Cracking competitive entrance tests

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Sonia

When the class 12 board exams are at an end, the next phase of frantic and highly competitive preparations begins for the Common Entrance Tests. These are the defining moment and factor in a student’s life and career. Most students would have a clear idea of whether they wish to join Engineering colleges, Medical Colleges or management institutes. However there are criteria that should be met with before the exam and also following it.

Firstly the students should have secured 50% marks in their subjects and they should be having a high rank between 1-800 to qualify in the better colleges of the country. Proper time management is essential when appearing for the entrance tests as is a thorough base in the subjects.

When I appeared for my Medical entrance test, I was familiar with the style of answering I had been used to until then in college. It was only later that I began to learn how to attempt multiple choice and eliminate the least likely option for entrance based tests. In addition the concern of negative marks also made me worry about how I would fare in the tests. The key I learnt soon enough, was to have a strong base and attempt maximum questions that I was at least 75% sure of.

It is important to get ample practice in trying out as many sample papers and also be familiar with solved papers so you have a clear idea of the expected questions. If at all you lose time on a question you have to be able to quickly compensate for it by working that much faster on the other questions. Make sure you do not spend more than 4 minutes on a question the day of the exam and also to not focus too much on tracking time and lose track of the answers and analysis involved.

Top tips for CBSE Board exams

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Sonia

Exams come every year but the board exams are made out to be every CBSE student’s nightmare. Things do not have to be all that bad. There are so many resources available today that it is near impossible for a student to be unprepared. Lectures, notes, CBSE solved papers are all available easily online. Premier websites like Edurite provide superior easy to learn CD’s to help you score more and completely in line with the NCERT syllabus. With some good time management, a dash of persistence and concentration you can easily score well in your CBSE Board exams.

• Make sure you have a study corner that is quiet, well lit and has a comfortable seating arrangement. Don’t get too comfortable and doze off midway though!• Keep distracters away and inform your parents not to call you until your designated study hour is up. This includes keeping away from emails, SMS’s, social networking websites and more.• Have study supplies and a bottle of water next to your seat. Keep the area clean and uncluttered so as to make sure you have the right ambience when you get set to study.• Plan out learning modules for every day according to chapters you have done, revisions, new topics and allot them in a schedule for each day. Set realistic goals and break down the larger chunks into smaller ones so as to stay motivated.• Make sure you eat right and sleep well. Avoid drinking too much coffee as it will affect your sleep patterns. Get proper sleep and eat a balanced diet.• Exercise your mind and your body so that you stay fresh enough to accomplish your goals. Work on solved papers towards the end so you can apply your learning well.• Take proper breaks, your mind can only take so much of one activity or subject at a time. Do something invigorating and soothing during short power breaks such as a brisk walk.

Coping with exam fear

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Sonia

Exams are a dreaded period for nearly all students. It is not any new thing, it is something that occurs quite frequently in a student’s life but it remains a matter of grave concern every single time. There are techniques that you can use to cope with your pre-exam nerves and make sure that exam fear works for you and not against you.

Exam stress leads to fear: We fear what we do not know. It is a natural process, how you take it is what determines how stressful examinations are for you. People may freeze or fly in the face of fear. Fear of exams is because it obviously matters and this is good, the important thing is to not let it control you but to control it and channel it right.

Practise breathing exercises: It is unavoidable that you can be completely rid of exam fear, it is required in healthy amounts. If it is however hampering your performance seriously, you need to work at controlling it. One way would be to try simple breathing exercises that will ease your system.

Plan and prepare: They say the best medicine for fear is to prepare to face it. Facing your fear requires a certain amount of planning and creativity. The more you schedule and revise your portions, the more confident you become. Keep preparing and you will be scoring top marks in no time.

Take proper breaks: The reason why you get so stressed out is because you try to cram too much information in a small time frame and in one single sitting. When you space out your learning process and take ample breaks you will find that you are still energetic for more new information.

Sleep and support systems: Every student requires support and proper rest. Support can come from parents, teachers, other students, external resources and lots more. It is also equally important to get proper sleep the night before a big test or you are going to be too tired to recall anything you learnt in the hard long hours.

