NEET exam pattern 2027: 180 questions, 720 marks, 3 hours

How does negative marking work in NEET?

NEET UG gives +4 marks for a correct answer, −1 for a wrong answer and 0 for a question left blank. A wrong answer therefore costs you the mark you lose plus the four you did not earn — a five-mark swing against a correct answer.

Negative marking is why two students with the same number of correct answers can end up far apart. Take 150 correct answers: with 30 wrong answers the score is 570; with 10 wrong and 20 left blank it is 590. Twenty marks at that level can move an all-India rank by thousands of places.

Is it worth guessing in NEET?

A blind guess between four options earns, on average, a quarter of a mark: one chance in four of +4 against three chances in four of −1. That is barely positive, and it assumes a truly random guess — in practice a confident wrong option pulls you towards it.

Once you can rule out two options with certainty, the maths changes: a guess between the remaining two averages +1.5 marks. A sensible rule for most students is to leave a question blank unless you can eliminate at least two options, and to test that rule in mocks before May rather than on exam day.

What happens to a question with a wrong or disputed answer?

NTA publishes a provisional answer key after the exam and lets candidates challenge it. How dropped questions, or questions with more than one correct option, are scored is set in the information bulletin and the final answer key notice — read that section before you calculate a borderline score. Our NEET answer key guide explains the challenge process.

How much time do you get per question in NEET?

NEET UG gives exactly one minute per question: 180 questions in 180 minutes. Before 2025 the paper allowed 200 minutes for 180 answered questions, so the current pattern is tighter even though the marks are the same.

One minute is an average, not a budget. Most Biology questions are recall from NCERT and take well under a minute when you know the line. Physics numericals and some Chemistry calculations take two or three. Students who finish Biology quickly buy the time Physics needs.

In what order should you attempt the NEET paper?

There is no official order. A common approach, and a good starting point to test in mocks:

• Biology first (about 60–70 minutes for 90 questions) while you are fresh, because it carries half the marks and rewards careful reading.
• Chemistry next (about 40–45 minutes), starting with inorganic and NCERT-based questions.
• Physics last (about 50–55 minutes), with 10 minutes kept to check OMR bubbling.

What matters is that you choose an order in practice and stick to it. Switching strategy on exam day is one of the most common reasons for a score below your mock average.

What does the OMR sheet change?

NEET is not computer-based. You shade one bubble per question with a ballpoint pen, and a shaded bubble cannot be changed. Mark answers in your question booklet first and transfer them in blocks — for example every 15–20 questions — so you do not run out of time with answers left in the booklet. Practise this on printed NEET previous year papers and at least a few full-length free mock tests under a 180-minute timer.