Tips for an AVERAGE student to crack NEET

First of all, if you feel that being average defines you and that it makes you incapable of cracking NEET, go to our blog titled: ‘Can an average student crack NEET?’ It will answer all your doubts and also make you feel like you are much more than you think.

I know the feeling of incapability. Feeling that just because you are not as smart as someone else in your class, you will not be able to crack NEET. I have felt this way, dealt with it, and cracked NEET too. I know the way out. 

Acceptance

Do you know what the first step to getting an edge over the ‘smarter’ students is? It is accepting that they are smarter. See, there is no point in trying to be someone you are not. It is fine to be slower than someone else and not to understand new concepts as easily as someone else. It is okay if you cannot solve questions as readily as some other students in your class. 

One day you will have successfully understood your capabilities and your limitations. That day you will also accept that even though things do not come as naturally to you as someone else, you are ready to work harder to understand them. Your real journey will start on the day that you accept your reality and make NEET your goal instead of making your goal comparative. You will never feel happy if you keep comparing your progress to someone else. 

Now we start with the tips:

Smart work + HARD WORK:

Most NEET toppers say ‘smart work over hard work’, this won’t apply to you. You have to work hard too, just working smart is not enough. I would say you will have to work a little extra every day. For a smart aspirant, working 3-4 hours daily is also enough (given that they work consistently). But, for an average student like us, 5-6 hours is compulsory. And just to be very clear, I am talking about CONSISTENT 5-6 hours of work APART FROM CLASSES.

Set measurable targets like topics and chapters or a number of questions instead of setting time targets. Your daily schedule should not say ‘Study for 5 hours today’ instead it should say ‘Complete genetics in biology’ and then you spend as much time as needed to understand genetics. 

Make sure that you are up to date with the class routine and that you are working hard every day to match with the toppers. Remember, hard work beats everything. 

Stick to NCERTS strictly. 

This is advised to every NEET aspirant. Strictly stick to the NCERTs. No need to explore and have fun right now. You can always learn for fun later. Right now just try to understand or even memorize the biology and chemistry NCERTs. Physical chemistry and physics can also be made easy using formula sheets. Stick to the essentials. Do not get into JEE-level books/lectures/mock tests/practice questions etc. 

You should always aim for a safe score before you try to get an extra edge. Studying from the NCERTs can easily get you a 650+ score. You can check out the PYQs if you don’t believe me. They are all NCERT-based, especially in the last few years. Check them out and get clarity on your study material right now.

Memorize!

Most influencers advise to understand and ‘feel’ the syllabus. You indeed need to enjoy something to be able to understand and memorize it. But, nowadays, with the cutthroat competition, just understanding is not enough. You NEED to have everything memorized by-heart so that you can recall it within seconds during the NEET exam.

There are obviously some tough questions that require more time in the paper. To spare time for these questions, you need to work on your speed while solving other easier questions. And to solve these questions faster, you need to have everything memorized. So start memorizing everything since the beginning of 11th standard. As soon as you’re done with a chapter, make a revision sheet and a formula sheet and start memorizing it with regular revision. This will surely help you gain an edge over the rest of the students as most of us realize this fact very late in our preparation. 

We keep thinking that understanding is enough and when we start giving mock tests we realize that we have to rote learn everything to be able to clear the exam. If you start now, you will definitely have an advantage over every smart kid and every topper. 

Feedback and working on it. 

Opt for regular feedback in the form of class tests, do not skip any of them. Most of the time, we skip class tests because we feel like we are not prepared. Even if you are not prepared fully, go and attempt the test, it is feedback. It will tell you exactly where you stand in the competition. It will ground you and scare you into working. 

Start attempting mock tests early and keep revising your paper attempting strategy. These do not have to be full-portion mock tests, they can be unit-wise mock tests too. Work on ignored aspects such as speed, avoiding silly mistakes, fast calculations, etc. These are the ways that you can gain an advantage over other students who will start attempting mock tests in the last 2 months of preparation. Also, do not forget to analyze your mock tests regularly, analysis is the key to attempting mock tests. If you are not analyzing them, you are wasting your time.

Be shameless:

When you are in class, don’t be egoistic or scared to ask questions. Ask as many questions and embarrass yourself as many times as possible. You will remember the answer very particularly if a teacher shames you for asking a dumb question or if a student laughs at you. These things get stuck in our heads, which makes them very easy to recall on exam day. Remember that this classroom is not your entire world, it is a very small part of your life. Nobody will remember you for some dumb question that you asked in class but they will surely remember you if you cracked NEET. 

Make sure to ask for help as many times as needed. Stay back in your coaching center and keep nagging the teachers for help. They might get irritated but they will never refuse help. Teachers can spot dedication and hard work and I’ve never seen a teacher who refuses to help a dedicated student. 

Avoid ‘topper-pressure’

Make sure that you are studying within your limits. There will be times when the smart kids in your class will be discussing questions from HC Verma’s book and other difficult books. They will also talk about how they are studying the 12th syllabus in advance so that it is easier for them in the 12th. You will feel the FOMO (Fear of missing out) but you will have to control yourself. You have to stick to your own goals instead of trying to blindly copy someone else’s routine and schedule. 

The ‘topper-pressure’, the feeling of inadequacy in comparison to other students, and the fear of being left behind are very real. But you have to decide better. You need to realize that you won’t prove yourself to them if you match up to their schedule but do not clear NEET. You will prove yourself only when you clear NEET. Work smartly and regularly on your own terms and not as a response to peer pressure. 

Study with a friend who is at the same level as you.

I wouldn’t advise a big group study session regularly, but you can have one or two friends that you study with. Studying with one person helps keep up the motivation too. When you feel lazy they can push you to work, when they feel lazy, you can force them. It is also easier to decide on tasks and complete them. You do not even have to study everything together, just study your own stuff while sitting together. Seeing someone else study motivates you to study. Then after individual study sessions are done, you can quickly teach each other your topics. 

Teaching is also another great way to get feedback on your work. You will be able to identify the gaps in your understanding. Anytime you get stuck or confused while explaining a concept, it is a sign that you have not understood it perfectly. After a quick cross-teaching session you can go back to your material and work on your weak areas and also try to read up what your study partner has taught you. 

Insecurities. 

You know the worst thing that happens to us average students? We start thinking that we won’t be able to do it and so we give up and start procrastinating. We are so scared of even trying that we stop trying at all. This is not our heart speaking, it is our insecurities speaking. Nobody else will sabotage your preparation, it will only be your insecurities that spoil it for you. You need to get help if you feel like this is happening to you. You can talk to your friends or your teacher. You can also talk to your parents if they are supportive. Sibling, uncle, grandmother, anyone who can help. 

If you get an outlet for your feelings in the form of communication, if somebody listens to what you have to say, you will feel much lighter. It will feel like somebody understands and that your feelings are not invalid. This will help you to keep working. 

Read More: Make Notes During Lectures for NEET

Closing thoughts:

Let me tell you one thing: it’s okay to feel incapable during the journey. Everyone feels it at some point.

Often in these moments, confidence decreases, and insecurities increase. This is totally normal. Just don’t forget to remember the truth; being average doesn’t define your worth. If you think you’re not a genius, then because of this fear, you work even harder. Even better. 

Maybe there are many things that you possess that even toppers might not have, maybe it is your determination, your passion for helping others, and your unique way of grasping concepts.

These traits are not necessarily found in toppers. If toppers are moving fast and don’t revise, but if you understand things slowly but consistently revise, and remember things, then there’s not much difference between you and the topper.

Remember, nobody owns a copyright to success. It’s all about hard work.