While the process to decide whether to drop one year for NEET preparation or not can itself be taxing enough, the episodes of doubts and insecurities keep repeating even after the decision has been made.

Many students keep going back and forth on their decision, especially as their peers move forward in the race. There are many questions that brew in the aspirants’ minds during this one year.

This time, we reached out to a few experts with some of the most common questions and doubts that repeaters might have. Here is what the experts said:

I keep going back and forth. How do I decide and stick to my decision?
It helps to have conversations about your doubts with your family or whoever it is that you seek advice from, even if it is a career counsellor. I also encourage students to write down their goals in relation to the path they have chosen to take, along with why they have chosen this path.

It is also important to have an ‘outline’ which decides how many numbers of hours or years, what is the maximum amount of time, that you are willing to put into this particular goal.

Aakriti Astha, Psychologist at Counseling Services, IIT Delhi

If I failed once, do I even have what it takes to be a medical professional?
Everybody fails at some point in their lives, including the greatest individuals. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge that experiencing failure does not label you as a failure. It simply suggests that you may require additional time to prepare.

A gap year can be useful if you do hard work, study and focus on improving. If your marks are insufficient to secure admission to your desired college, you can take a year off, study diligently, and go ahead.

Col BK Mishra, Principal, Amrita School of Medicine, Faridabad

I constantly feel like others are progressing while I am stuck in the same place...
You have to remind yourself that the timeline for everyone is different. If your friend wants to pursue civil services then they might take a drop year after their graduation.

For someone who wants to be a doctor, the timeline is very different from other courses. You have to give many years for this career but once you become a doctor, something that you have passion for, then it wouldn’t matter.

Be mindful of what you are choosing and why are you choosing it. It will really help you focus on the exam and the career path.

Jasreen Birgi, Counselling Psychologist at Lissun (mental health and emotional wellness start-up)

The pressure of clearing the exam after dropping out is almost double. Because otherwise the year is gone to waste...
To do well in the exam, it is important that you let go of the stress, especially on the exam day, and keep your physical and mental health well throughout the drop year. This is why I suggest all the students get proper sleep and do some physical exercises that help with both physical and mental health.

Apart from this, positive affirmations also help during stressful times. In the end, you have to remember that the result is not in your hands but you have to give your personal best.

Jasreen Birgi, Counselling Psychologist at Lissun 

Practically speaking, what are my chances of clearing it the second time? Do I have an advantage?
The reason that students feel this pressure is because they think they ‘wasted’ a year. But actually, you have gained one year of experience. You have learned how to tackle these kinds of exams and you have learned a lot on the way.

Instead of focusing on the fact of what is already done, use that as an asset. What did you do, what could you have done differently, how was the experience and how will you use this experience in the future? These are some things that you should ask yourself.

Aakriti Astha, Psychologist at Counseling Services, IIT Delhi

How do I decide what works best for me — coaching or self-study?
Unless you are exceptionally smart, or have a medical family background, it can be difficult to crack it by yourself. You're basically on your own with no guidance preparing for one of the most difficult exams in the world. There is no particular way or set of actions to crack it, so most of the people who go back to coaching have no idea what else to do.

But some students feel that they do not get enough time for self-study, especially with 10 hours of classes and four huge tests a week without a single Sunday off in most coaching classes. In the end, it is a personal choice.

Shreyansh Jain, NEET aspirant

I'm so passionate about the medical field. What are my options in the medical profession if I don't qualify?

Firstly, there is absolutely no way one can enter MBBS or BDS without NEET.

At present, there are two options to look at. One is Allied Health Science and the second is Nursing. The first option includes many courses which are: Physiotherapy, Optometry, Audiometry, Anesthesia technician, OPD technician, Cardiac technician, Critical Care technician, Radiology technician, Medical Lab Technology, and so on.

Courses in Allied Health Sciences have started recently but there is an acute shortage of these people in these courses. Therefore, job opportunities are more, and adding to this there are ample chances of getting government or private jobs or abroad jobs.

Dr B Karunakar Reddy, VC, Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS)