All India Pre-medical and Pre- Dental Exam (AIPMT) conducted by CBSE lets you compete for 15% seats in all medical colleges in the country except Andra Pradesh.

So in effect you complete for just over 2100 seats in about 120 colleges. But anyone getting ranks within 3000 could have a fair chance of gaining admission, since toppers in AIPMT also would top in other medical colleges. 
 
Examination structure
The final exam is due on May 23, 2011, and AIPMT is once again a completely objective paper. Last year, half the paper focused on Biology (25 questions from Botany. 35 from Zoology). And physics and Chemistry made up the remaining 60 questions.

Remember, Biology plays a crucial role in the AIPMT exam, not only because it accounts for a bulk of the questions, also because in case you have a tie, it is the candidate with higher marks in Biology who gets the seat in this exam.

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BIOLOGY: If we go by the last years’ exam, the  percentage of questions that were quite tough to crack was higher in Biology, while analysts says nearly 70% of the questions in Zoology were of medium level of difficulty. The trend may or may not continue. So prepare both the subjects adequately. While human physiology (11) had the maximum questions in Zoology, it was much more evenly distributed in Botany. But one can never be sure about the trend continuing this year as well. So spend your time across the subjects and do not play favourites. The important units are ecology, genetics, plant and animal physiology, biotechnology, human health and diseases and ecosystem. So revise them thoroughly.

Reference Texts

• NCERT textbooks
• Trueman’s Elementary Biology as reference manual. 
• Objective Biology by Dinesh

PHYSICS: This is one subject many medical aspirants detest because most questions involve numericals. But take heart;  if you get the logic right in  solving  a given problem, scoring in this paper is quite easy. Mechanics, modern Physics and magnetism got the lion’s share of questions last year. Give mechanics enough attention. Don’t ignore other sections, and don’t study any new topic. I

t’s now time to understand them. Focus on what you already have prepared, and shortcuts to generate solutions. Analysis of solutions provided by coaching institutes for their model papers would be a good way to learn shortcuts. Study and recall thumb rules for problem solving.  Time management is the essence here. A good performance in Physics would boost your ranking.

Reference Texts

• Concepts of Physics by HC Verma
• Objective approach to Physics by  Arihant  

CHEMISTRY: In terms of vastness of syllabus, Chemistry has the largest number of concepts to cover and hence must have sufficient time in your time table. To make life difficult invariably questions are evenly distributed amongst Organic, Inorganic and Physical Chemistry.  Identify your strong area amongst the three and focus on it quite well. If you enjoy Physical Chemistry, give it maximum attention. Also remember that this is one subject where Class XI  and Class XII textbooks are equally important. In Physical Chemistry, chemical equilibrium and surface chemistry are evergreen, popular sections. So is periodic table, chemical bonding and organo-metalic compounds. 

• Physical Chemistry by OP Tandon
• Pradeep Objective Chemistry by SN Dhawan, SC Kheterpal and PN Kapil

Take some mock tests by start of April to assess where you stand, especially proctored tests to assess your spend and accuracy. Do not attempt any mock tests during the week preceding D-Day. Write formulae, key points, on a set of cards and organise according to preference. But remember, exams test your understanding more than memory. 

The author is currently pursuing medical research at JNU