I never thought I’d make a post like this. Not because AIR 2920 is some unbelievable rank, but because if someone had told me a few months ago that I’d go from a 72K rank to under 3K, I probably wouldn’t have believed them myself. I’m writing this because I’ve been getting a lot of DMs after sharing my rank jump, and honestly, if my experience helps even a few people who feel stuck right now, it’s worth putting everything down properly.
First things first, I was not a topper in MBBS.
I think this matters because people automatically assume that anyone getting a decent NEET PG rank must have been academically brilliant from the start. That wasn’t my story.
I had around 55% marks in MBBS overall. No distinctions. No extraordinary academic record. During my first and second year, I honestly didn’t study seriously at all.
I was average. Actually, probably below average in terms of consistency.
I was mostly studying to somehow pass professional exams and move on. I didn’t have some grand long-term NEET PG strategy from first year. I wasn’t solving MCQs every day or making detailed revision notes from the beginning.
And I think many people are in the same situation but don’t say it openly. So if your basics are weak or your academic record is average, don’t assume your story is over. Mine definitely wasn’t.
The Reality Check I Needed
One thing that genuinely shook me was my INICET May rank.
I got around 72K, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, it’s hurt. Not because I expected a top rank, but because it made me realize that whatever I was doing clearly wasn’t enough. At that point, I had two choices. Either keep making excuses or finally become honest with myself.
The problem wasn’t that I wasn’t studying. The problem was that I was studying in a very inefficient way. I was jumping between resources, changing plans too often, watching too many things without revising properly, and honestly wasting time trying to make the “perfect strategy.”
That rank forced me to simplify things. And looking back, that was probably the biggest turning point.
I Wasn’t Studying 15 Hours a Day
Let me clear another thing because people always ask this. No, I was not studying 14–16 hours daily. Not even close.
On average, I’d say around 7–8 hours. Some days were good. Some days were terrible. There were days when nothing got done. There were days when I felt completely behind.
And honestly, there were times when I questioned whether any meaningful improvement was even possible. But I tried doing one thing consistently, I didn’t completely disappear from preparation. Even on bad days, I tried touching something.
Maybe a little revision, Maybe reviewing mistakes, Maybe a few MCQs.
Something, I think consistency matters way more than motivation. People wait to feel motivated. That rarely works. You just show up even when things feel slow.
I Stopped Running Behind Too Many Resources
This was one of my biggest mistakes initially. I think most NEET PG aspirants struggle with this. Everywhere you look, people recommend different things.
Someone says only main videos work.
Someone says BTR is enough.
Someone says solve 25,000 MCQs.
Someone says only PYQs matter.
Telegram groups make things even worse. You end up collecting resources endlessly. I did the same thing for a while.
Different videos.
Different teachers.
Different schedules.
Different PDFs.
And honestly? It was exhausting. At some point, I realized I was spending more time figuring out how to study than actually studying. That had to stop. The biggest improvement came when I simply reduced the number of things I was doing, less chaos, and more repetition.
What Resources Actually Worked for Me
A lot of people have asked me about resources, so I’ll say what genuinely worked in my case.
Marrow RR
I mostly relied on Marrow Rapid Revision. I didn’t go crazy with trying to complete every main video. At some point, that just wasn’t realistic for me. RR helped save time and made revision manageable.
Was it perfect for every subject?
No.
But overall, it worked well.
BTR Medicine
For medicine specifically, BTR Medicine genuinely helped me. Medicine is huge, and having something more concise made things easier to revise. Especially when time starts feeling limited.
Pathology and Microbiology
For Pathology and Microbiology, I followed Preeti ma’am. Her teaching style worked for me. Things felt more structured, easier to understand, and importantly easier to revise later.
I think for NEET PG, retention matters almost more than understanding. If something is easy to revise multiple times, it automatically becomes more useful.
Grand Tests Changed More Than I Expected
One thing I think people underestimate is GT review. Giving tests is important, yes.
But honestly? Reviewing them properly matters even more.
I started spending serious time understanding my mistakes. Not just checking scores and moving on. Actually asking:
Why did I get this wrong?
Did I forget the concept?
Was this careless?
Did I guess incorrectly?
Was I confused between two options?
Because mistakes repeat and if you don’t identify patterns, they’ll keep repeating in the final exam too. I genuinely think GT review helped more than simply increasing the number of tests. Quality mattered more than quantity.
The Mistake Notebook Helped Later
I didn’t start this from the beginning. Actually, I started quite late. But it helped. Whenever I noticed repeated mistakes or concepts I kept forgetting, I wrote them down.
Nothing fancy, Not some huge notebook with beautiful formatting. Just practical points. Things I repeatedly messed up, weak areas, concepts that kept slipping from memory.
Before exams, going through those mistakes became surprisingly useful. Because those were my weak points.
Not generic notes.
Personal mistakes. That makes a difference.
I Wasn’t Some Productivity Machine
I want to say this because social media creates unrealistic expectations. I was not perfectly disciplined every single day.
I wasn’t waking up at 4 AM.
I wasn’t studying non-stop.
I wasn’t following some magical schedule.
Some days went badly, sometimes anxiety kicked in, sometimes I felt completely lost. Especially after seeing people around me who seemed far ahead. But eventually I stopped comparing myself so much. That comparison becomes dangerous.
There will always be someone studying more, someone smarter, someone more prepared. If you keep focusing there, you’ll lose your own momentum.
About Weak Basics
Many people messaged me asking: “Can I still do well if my basis are weak?”
Honestly?
Yes.
But you need to be realistic. You can’t keep changing resources every week and expect dramatic improvement.
You need repetition.
Revision.
Consistency.
And patience.
My basics were not amazing either. Remember, I wasn’t serious in the first two years. I was not building some perfect foundation. A lot of learning happened later.
So if you’re behind, don’t automatically assume it’s impossible. But you’ll have to simplify things and work consistently.
One Major Lesson I Learned
If I had to summarize one thing from this journey:
Revision beats resource collection. I think many aspirants waste months trying to find the perfect app, perfect teacher, perfect notes. At some point, you just have to commit. Pick something reasonable, and revise it repeatedly.
Watching new content feels productive. Revision feels boring, but revision is what actually improves scores. That was one of the biggest shifts for me.
What Actually Changed My Rank?
People keep asking what the “secret” was. Honestly? Nothing magical.
No genius strategy.
No impossible study schedule.
Just a few things done better:
- Fewer resources
- Better revision
- Consistency
- GT analysis
- Understanding mistakes
- Less resource hopping
- Less comparison with others
That’s genuinely it, simple things, repeated properly.
Final Thoughts
If you’re someone struggling right now, feeling behind, or sitting with poor mock scores, I get it. I’ve been there.
A 72K rank doesn’t exactly make you feel confident. But things can change faster than you think if you stop overcomplicating preparation.
No, I’m not saying everyone will suddenly jump to a top rank. But improvement is definitely possible. I went from around 72K to AIR 2920. And trust me, I wasn’t some extraordinary student. Average MBBS marks, weak consistency initially, poor preparation in the early years, nothing fancy.
If there’s one thing I’d say, stop chasing perfection, pick resources, revise them, analyze your mistakes, and stay consistent even when progress feels slow. That matters more than most people realize.
This experience was originally shared by a medical student on Reddit and has been rewritten in a readable format while preserving the original details and responses shared by the author.