Right approach to NEET needed, say parents of toppers

Parents of the State NEET topper R Santhosh were happy that their son made it to the top of the list in Tamil Nadu in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for MBBS admission – apart from clearing other national level MBBS entrance examinations.

migrator|24 Aug 2017 1:09 AM IST

Right approach to NEET needed, say parents of toppers

Second rank holder Mukesh Kanna with his parents

Chennai

They are equally upset that children of their friends would not be able to make it to a medical college this year despite having scores of over 99 per cent in the Class 12 board examination.R Rangaraj, father of Santhosh said, “At least children of 10 of my fellow doctor friends have a cut-off score of 198 and 199 out of 200.” A neurologist, Rangaraj further said, “Factually speaking, NEET is not a tough nut to crack,” and added that students have to study only 500 pages in the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) books for CBSE students. When this is coupled with a little coaching, they can do wonders, says Vijayalakshmi, mother of Santhosh and a gynaecologist by profession.Parents of second rank holder GM Mukesh Kanna also said that they were unfazed by the confusion or that that many other MBBS aspirants were batting for or against NEET. They said that their son failed to secure an MBBS seat in the first attempt with his cut-off marks. However, NEET made it possible for him to make it in the third attempt, said JR Manikandan and R Geetha, Kanna’s parents.They said that those who could not make it this time have two more chances to realise their dream of becoming a doctor through NEET. They added that this was not possible with the Class 12 cut-off score as there is no possibility of a reexamination. “Now that the Supreme Court has made it clear that NEET is the only way, students and parents should be mentally prepared and start preparing for the exam,” Manikandan added.

TIPS FROM RANKERS

Z SYED HAFIZ, who scored third rank in the state with an All India ranking of 299, with a score of 651, chose Madras Medical College through the All India quota. “ I took a break for one year to just prepare for the NEET. I had written the exam last year, but it did not work out. I decided to take a one year break and went to Kota for a year and studied nearly six-to-eight hours a day,” he says, He asks students not to lose hope. “I did not make it in my first attempt but I put my heart and soul into it the next time,” he says.

AISHWARYA SRINIVASAN finished her schooling last year from a CBSE school. She could not get through the All-India quota and her cut-off mark was not enough. “I ended up joining engineering but quit in less than a month. That was not my calling. I joined a training institute and prepared for a full year.” She scored 654 marks in the NEET exam and is ranked four. However, she got a seat in MMC through the All-India quota.