HAILING from a family of doctors, cracking the medical entrance exams seems like a natural career choice for Siddharth, who is currently studying at the All India Institute of Medical sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. He offers some good advice to aspiring medical students.

Apart from the AIPMT, he also gave the entrance test for AIIMS (ranked 3), the Delhi Pre-medical Test (DPMT - ranked 1) and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE - ranked 1). 

Today, he is pursuing his MBBS at AIIMS. But according to Siddharth, though getting into medicine was a well-thought out decision, he has seen both the perks and the challenges of the profession and was also aware that admission to the profession was not a cakewalk. 

A consistently good student, Siddharth scored 95.2 percent in Class 12. He attended Delhi Public School, Rohini, located a stone’s throw away from his house. Recounting his entrance exam preparation days, he says, “I would wake up in the morning and study Biology, and when I got bored I would solve Chemistry and Physics numericals.” 

Note that Siddharth was an ace when it came to Physics, but struggled with Biology. But he studied harder in the subject during the last two months of preparation. “Students should capitalise on their strengths and work on weaker areas,” he says. 

He joined the Narayana IIT Academy in Rohini in Class 11 as it has a good faculty and was located close to his house. He would learn what was taught in the institute the very same day. He stresses on being regular at school, too. 

“Joining a coaching institute most importantly instils a competitive spirit in you, since there are also other students there aiming for the same,” he says. “There were many brilliant students around me who could not make it in the first attempt. I was determined to give my best,” he adds. 

Siddharth Jain, Rank: Frist, Year: 2009

He, however, does not deny the fact that students do clear the exams sans any coaching. He stresses that they could enrol for the mock test series offered by a coaching class, if not a regular course.  

The AIPMT is conducted in two stages: Prelims and Finals, which are both three-hour exams. The Prelims is conducted in the first week of April and comprises 200 objective-type questions, 50 each in Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology. A correct answer fetches 4 marks and a wrong answer, a negative marking of 1. Those who clear the Prelims, will give the final exam in May, which comprises 120 objective-type questions. While half the questions in the AIPMT prelims are from Biology, the AIIMS exam focuses more on Modern Physics and Human Physiology. 

When quizzed about the future, Siddarth says he wants to conduct research alongside being a practicing doctor.

Siddharth’s study mantras

Instead of cramming Physics formulae, try to understand concepts, as questions may be framed in multiple ways.Time management is a must. Try to solve as many papers as you can.Tackle easier, less time-consuming questions, first. Skip tough ones and come back to them with a fresh mind. Don’t get stuck.Don’t try anything new a day before the exam. Relax and stay focused.

Reference Books

Concepts of Physics by HC VermaPhysical Chemistry by OP TandonObjective Biology by Dinesh

How to Prepare for AIPMT 2014 in Last Two Months- Expert Insight  By: Govind Kumar Updated On:02-Apr-2014, 10:58 AM IST

 

Barely two months are left for the much awaited All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT 2014). In this interview on our AIPMT 2014 Preparation, we bring you preparation tips from Brajesh Maheswari, Director & HOD Physics, Allen Coaching Institute, Kota.

Sharing his insights on preparation strategy for AIPMT 2014 scheduled for May 4, the expert say that Cracking AIPMT 2014 all depends on time management, preparation strategy, self practice, and hard work. "Get your personalized preparation report and improvement plan. Analyze your preparation level with AIPMT Prepmeter"

For any doubts and queries related to the exam pattern, preparation and other exam related queries, students can call the AIPMT 2014 Exam Helpline at 011-40360360 Interview: 

Careers360: What should be the preparation strategy for AIPMT 2014 in the remaining months?Brajesh Maheswari: The aspirants must begin countdown for the exam with just 70 to 80 days left for the exam day. I advise students to divide their planning strategy in unit wise. Further they should divide preparation time for the topics day wise and hour wise for each subject. Thi will help them to get concrete output at the end of each remaining days.

