JEE Main and MHT-CET (CET) are already on computer, and NEET may follow. Six habits that make a screen-based paper feel normal on exam day.
JEE Main and MHT-CET (CET) are computer-based tests, and NEET (UG) may follow from 2027. Students who have only ever practised on paper often lose a few minutes — and a little confidence — simply getting used to the screen. A few habits, built over a few weeks, remove that problem.
1. Practise in the real interface
The official websites publish a mock test in the exam's own interface. Use it at least once early, and again close to the exam, so the layout, the buttons and the question palette hold no surprises.
2. Keep rough work on paper
You will still solve on a rough sheet. Practise writing the question number beside each piece of working, so you can return to it without hunting.
3. Learn the palette, not just the questions
Answered, not answered, marked for review — the colours tell you where you stand. Decide in advance how you will use "mark for review", and check before submitting whether a marked answer counts, as the bulletin explains.
4. Read on screen, slowly
Reading a long question on a screen is slower than on paper for most students. Read the last line first — what is being asked — then the data.
5. Plan the time by section
Set a time for each section and a point at which you move on. In MHT-CET, with no negative marking, every question should get an answer before time runs out; in JEE Main and NEET, a wrong answer costs marks, so leaving a question can be the right call.
6. Look after your eyes
Three hours on a screen is tiring. Practise full-length papers on a screen a few times so it stops being new, and rest your eyes between sessions.
Week 1: one sectional test on screen, untimed. The aim is only to learn the layout, the palette and how to move between questions.
Week 2: two timed sections on screen, with rough work numbered on paper.
Week 3: one full-length paper on screen at the exam's own time of day, then a proper analysis of every wrong or skipped question.
Week 4: repeat the full paper routine, and fix the one habit that cost the most time.
After that, one screen paper every week or two keeps the format familiar without taking time from paper practice.
On exam day
Use the first minute to check that the paper, the language and your details on screen are right. If the mouse, screen or system misbehaves, raise your hand and tell the invigilator at once rather than working around it. Keep an eye on the on-screen clock, not a guess of the time, and leave the last few minutes to check the palette for questions you meant to come back to.
At DV40
MHT-CET mock tests at our Panchavati centre are taken online, like the real exam, with a score and rank report for every student. To see how testing works for JEE, NEET and CET, book a free counselling session.
We cap batch size deliberately, because attention does not scale. Tell us a little about the student and we will call you back with batch availability.