearing for NEET, take a drop and appear for the exam again the next year. The number of seats in medical colleges are just 1,06,333 and the number of aspirants appearing for NEET are more than 25 lakh. But then again, to give you some relief, most NEET toppers are actually droppers. 

To be honest, there is no data on the number of droppers who actually clear NEET. If I talk from personal experience, around 60% of my friends in medical college are droppers. Of these, around 40% students are second or third droppers. This means that droppers do have a better success rate than freshers. But can this logic be applied to every NEET aspirant?

Not really.

The truth

Out of 25 lakh aspirants only 0.5% qualify. Of these top 0.5%, some are droppers, some are not. You cannot for sure say that you will be able to clear NEET as a fresher, neither can you say that the drop year is going to be the solution. For some students, drop year is the answer. Some people are able to crack NEET after 3 drops. But for some, even 5 drops do not work.

There is no way that I can give you a definite answer, no way that you can say that ‘x’ number of drops will be enough. The answer to the question is very subjective.

If you are asking where you should draw the line, personally, I would draw the line at 3 attempts. But, I do not know your problems, I am not in your place. I had a relatively comfortable place and mental state to prepare. You might not have the same luxury. So, instead of asking someone else to draw the line for you, do it yourself. Allow yourself only as many tries as you can handle. You have to consider a lot of things while taking this decision. Think and consider your family support too, only then take a drop.

And honestly, a lot of other degrees are great too. You can get any other course in medicine and still feel happy and content with your choice.

Why do people take so many drops then?

In the post-covid age, medicine is the most secure career. You will never be out of job. You will never have to go jobless because of recession. You will never have to worry about your family’s financial status. It is a very secure job that will set you up for life.

Apart from the financial stability, you will also have a stable status in society. You will be respected as an individual. Announcing that you are a medical professional is enough to be respected in any room that you walk into. The life is one like no other.

This makes people opt for multiple drops.

Then how do you decide?

For you to decide the number of drops you want to take for NEET, you need to retrospect. Try to gauge your previous performance, try to understand the gaps and flaws in your performance and if they can be filled with another year.

Think about your family’s financial present status and the effect that multiple drops will have on it. Think about the stress and pressure that you will be under, think about your dreams, your aspirations. If you want it, there’s nothing stopping you. How much do you want it? Will some other course be the answer? 

Mostly think about your idea of yourself. Are you aware of your capabilities, do you accept your reality? Delusion is not the answer. Retrospect very honestly and decide ‘how many drops are enough’ for you. Think about your dreams too, think about how much you can sacrifice for your dreams.

I, sitting in my house, having no idea about your life or your choices cannot decide for you. Anybody who does not know you personally, cannot decide. I can only say what I think is rational. The decision is yours. There’s no shame in being a dropper, but then again, there’s no shame in wanting to pursue another course and  leave the medical field altogether. 

All the best for whatever you decide. Here, regardless.