 Click Here to enroll for Expert guidance for UG Entrance Preparation, Counselling and college selection. Careers360: Which books would you suggest for preparation?Brajesh Maheswari: Books and contents have no limits but at the last countdown student must go through NCERT Books which carries effective and in-depth knowledge of each and every topics

Careers360: What could be the possible level of difficulty as compared to last year?Brajesh Maheswari: As per the analysis of questions in last year’s AIPMT /NEET UG, 75% questions are average, 20% are difficult and 5% above the difficult level. With proper and well planned time management, students can easily meet with desired goal. During the examination, it is very important to know what to do and what not to do. The question paper is structured on the level of average students and therefore by attempting above the average level of questions during exams, you can make your identity in top rankers.

Careers360: What are the Do's and Don’ts on  AIPMT 2014 Exam day?Brajesh Maheswari:The level of enthusiasms and confidence must be high, constant and stable during the examination.  Never lose your temperament during the AIPMT 2014 Exam.

Never give the final answer for those questions for which you are not sure because your wrong answer will reduce your grand total. Simply leave such questions.

Divide the 3 hrs time as per your comfort with the subject and do not cross the time management plan in each subject.

In first round of attempting the paper, attempt simple and those questions on which you are confident.

Then in second round, you can solve difficult questions by your alert and active mind. 

 

 Careers360: What should be the exam strategy on AIPMT 2014 exam day? How should students manage the time between the different sections of the paper?Brajesh Maheswari: Divide the 3 hours' time as per your comfort with the subject and do not cross the time management plan in each subject. In first round of attempting the paper, attempt simple and those questions on which you are confident. Then in second round, you can solve difficult questions by your alert and active mind.

Topper Talks on AIPMT 2014 Preparation Tips  By: Govind Kumar Updated On:02-Apr-2014, 11:57 AM IST

 

The D Day May 4, 2014 for the coveted exam, All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT 2014) is approaching and aspirants who will appear in the exam must gear up their preparation now to get admissions in their desired top ranked MBBS Colleges.

Careers360 brings you topper’s insight on AIPMT Preparation Tips from NEET 2013 topper Priya Setia who secured admission at Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. In this interview session with Careers360, The NEET AIR 49 rank holder also shares her insights on how she cracked NEET 2013.

"Get your personalized preparation report and improvement plan. Analyze your preparation level with AIPMT Prepmeter"

The topper says that Cracking Exams like AIPMT 2014 depends on effective strategy and efficient implementation of study plan. Have queries and doubts; call AIPMT 2014 Exam Helpline at 011-40360360 Careers360: In which year did you qualify the Pre-Medical Test?Priya Setia: I qualified NEET in 2013. It was my first attempt.

Careers360: What was your rank? Which colleges did you get?Priya Setia: My NEET rank was 49 and I was getting all colleges under NEET 2013.

Careers360: Which college did you choose? What were the selection criteria?Priya Setia:I always aspired to do my MBBS from a reputed government college. Fortunately on the basis of my All India Pre Medical Test Ranking, I got my dream college Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), the government medical college in Delhi affiliated to the University of Delhi. MAMC is one of India's well known medical colleges and ranked amongst the top 5 medical colleges in the country.The selection criteria in MAMC were totally based on merit and online counseling was conducted for the admission.

 

Click Here to enroll for Expert guidance for UG Entrance Preparation, Counselling and college selection. Careers360: Which other exams did you take?Priya Setia:I took almost all the popular Medical Entrance Exams in 2013. Apart from NEET, I also qualified the entrance exams AIIMS, CMC Ludhiana, JIPMER and BHU.AIIMS: Rank 186CMC Ludhiana: Rank 7JIPMER: Rank 141BHU: Rank 35

Careers360: What were your scores in 11th and 12th? Do think that candidates need to prepare separately for board exam and Pre-Medical Test?Priya Setia: I have done my class 11 & 12 from CBSE Board. I scored 89.6% in Class 11 and 97.6% in class 12 with distinction in Physics. I like reading Physics and it is my favorite subject. I personally feel that there is no need of studying for boards separately because studying for NEET is covered in the board syllabus. The NEET syllabus is comprehensively designed on the NCERT pattern so both of these go hand in hand.

