Hello future doctors. If you have reached a plateau in your mock test graph- meaning that you have reached a steady score that does not increase no matter what you do, then you are in the right place.
I know how frustrating it is, so much effort feels like a waste and you also start losing your motivation. I have been through the same phase during my NEET preparation. I have summarized the things that will help you make the graph go upward again.
We are not stopping until we score 720, okay?
What can be the reason behind the plateau?
1) Too difficult mock tests.
Most of us do not really take this factor into consideration. We need to practice mock tests which are at par with the NEET level. Yes, you can also practice more difficult mock tests, but ONLY AFTER you are doing very well in the NEET level mock tests. Dream big but after you have secured a safe score.
A harder mock test might present this way:
- Some questions just seem impossible to solve, you cannot even understand what chapter they are from.
- You do not remember studying anything related to that question.
- It involves 3-4 concepts and a lot of calculation.
These are the JEE level questions that you have not been trained for. If you are giving JEE level mock tests you might reach a plateau where you are able to solve the simpler questions but beyond that you are stuck.
How to fix this?
Take up a simpler NEET level mock test and notice the instant increase in your marks. You can find a lot of such mock tests online or on educational apps. Try to solve a previous year paper to gain back your confidence, then go to simpler mock tests.
2) Lot of silly mistakes
This can also be the reason for a plateau. You are not being careful, or, you do not have a good time management strategy. This leads to a lot of silly mistakes.
Now silly mistakes can be of a lot of types:
- You might be weak in math, this can lead to calculation errors. So you put the right formula, substitute the values correctly, but still get the wrong answer.
- You could be bubbling the OMR incorrectly. This leads to a low score when you correct your mock test.
- You could be making a mistake while copying a value to your rough sheet.
- You might be missing out on words like ‘only’ and ‘except’ and ‘not’. These change the entire meaning of the question and can lead to a wrong answer if missed.
- You could be calculating the right answer but then selecting the wrong unit.
All in all, you make a certain number of silly mistakes that lead to a low score.
How to avoid this?
By being very alert and maintaining your concentration while giving mock tests. Take a good sleep of at least 6 hours, drink coffee, do whatever helps you to stay alert. Remember the importance of every question and every mark.
There are 1000s of students in a one mark difference. It can be the reason you get a seat or it can be the reason you lose it. Be wise.
What if it’s not either of the two reasons? What is lacking?
What if you are taking the right difficulty level mock tests and you are not making silly mistakes either. You are doing everything right, still you are not able to increase your marks? Don’t worry I have a solution for you too.
1) Good study habits:
There is a high chance that you have not completed the syllabus. You might think that you have, but there are some complex parts from chapters that you have not touched. This will make you unfit in solving the few difficult questions in the NEET paper. Thus, every time you give a mock test, you will score only a certain number of marks.
You might also lack regular revision during your last preparation phase. If you do not revise daily, you will surely forget one thing or the other during the mock test. This will lead to
Random mistakes in every mock test, mistakes that do not follow any pattern. Lack of revision will leave you confused and scared.
To avoid all this, keep a regular revision schedule.
How to revise during mock tests?
By revision sheets and formula sheets. You will use short notes instead of the entire textbook. It is very scary to look at your textbooks in the last few days. They feel impossible to cover in time. To avoid this scare, I always advise you to make revision sheets, I hope you have them ready. If not, use sheets that you get on the internet.
2) Paper attempting strategy:
Another factor that can be the reason behind a steady score is a bad paper attempting strategy. Everything in the process, the way you start and end the paper, the time you dedicate to each subject, and how you deal with tough questions can impact your score.
How to deal with this?
Proper strategy building after trial and error. I have the strategy that I used linked here. My paper attempting strategy is a great one made after a lot of mistakes. But, I still advise you to try out a lot of strategies befores deciding on one.
Skip difficult questions in the paper and come back to them later. Or, you may lose time that you could’ve spent answering the easier questions. Each question has equal marks, there are no extra marks for a difficult question. Be smart.
3) Proper analysis.
You might be lacking a proper analysis method, so you don’t even realise where you are going wrong in your mock tests. When you start analysing properly, you will understand your mistakes and will have some direction to work. This is a very important step in giving mock tests for NEET, please DONT skip this step.
Patience Patience Patience
You must keep in mind that a small setback is not the end of your journey. Okay, your scores are stagnant. Okay, you cannot seem to increase them.
All you should do is keep trying.
Try all different methods, do anything it takes. This is not where you give up guys. This is the test of your determination. If you want to be a doctor, you should be able to handle small setbacks. Be smart, be hard working. You can do it.
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