8 ways to avoid the OMR mistakes and increase your NEET score.

Introduction 

The NEET exam is a pen and paper-based examination. It is conducted in the offline mode. It is a 720-mark paper with 4 subjects- Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology each containing 50 questions out of which only 45 questions have to be answered.

Each question is of 4 marks with 200 questions (only 180 have to be attempted) equating to a total of 720 marks.

It is a pen and paper-based examination. You are given an OMR which you have to fill carefully to avoid any silly mistakes.

People make a lot of mistakes while filling the OMR leading to a total wastage of their hard work. Imagine, you have worked so hard, that you even solved the question correctly but eventually, you bubbled the OMR wrong. How awful would you feel?

I used to mark wrong answers, I used to forget to write my roll numbers. I even once made the whole sequence of answers wrong because I marked one question wrong and then did not stop.

That can lead to you losing out on your entire NEET PAPER.

When you mark a wrong answer you get – 1 (minus one) instead of +4 (plus 4). These days even the loss of one mark can lead to loss of rank in thousands. 

OMR filling is a very important aspect of the NEET paper attempting strategy. It is as important as knowing how to solve questions.

What is the point of learning so much if you can’t mark the answers correctly?

Thus, it becomes very crucial to fill the form correctly and to know how to do it correctly.

Here are 8 tips to help students avoid OMR sheet mistakes in NEET:

Read the instructions carefully and follow them properly.

Here are the instructions written on the official NEET OMR:

• Before Filling OMR Sheet, the Candidate should remember one thing – OMR sheets are evaluated by computer software. This software is very sensitive and can only read properly filled black-coloured bubbles. Do not tamper or scratch the OMR sheet. Only provide the required information in the OMR sheet.

• Specific spaces or boxes are provided in the OMR sheets to fill the required information like Roll Number, Test Booklet No. and Test Booklet Code and do not write anything else on the OMR sheets or do not make any specific symbol or sign. This can lead to the rejection of the OMR Sheet. The candidate has a 10-digit Roll Number. The correct way to fill the Roll Number is mentioned in the following example. The Roll Number will be mentioned in the Admit Card.

• The Candidate should ensure that 7-digit Test Booklet No. has been filled and marked correctly.

• In the OMR Sheet, write the Candidate’s Name, Father’s Name, and Mother’s Name (in running handwriting) in the Name column as given in the following box.

• Do not fill in more than one option for any of the questions because there is only one answer, which is the most appropriate for all the questions.

• The candidates are required to sign with time (in running handwriting) in the declaration column.

• Make sure that the CODE printed on the OMR Answer Sheet is the same as that on the Test Booklet. In case of discrepancy, the candidate should immediately report the matter to the Invigilator for replacement of both the Test Booklet and the Answer Sheet.

• In case of any discrepancy for a particular language, only the English version will be considered as the final version.

Even when practicing mock tests start filling in the roll number first. Make up a roll number and test booklet number of your own and fill in all the details before starting your mock tests at home. Make it a practice to do this. You will not realise it but on the day of the paper but all these things take up a lot of your time.

Practice and Follow one Sequence of the OMR filling

1. Bubble the OMR after completing every question. Fill the OMR if you solve a question and are confident enough to bubble the OMR then and there.
2. You divide the paper subject-wise. You complete all the questions (while also skipping the difficult questions) in a subject and then fill in the OMR of 50 questions. Remember, you only have to mark 45 questions out 50. So you will have to skip some. Be very careful when skipping a question and going to the next. You might bubble one answer wrong and then continue to do so. You might realize after 4-5 questions but then you have already lost potential 16 marks and gained a minus 5. 
3. You solve the entire paper and leave out the tough questions for the end and then fill in the OMR. You have to be very careful as you will be leaving some questions to be bubbled at the end. You will also be attempting only 10 questions in section B of each subject which has a total of 15 questions. So be very careful while skipping the questions.

I used to follow the second method. It used to increase my speed and accuracy.

Use your left index finger to guide your eyes

This might seem like an advice that might slow you down. But, trust me, it will only help you increase your speed and accuracy. 