 

Careers360: What was your preparation strategy for Pre-Medical Test?Priya Setia: I decided to take medical as my career during vacations after class 10 exam. My father who is also a doctor inspired me to pursue MBBS from good colleges of India. And from there my plan for doing MBBS begun. For doing MBBS from good medical institutes of India, I prepare the mindset first and then accordingly choke out the plan.Then the journey of hard work began. I studied the material on regular basis. It is better to say routine study. I pay proper attention on test which helped me lot in improving myself. I advised students to take test on regular basis because it enhances your performance and gives you chance to analyze your preparation.As far as preparation strategy is concerned, I feel NCERT should be thoroughly studied. For improving physics I used to solve a lot of numerical.

Careers360: What were your weak points and what were the stronger ones? How did you tackle your weakness?Priya Setia: Thought of the exam brings the nervousness. Single exam is deciding your future and 2 years of hard work made me more nervous. I was afraid whether I would be able to manage time effectively and avoid silly mistakes during the exam. In short I wanted to give my 100% in entrance exam of NEET.I tackled my weakness of becoming nervous by joining various test series to learn time management. Regular analysis of performance through mock test series helped me lot in analysis of performance which gradually boost my confidence.I feel Physics is my strength. I liked Physics and loved to solve numerical. This helped me in building my confidence towards the effort that I was putting.

Careers360: Do you think coaching is important for the AIPMT aspirants? If some aspirant can’t afford coaching, in what way he must prepare for the AIPMT Exam?Priya Setia: Yes, I personally feel coaching helped me a lot. It made me sincere and regular. It also provided me a competitive environment which I would have never got at home.For aspirants who can’t afford coaching, time management is something they usually lack. Setting up schedule, joining online test series can help them to tackle this problem. At the same time it will also provide them a competitive environment that ultimately helped them in boosting their performance and learning and the same helped me too.

Careers360: What tips would you like to share with the AIPMT aspirants?Priya Setia: I would suggest Pre Medical Test aspirants should study NCERT thoroughly. They must study their course regularly on routine basis. I personally feel that solving more and more numerical helps in scoring marks in entrance exam. And at last but not least you must have faith in your potential because your confidence and attitude at the end matter the most.

Are NCERT books sufficient for the preparation of AIPMT 2014?By: Ishita Parekh Updated On:07-Feb-2014, 12:01 PM IST

 

With AIPMT 2014 only five months away, an increasing number of students ask the question that whether NCERT books are sufficient for cracking AIPMT 2014. After having talked to the directors of coaching institutes and toppers of last year NEET UG we found out that apart from studying the NCERT books, one is required to also read from other guide books and practice material. On the other hand, NCERT books remain the foundation for the preparation of AIPMT 2014. According to many rank holders, focusing on NCERT syllabus is very important and

mentioned that most of the questions are asked from the NCERT books.

"Get your personalized preparation report and improvement plan. Analyze your preparation level with AIPMT Prepmeter" 

For any doubts and queries related to the exam pattern, preparation and other related queries, students can call the AIPMT 2014 Exam Helpline at 011-40360360. One of the toppers of NEET UG (now AIPMT), Aakash said, “The NEET exam pattern is similar to that of NCERT. Also, I was from a CBSE affiliated school and CBSE board follows NCERT and so it was easy for me to crack NEET.” The exam pattern and syllabus for AIPMT 2014 will be same as that of NEET UG 2013.

Click Here to enroll for Expert guidance for UG Entrance Preparation, Counselling and college selection. Mr Shailendra Maheshwari, Director, Career Point said, “NCERT books are undoubtedly good but obviously not sufficient for preparation. One needs concise, relevant and scientifically designed courseware. NCERT also published “Examplar” for preparation which is highly recommended. Old test papers should be taken for more and more practice.”Another topper, Supriya said, “It is wise to study from other guide books once you’re sure that you’ve prepared well from NCERT books.”

