I'm a post intern, preparing for NeetPG. Should I spare a week time from my preparation and go for PGI Chandigarh exam?

PGI Chandigarh MD/MS entrance exam is unique in its own way, as you must be knowing already. Having multiple choice questions with the probability of multiple options being right/wrong raises the difficulty level of the exam. Hence, your preparation should also be directed keeping this in mind. Concepts are absolutely essential in order to crack this exam. However, 6 months is too short a time to start afresh. My recommendation would be -

Know the important topics for PGI by practicing old questions. Read these topics from whatever primary source you have (Notes/Textbooks/Sub wise books). You should build a good command over these topics.

Time is often a scarcity in the PGI exam as you have to skim through 1250 odd options and marking correct ones alongside. Hence, you should be well prepared to answer at this speed. A rough guide would be to answer 50 questions per half hour. Do this, and you'll be fine during the actual exam as well.

Next comes realising the importance of negative marking. This is quite high in the PGI exam and can exceed 100% at times, which means, the marks you lose for marking an incorrect option, are more than that you gain by marking a correct option. So you need to be very careful in this aspect. Again, practice and solid concepts are the key to avoiding heavy negatives.

Marking the correct number of options - the golden number of options to mark - 400/500/600+. This question boggles the minds of most aspirants. However, lets clear this at the outset that there's no golden number that can be marked to get into the doors of PGI. Each paper varies by a huge margin, thus changing the correct:incorrect option ratio and hence the ideal number of options to be marked. You should judge the paper yourself and mark accordingly, never with a pre-biased mind. However, again a rough guide would be to mark between 400–600 options in most papers.

Stay focussed. This is an oft repeated, yet seldom realised point. You need to be a chronic learner to ace the exams. It is not the spurt that matters, but the marathon that will get you through the exam. Sure, there will be rough patches along the way, but remember, its the gold that you are aiming for. And only a select few get the gold. Get over your low phases quickly, motivate yourself and always visualise yourself in the place you want to be. That's the kickstart we all need.

I have a YouTube channel at Ashwin Singh where I post regular videos related to entrance exams, medical topics and PGI entrance in particular. Do like and subscribe if you find it helpful. I would recommend you to watch the 180 days to cracking PGI exam for the current question.

That's mostly it. I hope this helps and would love to see you here at PGI.

Shine On!