NEET 2026 Vs IAT 2026 Syllabus: Key Differences, Difficulty Analysis, Topics-Wise Weightage

NEET 2026 Vs IAT 2026 Syllabus: NEET and IAT are two of the most popular undergraduate-level entrance exams for Science students after Class 12. NEET paves the way to promising careers in the medical field, but it is among the most competitive exams in India. Therefore, candidates who appear for NEET also appear for other entrance exams to explore various career paths. One of the excellent alternatives to NEET is IAT, an exam that helps candidates get admission to the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and pursue careers in Science and Research.

If you are planning to appear for IAT 2026 along with NEET 2026, you must know the syllabi of the two exams and the key differences between them. This SciAstra article highlights the differences between the NEET 2026 syllabus and the IAT 2026 syllabus. This will help you modify your preparation strategy according to the syllabus and score well in both exams.

What is IAT?

The IISER Aptitude Test (IAT) is a national-level entrance exam conducted for admission to undergraduate courses offered by the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs). These courses include integrated BS-MS, BTech, and 4-year BS programmes.

IISc Bangalore also accepts IAT scores for admission to its Bachelor of Science (Research) Programme. To check the details of the courses offered through IAT at a particular participating institute, candidates must visit the official website of that institute.

If you are planning to appear for IAT 2026, check out the complete overview of the exam below:

What is NEET?

The National Entrance Cum Eligibility Test (NEET) is a national-level entrance examination in India conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). It is mandatory for students who wish to pursue medical and allied health science courses after Class 12.

To know more about NEET, check out the overview of the exam below:

IAT Vs NEET: Dates

Candidates who are targeting both exams, IAT 2026 and NEET 2026 can check all the dates related to their important events here.

IAT 2026 Dates

The application form for IAT is generally released in the month of March, based on recent exam schedules. Therefore, the IAT 2026 application form is also expected to be released in March 2026. All the important dates related to the exam are given below.

NEET 2026 Dates

The dates for NEET 2026 are expected to be announced soon. Once released, all the exam dates will be provided here. Based on last year’s exam schedule, check out the tentative dates for NEET 2026 below:

IAT Vs NEET: Syllabus

The syllabi for NEET and IAT are based on Class 11 and Class 12. However, there are some key differences between them that candidates preparing for both exams must know. The differences between the NEET 2026 syllabus and the IAT 2026 syllabus have been highlighted as follows.

NEET Only Includes PCB

The syllabus of NEET has three sections: Physics, Chemistry and Biology. It includes topics from Class 11 and Class 12 NCERT Physics, Chemistry and Biology textbooks. The IAT syllabus includes NCERT Class 11 and Class 12 Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Maths.

IAT Vs NEET Syllabus: Differences in Topics

Check out the comparison between the topics covered in the NEET syllabus and the topics covered in the IAT syllabus:

IAT Vs NEET: Exam Difficulty Level

In order to compare the difficulty level of NEET and IAT, SciAstra mentors have analysed the previous years’ question papers of these exams. The parameters for comparison are the nature of the questions, the number of questions and the required number of correct answers to score well in the exam.

Check out the comparison between the difficulty levels of IAT and NEST:

IAT Chapter-Wise Analysis

Academic experts at SciAstra have analysed IAT question papers from 2023 to 2025. Based on the analysis, we are providing the information about the most important topics for the IAT Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology sections. These details are available below:

IAT Chapter-Wise Analysis: Biology

As per the IAT chapter-wise analysis, the most important Biology topics/chapters for IAT are Human Physiology, Plant Physiology, Genetics, Molecular Biology and Reproduction (Human Health).

IAT Chapter-Wise Analysis: Chemistry

The Chemistry chapters from which most of the questions have been asked in the past 3 years in IAT are Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids, Chemical Bonding and Thermodynamics.

IAT Chapter-Wise Analysis: Physics

The Physics chapters from which most of the questions were asked in the past years in IAT are Modern Physics, Rotation, Magnetism and Simple Harmonic Motion. There is a probability that most questions from these topics will occur in the IAT 2026 question paper.

IAT Chapter-Wise Analysis: Mathematics

As per the IAT chapter-wise analysis, the most important Mathematics topics/chapters for IAT are Application of Derivatives, Continuity & Differentiability, Functions, Straight Lines, and Probability.

IAT Weightage Trends

Knowing the chapters on which you can focus more on for IAT 2026 preparation can help you improve your overall scores. For this, you must know the weightage of Class 11 and Class 12 chapters from which most of the questions were asked in IAT in the past. Based on the analysis of the IAT previous question papers (2017-2025), SciAstra has also provided chapter-wise weightage for Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. Check out these details below.

IAT ​Biology Weightage

Based on the weightage analysis for the IAT Biology section, the most important chapters are Molecular Biology (with 18.5% weightage), Human Physiology (with 15.6% weightage) and Human Health (with 12.6% weightage). Check out the complete weightage analysis for the subject below:

IAT Chemistry Weightage

The most important chapters for the IAT Chemistry section are Organic Chemistry (with 33.8% weightage) and Inorganic Chemistry (with 28.2% weightage).

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IAT Physics Weightage

According to the weightage analysis for the IAT Physics section, the most important chapters are Electricity (with 20.84% weightage), Mechanics (with 20.83% weightage) and Electromagnetism (with 13.33% weightage). Check out the complete weightage analysis for the subject below:

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IAT Mathematics Weightage

The Maths chapters with the highest weightage for the IAT Mathematics section are Differential Calculus (with 25.93% weightage), Algebra (with 25.19% weightage) and Coordinate Geometry (with 18.5% weightage). The complete weightage analysis for the subject is below:

Conclusion

Both IAT and NEET happen to be extremely competitive national-level entrance tests but are targeted toward different career paths. IAT suits those students who have an inclination towards scientific research, interdisciplinary learning, and problem-solving skills. On the other hand, NEET will be ideal for aspirants who have a dream of getting into medicine and other allied health science-based courses that require one to have speed, accuracy, and excellent command over concepts based on NCERT. Chapter-wise analysis and weightage trends are proof that IAT requires deeper conceptual understanding and analytical skills, while NEET basically aspires for extensive syllabus coverage and time management. The choice between IAT and NEET should be determined by a student's subject preference, aptitude, and long-term career vision. Candidates will be able to plan a focused and effective preparation strategy with a clear understanding of the differences outlined in this article for IAT 2026, NEET 2026, or both.

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