It is important that students solve previous year’s papers over and again. Students must first try to learn from the mistakes they’ve made, try to strengthen their weaker areas and thoroughly study NCERT books before jumping to other guide books. 

It is also important to note that since AIPMT remains one of the most competitive exams, every student should leave no stone unturned in their preparation.

Cracking AIPMT 2014 without Coaching - Expert Speak  By: Apratim Chatterjee Updated On:02-Apr-2014, 11:57 AM IST

 

With just 4 months to go for AIPMT 2014 scheduled on May 4, 2014, Careers360 brings you expert insight on Preparation strategy for the students who can’t afford to take the coaching classes for the coveted medical entrance exam.

Experts say Cracking AIPMT 2014 all depends on self practice, time management and at last but not the least, belief in hard work.

For any doubts and queries related to the exam pattern, preparation and other related queries, students can call the AIPMT 2014 Exam Helpline at 011-40360360.

In this interview on AIPMT Preparation, Shailendra Maheshwari, Director, Career Point shares his insights on preparation strategy and talks on preparation material, difficulty level, question pattern and important tips for those students who can’t afford to take coaching classes for AIPMT 2014.

Careers360: What should be the preparation strategy for the AIPMT 2014 aspirants who can’t afford to take guidance from the classroom coaching?Shailendra Maheshwari: Here, first of all I would like to clear one thing that whether a student wants to take coaching or not is his own choice. There are some brilliant students who don’t prefer to take coaching. Moreover coaching institutes promote those students who are needy and brilliant. Secondly those students who are average or above average but can’t afford to take coaching are very less as they understand their strength and weakness. See due to fierce competition a structured system is required to direct efforts towards the goal; this is what a reputed coaching institute does.As far as preparation strategy is concerned it is obviously same for everyone as due to circumstantial issues how can preparation strategy differ. Those students who can’t afford to take coaching have to use their resources to get notes and sheets of any reputed institute. Majority of institutes provide Distance Learning Program in which they provide complete Study Material, Test Papers for practice at home or at centre and Rankers Package collection.

Careers360: What are the preparation materials they can make use of?Shailendra Maheshwari: Again NCERT Books, Class Notes, Sheets or Study Material of Coaching institutes or some renowned publishers.  Students can arrange these materials through their own resources or can get through DLP programs of reputed institutes. Moreover nowadays online material and test series are also available to students in nominal rates.

Careers360: How many hours do they need to put in for preparation? What should be the focus areas?Shailendra Maheshwari: See this is very relative and it varies person to person, though 10 to 12 hours of effective study is required on an average to crack these examinations as syllabus is bit wide. The students should definitely concentrate on those weak areas which are having good

weightage and generally questions are asked from those topics.  Important topics in Physics:

Core Topic Units

Modern Physics Atomic StructurePhoto Electric EffectDual Nature , Nuclear Physics and RadioactivityElectronic Devices

Heat and Thermodynamics Heat Flow [ Conduction | Radiation]KTGThermodynamicsSound Wave

Electrodynamics Electrostatic | CapacitorsElectrical Circuits and Measuring InstrumentsMagnetismEMI and AC

Mechanic, Ray and Wave Optics   

Careers360: Your advice regarding AIPMT 2014 for these studentsShailendra Maheshwari:

Revise the entire syllabus with a vision. Don’t read entire theory again and again. Practice as much questions as you can and try to understand the solution of those who you have

attempted wrong. This is a game of speed and accuracy and examination temperament so more practice leads to

success. Theoretical Questions related to Modern Physics are too easy and having very less calculations

therefore students of biology must emphasize on that. In Heat and thermodynamics majority of questions are of P-Y graph or principles of

thermodynamics which are easy to solve First solve direct formula based questions of any topic. In Chemistry sub option based question, Graph based question and Match the Column based

question may also be asked. For Biology students must prepare Diagrams, Charts and tables given in NCERT books. Prepare flow chart for Mechanism of Physiology for quick revision In case if any question is of lengthy calculation then first try to solve through approximation or

as per options.