Thread by @GuyThatbrown

Thread: How an average MBBS student like me went from a 35K rank in NEET PG 2022 to an under 10K rank in NEET PG 2023!

Before writing this, I initially questioned if I’m qualified enough to provide advice since i do not have a two digit, three digit or even a top 1000 rank.
However, I do have a decent rank( 8.2k) (1/33)

that will allow me to study in a reputed institute in my desired branch within my home state and I realised 70-80%of aspirants share the same exact goal.

When I began preparing for neet pg in my intern year, (2/33)

I was running around like a headless chicken with no clear plan or direction. I know how confusing and overwhelming it can get with the multitude of options which exist today. (3/33)

I see juniors and colleagues make the same mistakes I did despite all the information available online

The purpose of this thread is to share resources,strategy and some lesser known tips that I used and help those 80% crack the exam with a good rank.
(4/33)

1. Notes and video lectures

NOT ALL SOURCES ARE CREATED EQUAL.

This is the first and most important step - it forms the foundation of your preparation because this is the material that you’ll be revising 3-4 times. You can’t afford to get this wrong. (5/33)

I made the mistake of using main lectures and notes of Marrow during my first attempt- they’re bulky and difficult to finish even first read with - let alone revision
(6/33)

The general rule of thumb is to select the most high yielding material in least number of pages-
like revision videos and first aid

For ex : Biochem may consist of 150-200 pages and 50-60 videos, depending on the app you use. (7/33)

Contrast that with First Aid where the biochemistry section is only 60 pages- extremely high yield and easy to revise

Personally, I used a combination of dams notes, marrow Revision notes and first aid for my prep.

(8/33)

2. PYQ’s and MCQ practice

PRACTISE MORE QUESTIONS

Thanks to @DrAditya2935 it is now widely known how important PYQs are for effective preparation. However, a common mistake is solving only one question bank module with 10-15 questions and assuming it is sufficient. (9/33)

Mcq solving is a skill and to hone that skill you need to practise a LOT of mcqs. This will help you in a couple of ways (10/33)

- Exposure to the full range of possible questions that can be asked on a particular topic

- Learning how to eliminate options and solve unfamiliar questions. (11/33)

It’s impossible that you’ll know the answer to every single question in the exam. The ability to eliminate options and arrive at an answer is what distinguishes the toppers from average students. (12/33)

I used this little known app called PrePg - which has a vast database of questions from the past 10-15 years including NEET, INI, FMGE,DNB .The app provides useful filters so you can practise specific set of questions . (13/33)

For important topics- I used to solve atleast 250-300 questions every single day and this was a game changer in my preparation.

One drawback of PrePg is that it may contain some outdated questions and lengthy explanations. (14/33)

Alternatively you can also use custom modules in your app and solve questions TOPIC WISE tagged as “recent neet” and “AIIMS”

Personally, I used both pre pg and marrow custom modules to practise questions
(15/33)

3. Revision
I can’t stress enough how important a well planned revision strategy is . Mess this up and you’ll mess up months of hard work

In general, The idea is to finish at least 2-3 rounds of revision and then one final revision in the last 1 week before an exam. (16/33)

Conventionally, the approach involves completing the first read of all the 19 subjects and then allocating half the time it took for the first read to the first revision, continuing in the same manner for subsequent revisions. (17/33)

The problem with this method is by the time you finish the 19th subject, you can’t recall the earlier subjects and then the 2nd read ends up taking the same time as the first one.
Here’s what i did instead

(18/33)

- Before starting a new subject or topic each day,
I set aside a couple of hours to revise a subject I had completed the previous week or month. This ensured that all subjects remained fresh in my memory throughout the first read. (19/33)

Although this approach may prolong the first read I promise that your retention and recall will drastically improve, (20/33)

enabling faster and more effective revision in subsequent reads

- Another effective way to revise older subjects is by solving a custom module of 50-100 questions for that subject. You can even combine 2-3 subjects to create a mini Grand Test (GT). (21/33)

- If you tend to feel overwhelmed in the last 2-3 days before the exam, using resources like DAMS DVT or BTR by Zainab ma'am can help ensure that you cover all high-yield points for all the 19 subjects just before the exam.
(22/33)

Personally I found DAMS DVT to be an excellent resource for all recent updates and revising subjects like OBGY, PSM, Surgery, and Pharmacology in the final days.

