My NEET exam day experience.

Hey future docs. The exam day is so close now. I can understand how anxious you might be feeling right now,  ‘How will it go?’ ‘Will I reach the centre on time?’ ‘Will I remember to keep all the important documents?’ ‘Will I be anxious or confident?’ ‘Will I be able to complete the paper on time?’ 

I can totally understand. I have been through the NEET day pressure and I know how difficult it is. The only thing I did last minute was read peoples’ exam day experience. It is a little calming and nice to feel like you’ve already gone through the process through someone else. 

I will take you through my exam day experience to help you understand how it goes and what you feel during the entire journey.

The last day

The day before the exam was the most difficult part. I had been allotted a center in another city so I had to travel by road to the center. It was a 4-5 hour journey and I have motion-sickness. 

So, all in all, the journey was crazy. Stopping every half an hour because I felt nauseous and feeling so tired that I couldn’t even walk to the hotel room was how my day went.

The covid scene

Did I mention that I gave my exams during covid? IT WAS SCARY. I was so scared for my parents and myself, we were following all precautions and wore masks throughout.

Along with some clothes and the important documents and revision books, what we had in our bags was lots of sanitizers and disinfectants.

Just to be sure, we sanitized the already clean hotel room twice again. To make sure that there is no chance that we catch covid.

The night before NEET

It had already been a very crazy day, the travel, the cleaning, the bad food from the hotel, everything made me feel very unsettled and anxious.

I had planned that I would study from my revision notes but then I had no headspace for it. So I just decided to skip it.  I sat on the hotel bed for a while, and just started talking to my parents.

We talked about very vague things, like what’s going on at home, the weather and anything that is not related to NEET. This really calmed me down.

I also talked to my biology class sir that night, he helped me calm down, told me ‘Don’t worry even if you’re not able to do it this time, we will figure it out next year. Just take care of yourself.’ This really helped relieve some of the pressure off my head. I felt a spurt of confidence and said ‘Sir, I will do it this time, I’ll clear it.’ 

I don’t know where the confidence came from, but I really felt powerful in that moment.

Sleep Time

My parents had gone to the centre to check it out and make sure that we are at the right place. I was listening to some calming music for a while.

I felt a lot calmer in a few minutes and started revising my notes. I quickly went through the revision sheets and my mistake book. Then, I had some fruits and went to bed.

It was a little difficult to sleep at first but then I dozed off after a while. My mom really helped me sleep, said things to calm me down.

The morning of the exam

I woke up a little late at around 9:30-10:00, and meditated for some time. I prayed for a while and then had some good South Indian breakfast. 

Then after double checking everything I had packed for the centre, I left for the centre. It was a 10 minute drive from the hotel so we reached early. 

We had some peanuts packed to snack on. I was eating peanuts and just sitting in the car with my parents for a while. Surprisingly, there was a comfortable silence, with my mother stroking my back and my father checking if we’d got the admit card and the required documents.

The exam centre

After a while, I left to go inside. Both my parents said their best wishes and kept saying ‘You’ve got this bacha, you can do it.’ 

Honestly the journey to the exam centre, the long queue, the checks, everything is a blur. I just know that in half an hour I was sitting on my exam table and the examiner had announced that he’ll be giving the papers in another 30 minutes.

The paper

The most stressful time of my life. I practiced breathing exercises before the paper. But, once I saw the paper, I got really scared. I went through the entire paper and realized that it was much longer and time taking than I had expected.

I had to change my exam strategy in the moment and complete the easier sections even faster. I made two mistakes and circled the wrong answers on the OMR. When I realised this, I just broke down. I felt like crying and leaving the exam hall, but half the paper was still left.

I tried to calm myself down, I just kept my pen aside for a minute and closed my eyes. I kept saying things like ‘You can do it, you’ve got this.’ in my head. I kept my eyes closed for a good 5 minutes.

And then, I started again.

After

Somehow I managed to complete the paper in time. The two mistakes did cost me later during counselling but I was still sure that I would get into a good government medical college.

But still… the moment I stepped out of the exam hall, I started crying. I started crying very ugly, with tears streaming down my face. My parents got very worried when they saw me, and started asking if it did not go well. I said ‘It went okay, I made very bad mistakes, but I think I’ve managed a safe score.’, all with tears running down my cheeks.

They got really confused but also gave me my space. And that day, I cried away all the stress, the anger, the frustration and tiredness of the two years. Most people won’t understand this, but NEET aspirants know. You guys know how much emotion gets bottled up in the preparation years, you know the insurmountable stress and worry that clouds you throughout your journey.

When you get done with your paper, I’m sure you will too feel the release and the peace that I felt that day

The ride back home

Who doesn’t check the answer key as soon as it comes out, no matter how unreliable it is? I did too.

I went through 4-5 answer keys and cross checked my score everywhere. It was a very good score, the range that these answer keys gave me was easily enough to get me into a good government medical college.

The joy I felt during those moments cannot be described in words. ‘My dream has come true, I’m going to be a doctor soon.’ This realization hit me hard.

The freedom

Yes, it will be the most difficult day of your life, but it will also be the most freeing and liberating day. You will take a breath of relief that you’ve been holding for years. You’ll sleep careless that night and won’t have to worry about waking early the next morning. YOU WILL FEEL FREE.

Just remember to take help from your guardians, your parents, your siblings, teachers, everybody who is there to help you. With them, everything seems easier. Just listen to everybody and trust them when they say ‘You can do it. You will do your best. And we will just figure out the rest of it later’ 

I hope you know that you are much bigger than one exam. You deserve great things, dear aspirant. ALL THE BEST.