Practice this technique in at least 20-30 OMRs. Just pick up some dummy OMRs. When you are bored, pick up a mock paper and then following the instructions above, fill the OMR.  You do not have to solve the mock test when you are practising this mindlessly. This practice will help you to develop a muscle memory. Slowly, after sufficient practice, your OMR silly mistakes will reduce. 

Do this when you are practising a mock test also. This way you are double-checking your questions and answers. This will reduce your unnecessary silly OMR mistakes. 

Check the Pen

You will be given a pen by NTA to fill the OMR. You do not have to take any pen of your own. It will be confiscated at the security gate. 

Now, this SARKARI pen has to be checked before you use it for roll number. You might have to shake it also to make it work. Shake it away from your OMR or it might spill. 

When you get the question paper, scribble it on the “rough work” section to let the ink flow. Avoid any scribble on the OMR. It is not allowed.

Keep looking at the watch after every 5 questions

Keep track of your time. Make a mock strategy to complete your subjects in this time.

I used to follow this :

Biology with OMR in 50 minuntes

Chemistry with OMR in 1 hour

Physics with OMR in 1 hour

Leave the last 30 minutes to solve the tough questions of all subjects.

The test is of 3 hours duration and the Test Booklet contains 200 multiple-choice questions (four
options with a single correct answer) from Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (Botany and Zoology).

50 questions in each subject are divided into two Sections (A and B) as per details given below:

• Section A shall consist of 35 (Thirty-five) Questions in each subject (Question Nos – 001 to 035, 051 to 085, 101 to 135, and 151 to 185). All questions are compulsory.
• Section B shall consist of 15 (Fifteen) questions in each subject (Question Nos – 036 to 050,086 to 100, 136 to 150, and 186 to 200). In Section B, a candidate needs to attempt any 10 (Ten) questions out of 15 (Fifteen) in each subject.

Now, you will not get the entire 200 minutes just for solving paper and filling OMR. There will come an invigilator who will take up 10 minutes of your time.

Even more than 10 minutes for some people. So keep in mind this waste of time. So practice your mocks with a time limit of only 180 minutes in mind.

You will have to use the stamp pad to put a left thumb impression. Wipe away the ink on your clothes. Remember to do this. Please do not make this mistake. Otherwise, you will smudge your OMR. IT WILL HAPPEN. TRUST ME. YOU WILL BE IN A HURRY AND YOU WILL PUT YOUR THUMB ON THE INK. In the words of Ranbir Kapoor, “WIPE IT OFF, WIPE IT OFF”

Remember to leave a question if it is taking more than 2 minutes in Physics and Chemistry. And, leave a Biology question if it is taking more than 1 minute. Come back to them in the last 30 minutes.

How should I fill the bubbles?

Put your pen to the boundary of a circle and start filling outside to inside. This will avoid any spill outside the bubble. 

Practice all these strategies in 20 rough OMR sheets. This way you will develop a muscle memory and increase your speed and accuracy.

These are the correct way of filling an OMR.

THE BUBBLES SHOULD BE DARK AND COMPLETELY FILLED

DO NOT CUT OR USE A HIGHLIGHTER.

Mock Test Strategy

Practice to complete the paper in 180 minutes instead of 200 minutes to incorporate the invigilators time.

Follow the left index finger strategy to guide your eyes

Keep track of time. Even if you are low on time try to follow the index finger strategy. You will make a blunder if you are marking the answers wrong in trying to save time for tough questions. There is no guarantee that you will be able to solve the difficult questions. Do not make bubbling errors of the correct questions. It is just a waste of time and valuable marks. It is just a bad strategy and your ego ruling your brain. Develop this patience and this ability to divide your time. PRACTICE, PRACTICE and PRACTICE.

Conclusion

These 8 tips are tricks that you will only get from medical students who have taken NEET and excelled in it. We did not get a complied list of advice to fill the OMR. People do not pay attention to the advice I listed above, like wiping off the ink from your thumb, etc. They should be remembered and followed.

You can not afford to make silly mistakes now. The number of applications are already 24 lacs and they will keep increasing every year. Even if you lose just one mark, you lose thousands in ranks. Paper attempting strategy and practicees are now more important than how much you know. Only NCERT is ENOUGH to complete the syllabus. Divert all your attention now to filling the omr properly and attempting the paper smartly.