Students aspiring to appear for one of the most difficult exams in India, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) often get confused "Are NCERT books enough, or do I need to refer to additional material?" This is a valid assertion bearing in mind the amount of syllabus and the extent of competition. Let us elaborate it in detail.
The Importance of NCERT Books
The NCERT books are very helpful for NEET preparation especially for Biology and Chemistry sections as they form the basis of the syllabus. It is evident that most of the questions in NEET Biology are either a direct or indirect reproduction of those given in the NCERT textbooks. The problems of Physical and Inorganic sections also contain a number of questions based on the concepts of NCERT even in Chemistry.
Those students who have prepared well from the NCERT books were seen as a large part of NEET paper is based on these books only. These books are clear in concepts, written in plain language and follow a logical progression which is necessary when learning the basics.
However, depending on NCERT alone, may not be adequate for all the three subjects especially Physics.
Read More: Can We Clear NEET in 2 Months?
The Role of Additional Resources
However, toppers and teachers are of the view that NCERT is sufficient but additional study materials are required for better preparation. Especially, choice of NEET physics book is critical since Physics is one of the subjects that require strong conceptual understanding and ample practice. NCERT may not have a sufficient number of numericals or application based questions in Physics which are very useful when it comes to scoring.
For Inorganic and Organic chemistry, NCERT is good enough but for Physical chemistry, some extra problems may be needed. Biology has been mainly explained through NCERT textbook but additional diagrams, flow charts and detailed descriptions from reference NEET books are also used.
Practice Makes Perfect
One of the paramount ways of preparing for NEET is solving NEET previous year question paper sets. These papers do not only assist in familiarizing with the examination structure and the kind of questions, but also explain how much NEET is aligned to the NCERT syllabi. Some students prefer to solve papers of the previous years and mock tests in order to check their level of preparedness and to find out the topics that they have not studied.
Striking the Right Balance
Now the question arises whether NCERT books are sufficient for NEET? Thus, the answer is in the middle ground. If you are aiming at scoring good marks in Biology and Chemistry, then NCERT is the best resource for you. After that, it is advisable to use other resources to enrich the preparation, especially in Physics and, in general, when solving problems.
To prepare for NEET, it is always beneficial to study as per a schedule that involves reading through NCERTs, revising, and solving NEET previous years question papers that were set in previous years. Many toppers suggest that they should stick to NCERT and then once they understand the basics they should go for additional material.
Practice comprehensively with Oswaal360 online courses for the NEET 2025 exam
Practice Now with Free Oswaal360 Online Mock Test for NEET 2025 Exam
Final Thoughts
Thus, NCERT books are very crucial for NEET preparation, and they should be the foundation on which your preparation is based. However, to strive for the highest result and achieve it, using additional materials is a must – for the better understanding of the concepts and for extra practice. To get the best books for NEET preparation, one should go for the books that enhance the knowledge of the candidate based on NCERT books and also develop the problem-solving ability.
This is the reason why it is said that success in NEET does not depend on what you learn but how you learn it. Begin wisely, concentrate on NCERT, and adapt further as you go along.