4 )GT’s
To be honest, I did not find a single platform that created GTs mirroring NEET PG effectively. (23/33)

They were either excessively challenging or contained irrelevant questions with few or no PYQs. Marrow GT, despite the above mentioned issues, are the best option available, as they provide good explanations. I attempted a GT every couple of weeks, (24/33)

And reviewed all 200 questions. While I initially scored only 79 correct in my first GT, I gradually improved, achieving 141correct answers in my last GT, (25/33)

and ultimately attaining 150 correct answers in NEET PG

So don’t be dejected if you perform badly initially- your score will definitely improve with time and revisions.

On an average - I used to study 8-10 hrs divided in 3 parts .
2-3 hrs for revision, (26/33)

2-3 hrs for McQ practice and 3-4 hrs for studying a new topic/subject. It’s important that you give equal emphasis to both revision and MCQ practice, (27/33)

allotting them the same amount of time as studying new material.
Your your success In exam will not depend on the amount of material that you study - it’ll depend on the material that you can retain and recall on the day of the exam

(28/33)

I highly recommend following @DrAditya2935 on YouTube. His videos have been life-changing for me, and I credit my rank to his advice. Everything mentioned in this thread is just reiteration of his teachings, along with some insights from my personal experience (29/33)

While getting a top 100 or a top 1000 rank requires good memory, talent and a bit of luck - I believe anyone can get a top 10k rank provided they use the right resources, (30/33)

strategy and have the work ethic and discipline to follow the plan sincerely.

More importantly- don’t fall for the shiny object syndrome, trust your sources and avoid FOMO

I wish you the Best of luck and if you have any questions feel free to comment or send me a DM.

@DrAditya2935 @Rishabh2970 @angryoldman27 @drpraveenpsy @penningphysicin @AlishaAkhani @docrohan @boneteacher @SwapnilVasani

@DrDhruvchauhan @DrMeet_Ghonia

5) Changing Trends

Over the years, pattern and distribution of Neet PG has changed considerably. There’s an increased emphasis on pre clinical subjects. You can’t randomly pick a subject to study and expect miracles. There’s an order of priority in which you read subjects

Based on the distribution and weightage of questions. This is what I recommend-

Path, pharmac, physio,micro, biochem —> OBGY, PSM, Surgery —> FM, ortho, Pedia —> psych, skin, ent, ophtha

A lot of medicine questions can be solved if you do path, pharm, micro well - so just focus on doing specific topics from medicine like stroke protocol, ecg, HIV etc.

Radio is integrated with medicine, surgery, pedia, ortho,obgy - so do the radio images alongside

@sumersethi sir also does a great job of completing high yield radiology images in his DVT session.

6 ) Important links

—NEET PG IMP TOPICS -
drive.google.com/drive/folders/…

Courtesy - Dr. Hrishikesh Suryawanshi
Instagram :suryadoc72

This is a literal gold mine and extremely high yield.
Print it out and tick off topics as you read a subject

No guesswork or confusion anymore

—MER by Dr. Zainab Vora Ma’am ( @DrZvora8) -
drive.google.com/file/d/1tMZWZ2…

Another great resource. You don’t need to watch everything- use it selectively for difficult concepts or topics that you just can’t seem to understand

—Biochemistry

Most people struggle with biochem because they don’t approach it conceptually.

You don’t need hundreds of hours of video lectures

Watch the biochemistry playlist by DirtyMedicine on Youtube -
youtube.com/playlist?list=…

Only 30 videos, hardly 10-15 mins long.

This will change the way you look at biochem. I promise that this is SUFFICIENT. You don’t need more

Dirty medicine video lectures + First aid for notes- do them properly and you’ll get every question from biochemistry correct.