Top Picks

Make it a Piece of Cake- 14 Tips to Crack the Entrance Examinations!

Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

With a majority of third year students diving straight into the apprehensive state by their mission to crack Entrance Examinations like CAT, GMAT, IAS or CA, we bring you a handful of tips which must be followed earnestly during the preparation.

On entering the third and final stage of your college life, it seems like you’re on a topsy-turvy ride that constantly revolves around the fear of missing out on everything that you might never get a chance of experiencing again (such as outings, road trips and hanging out with college friends) and the realisation of seizing that last opportunity to pan out all your career goals (by studying like never before, preparing for entrances, applying for placements and internships everywhere).

If you thought you were the only one stuck on this ride with an inability to get off and make the right decision for yourself, you are wrong. If only surviving these last year’s bitter-sweet emotions with continuous attempts to make each day memorable weren’t enough, most of us have an extremely important entrance to prepare for that is bound to change our life after college.
Without cracking this entrance, we cannot see ourselves even halfway across where we want to be in future. Thus, considering all possible outcomes, here are a few tips to help you crack your entrance while balancing your college life:

Self Study is Important
Irrespective of whether you attend weekly coaching classes or more than two institutes for better preparation, it’s imperative that you learn and revise the same topics once you’re back home. (And no, this does not include your daily homework). In fact, if you didn’t study yourself, you didn’t quite study at all.

Keep your exam’s topics on your tips
Create a proper schedule for covering the maximum number of topics each day. Understand which chapters need more concentration and practice than the rest, and divide the amount of hours you need to devote on each of them accordingly.

Remove every ounce of self-doubt
Once you begin, there is no turning back. Hence, indulgence on all the reasons why you wouldn’t be able to crack the exam every now and then is nothing but a few minutes or hours wasted on negativity which is totally unnecessary.

Achieve the ability to follow deadlines
Creating short deadlines after every few days for chapters or topics that need completion gives you an extra push in the right direction, instead of waiting for a test or the actual exam (god forbid) till the very last date. Even if you don’t finish everything, you end up doing or learning something in the end, at least.

Choose a common time/environment to study
Choose that setting or time of the day when you’re most comfortable in your surroundings and likely to concentrate perfectly on everything that you study, whether it’s in the early morning hours of the day or in the quiet solace of nights.

Study while surfing the net
While checking out the latest videos on YouTube or uploading your pictures on Facebook, spend enough time in referring to a few online tutorials as well. Always keep an eagle eye on as many previous years’ sample papers as you can find and practice mock tests to brush up your skills.

Take a break but never procrastinate
Understand that as much as short intervals are necessary, they must not exceed their probable limits. Listening to music, watching a comedy show or talking to someone who instantly cheers you up are some of the most highly recommended suggestions for relaxation of mind, but for not more than one or two hours.

Go, get some fresh air
Nothing good comes from staying aloof from the entire world by staying in the four walls of your home every day. Grab some hearty lunch or go shopping with your friends, once in a while, to get the change you deserve- and require.

Attend college regularly
Missing out on important lectures and delaying your assignments due to lack of time (and interest) will only increase the intensity of your stress later, and add an extra load of burden during the time you may already have a lot going on already. It’s better to take one step at a time, and do everything simultaneously.

Study on the go!
If you spend a substantial amount of time in commuting to and from coaching, try carrying at least one book or some notes with yourself to read, revise or learn a few concepts to make good use of the free time you get.

Turn off your gadgets while studying
As long as your phones are buzzing with WhatsApp texts or Instagram notifications, it’s difficult to resist the urge to approach them. Have a sense of self control and turn off the internet; put your phone on silent and distance yourself from the digital world for just a few hours.

Realise that it’s never too late to begin again
Do not indulge yourself in self pity and criticism for not being able to study for a few days. Just breathe. Make yourself a cuppa and start again. You can still always make up for the time you’ve lost by putting in a few extra hours.

Never underestimate the power of snacks
Whether it’s the gooey goodness of chocolate brownies and chilled ice cream in the middle of the night or early morning sandwiches with extra mayonnaise, it’s essential that we pamper ourselves with enough food to keep our brain active 24X7.

Believe in yourself more than anyone else
Before you think of quitting, try to remember the real reason why you decided to pursue this in the first place. Be your own constant source of motivation and stay focused on your dream regardless of the number of obstacles that try to stop you.

Remember- “Every battle is first won in the mind, and then on the field.”
Best of Luck, everyone!

Image Credits: www.derwentstudents.com
Shagun Marwah
[email protected]

[email protected] ; Leading by the quote “Every cloud has a silver lining”, Shagun tends to see the best of every situation and observes mostly what others leave unnoticed. One can find her either under an influence of the darkest corners of psychological thrillers or romanticism of John Green’s beautiful love stories. A writer with a weakness for coffee and petrichor, she blissfully escapes into the world of soulful music while travelling to new destinations or singing when nobody is around. Being a true Delhi-ite, her favorite street food, ranging from spicy aloo chaat to pani puri or sweet hot jalebis to chilled rabdi kulfi, is a love beyond measure.

Comments are closed.