If you are a 12th standard student appearing for Boards and plan to pursue Undergraduate (UG) after school, this article is for you to understand the nitties and gritties of admissions and how to crack them. There are various upcoming UG entrances for different courses which would be falling in the months of April, May and June. In today’s article we will give you the tips to ace your UG entrances such as IPM-AT, SET, JIPMAT and NPAT for pursuing the management courses.
Before developing a strategy, a candidate should have the competitive attitude for clearing the exam. The first thing required is the mental framework because mental strength does determine how you handle yourself for preparation of UG entrance.
A large number of students appear in these entrances than the number of seats available in various IIMs and other top Universities. So as quoted by Bill Cosby, “In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”
Here are a few tips on how you can prepare for the UG entrance.
1. Understand the pattern
Each of the above mentioned UG Entrance has a unique pattern, for example some of them may have only two sections (Quant and Verbal) and some may have three sections (Quant, Verbal & Logic and Data Interpretation). Similarly, some may have sectional cut offs and negative marking where as some may not have these.
2. Know thyself
Everyone has specific strengths, and everyone has specific weaknesses. It’s pretty certain that if you are not clear on your weaknesses then you are not clear on your strengths either. Playing to your strengths and sailing through the weaknesses is the best exam strategy you can bet on.
3. Start taking mocks early and regularly
Start mocks as early as possible even after finishing 30 to 40 percent portion of your syllabus. Taking the online mock test is a strategic tool for hitting the bull’s eye. Mock tests are designed to get a real-time experience of taking the exam. So, it is advisable to solve at least 15-20 good-quality mocks before taking the actual test.
4. Solve previous year actual question papers
For most of these entrances previous year actual papers are available on their official website. Practicing on the previous year’s question papers will raise the confidence level before taking an exam. It will also help students to practice good time management strategies required to ace an exam to finish a question well inside the time limitations.
5. Learn the technique of elimination
Using the process of elimination, cross out all the answers you know are incorrect, and then focus on the remaining answers. Not only does this strategy save time, it greatly increases your likelihood of selecting the correct answer.
6. Practice makes a man perfect
Practice not only helps in gaining accuracy and speed over lengthy questions that could be asked but it also help the candidates in becoming familiar with the different level of questions asked in the entrance. So practice, practice and practice!
7. Stay fit and healthy
Last but not the least, staying fit and healthy have a direct impact on the outcome of your exam. Exercise daily, avoid junk food and sleep well so that your mind and body are fresh when you are taking the exam. Avoid sleeping late and tune your mind so that it works best on the day of your final exam.
The author is Sachin Dubey, product head (UG Courses), T.I.M.E.