There are several factors one has to consider while deciding whether to take a drop or not. While experts, parents and professors can weigh in on the same, it is the aspirant’s choice to decide if they want to give another year to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) preparation or not. We spoke to a few students who had dropped out in the past and are satisfied with their career choices, be it MBBS or not.
Avoid external pressure, have back-ups
A few medical students we spoke to said that though it is a huge decision that often bothers the aspirants, they should avoid parental pressure while deciding.
Prerana Chaudhary, a third-year MBBS student at Government Medical College, Jalgaon, said, “Before taking a drop, I was apprehensive at first. It can be a very difficult experience, especially with parental and societal pressure. While I was preparing, I tried to avoid social gatherings as I was afraid of judgement and so on. After getting a college, people might ask you about your gap year in the first semester but not after that. Looking back, it was a small part of a much bigger process.”
The medical students said that they still had backup options while preparing for the examination, in case they do not get through.
“I feel backups are important as you cannot give your all to just one option. It gives you a mindset to not give up on everything altogether. During my drop year, I tried to manage the pressure by spending time with my family and friends,” said Priya Bansode, another MBBS student.
There is still scope outside MBBS
Though the decision to drop or not can be taxing enough by itself, many also fear the consequences. Dropping a year or more and not getting through the entrance test can be an intimidating thought as many aspirants think that the scope post-Biology is narrow.
However, when we spoke to former NEET aspirants who had taken a drop year for their pre-medical preparation but did not get through, they said that there are several other options apart from MBBS that one can explore if one cannot qualify for a medical seat in India.
Prachi Punyatoya, who teaches at the senior secondary level now, chose to pursue BSc (Honours) in Agriculture after dropping two years for NEET preparation.
“It is a common mindset that medicine and engineering are the only two options after Science but that is completely false. I think schools should have career guides or education counsellors who can explain that there are so many other options after NEET as well. The agriculture field is also growing in terms of scope and many people get a starting salary of around Rs 40,000 through the same. You can also go for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) after this,” Prachi explained.
What other options in the health sector?
There are courses that one can pursue to stay in the healthcare sector without doing MBBS, the former droppers explained. Public Health and Biotechnology are just two of the many examples but exploring and researching these courses is essential, they added.
“If I couldn’t be the one to cure the problem then maybe I could at least be the one to prevent them from happening,” said Eeshani Joshi who is pursuing MSc in Public Health (MPH). Job opportunities are available for MPH graduates from the government to private hospitals, NGOs and other healthcare units.
Eeshani added that though on one hand, taking a drop year might be important as one is able to give more time to prepare for the exam, it can be quite stressful as well.
Chanki Chowhan, who is now pursuing Biotechnology after dropping two years for NEET prep shared that the course offers a variety of options in the field of Medicine, Genetics or even Forensics. “After the COVID-19 pandemic, the scope and popularity have increased for Biotechnology and it is one of the most popular courses after MBBS,” he shared.
Drop years can be taxing
Former NEET aspirants unanimously agreed that the preparation, especially during their drop years, can get very challenging and put aspirants under a lot of pressure.
“I feel like it's only a good idea if you're really passionate about going for the medical line because drop year can take a toll on your mental health as you see your peers move ahead and you're still preparing, added to the pressure of clearing such a tough competitive exam. For me, the gap year was not only taxing mentally but also physically. Knowing that if you don't clear your exam this year you will be wasting an entire year, and money, especially if you're taking coaching classes, combined with the pressure, can be too overwhelming,” Aditi Yadav, another former NEET aspirant shared from her experience.
Aditi is preparing for MBA after completing her graduation in Botany (Honours).
When asked about how important having back-ups as a medical aspirant is, she said that having back-ups not only relieves you, albeit just a little bit, of the pressure but is also a realistic approach as the competition is really very high.
