Competitive Entrance Exam Preparation: 10 Tips for Success

Competitive Entrance Exam Preparation: Are you preparing for competitive entrance exams? We understand that you might be putting a lot of effort into cracking these exams. But sometimes during preparation, we often take things lightly and miss some of the important things that can become a hurdle later. It is true that competitive entrance exams are not easy but even not impossible. You can crack the exams with your rigorous hard work and continuous effort. To crack these exams, you would need to hone a few skills that can help you get through these exams. In this article, we will deal with the Hacks & Tips for Success in Competitive Entrance Exams.

Every year, lakhs of students take competitive entrance exams to pursue higher education or jobs. The first thing that strikes is preparing for the exam. In this competitive world, it is not easy to crack any entrance exam as there are only limited seats available. To acquire those seats thousands of students appear for the exam and few will be selected based on their credentials and performance. As you know competitive exams can be sometimes difficult for the students as they have to cover vast amounts of the syllabus. This can lead to stress and even anxiety during the preparation.

Earlier, students were hardly equipped with proper facilities for exam preparation but now with the growing technology and the internet has eased this difficulty to a greater extent. Nowadays students are giving their best in cracking the exam so that they get selected and move towards achieving their goals. And if you are one of the students appearing for the entrance exam then follow the tips and hacks for competitive exams preparation. Even the smallest tips and hacks can help you in better preparation for the exam. Let us look into some of the 10 hacks and tips for success in competitive entrance exams.

Top 10 Tips for Success in Competitive Entrance Exams 

#1 Read & Understand About Exam

The first step is to understand the exam for which you are applying. As you know each competitive exam is different from the others, so it is important to read the guidelines and process carefully before applying for the exam. You should know what the exam is all about and how it can help in your career. 

#2 Organize Study Area

Have you got your study area at home? If not, then choose a study area that is more peaceful and calm. Make sure that you organize your necessary things for a better learning environment, for example, a comfortable chair and table, light, stationery items, books, etc according to your needs. Everything has to be arranged as per your comfort so that you develop learning with complete concentration and interest. Clean space brings more positivity and confidence.

#3 Explore Syllabus

Before you start preparing for the exam, explore and understand the syllabus mentioned in the application. You should know about the list of syllabus and content that needs to be studied for the exam. Make a list of syllabus divided into chapters and units. You should go through the syllabus before starting the preparation. And check the marks allotted for each segment of the syllabus. Then, you can start giving priority based on the weightage to the syllabus and study well for the exam.

#4 Plan Timetable

Plan and prepare a time table before starting the preparation so that you can study and practice for the exam accordingly. You can include the syllabus on the time table for daily, weekly and monthly basis till the exams are over. Set day and time for each unit on an everyday basis for learning and practicing along with necessary short breaks. We all know that following the time table makes you more disciplined and sincere towards learning and everything around you. While you prepare your study plan, make sure that realistic goals are set for the exam, schedule the hours during the time where you feel most productive and energetic towards learning.

When you look into the study plan, it should appear simple and easy to understand. Set more hours for the complex information than the simple ones. And make sure that the time and chapters set for the day should be strictly followed so that you can complete studying 

#5 Eliminate Distractions

During the preparation,  sometimes you might get distracted with little things around you. You have to focus on understanding the syllabus and concepts for preparation. There are many papers that are mostly filled with analytical questions. So you should focus on understanding them for better learning outcomes. If you are focused and sincere then remembering information is much easier.  It is important to eliminate distractions around you to focus more on cracking the exam. The distractions can be with respect to the overuse of mobile phones, long hours of chatting, playing games, etc. So, it is important to be focused and concentrate on preparing for the exam.

#6 Following Healthy Lifestyle

Health is the most important thing in life. You can achieve things only when physical and mental health is fit. Ensure that you take a good amount of sleep in the night during the preparation as lack of sleep can cause tiredness and create a negative impact on exams. Planning a regular routine is very important for a positive mind. You should have a healthy diet, regular exercise, and drinking lots of water. Regular exercise and meditation can help in improving concentration levels during the learning process. Make sure that you are not pressurized or distracted by anyone. Taking regular breaks during the preparation is very important for the mind and body. Use those extra time for relaxation and meditation. 

#7 Be Motivated

You have to be motivated and confident to crack the exam. Believe in yourself and remember that motivation can help you achieve your goals. Keep a positive attitude towards yourself that you can crack the exam and get selected. You have to be surrounded by people who can motivate and support during the preparation. Make sure that you give your best during the preparation and less worry about the results. 

#8 Practice

Practicing previous papers can bring a lot of difference in your preparation. Sometimes we might go blank when exam papers arrive as the questions seem to be quite different and difficult to understand. In such cases, you can get an idea of looking back into the previous year’s question papers. It can help in understanding the kind of questions that might appear for the exam. So, collect question papers for the last five years and try to practice because you never know if any questions from those papers might appear in the exam. Also, it will give you some idea about the topics of high priority. There are many online platforms where you can practice test for better preparation.

#9 Time Management

The most important tip that you can apply from the starting day of your preparation is managing time. If you know how to manage your time, cracking these exams becomes easy without any stress or anxiety. Time management is not only for preparation but also for how much time you take for attempting each question in the exam paper. There are online test-taking platforms that can help you with practice and test-taking skills for better preparation and developing time management skills

#10 Ask for Help

Do not hesitate to ask for help if you want to clear doubts or queries on any information regarding the exam. Sometimes you might think of trying hard to get the right information or concepts but it might lead to a wastage of time. Instead, you can approach teachers or friends to clear your doubts. 

10 Study Hacks for Competitive Entrance Exam Success

#1 Concentration 

The most important element in preparation for the exam is concentration. If you are concentrating in learning with proper planning and routine then cracking the exam becomes easy. It is important that you cultivate the habit of concentration during the preparation as little distraction can bring negative results. Concentration can help you in remembering things much faster and retains information for long periods of time. 

#2 Complete Syllabus Early 

It is said that anything kept for the last moment will not give success. You should complete the syllabus days before the entrance exam. So that you can have enough time to check and learn the materials that might have been missed. Also revise the whole syllabus and practice test papers for better results.

#3 Take Mock Test 

It is very much advisable to take mock tests during the preparation of the exam. It can help you analyze the types of questions that might appear in the exam papers. You can take mock tests even when your syllabus is not complete to perform well in actual exams. It helps in performing better and improving your skills. 

#4 Prepare Notes for Exam

We all know that preparing notes for all the syllabus can be time-consuming. But taking down notes while learning can help in remembering information. You can prepare notes for reference during the time of revision. When you are preparing notes make sure that you depict the information in the form of a flowchart or diagram which can help you in analyzing the information faster. Try to connect your syllabus with practice and visual learning which can help you in retaining information for a long time. Just glancing the content will not help in remembering information but understanding the concept will do.  

#5 Identify Area of Interest

Sometimes we do not realize how much time and effort is put into learning for the topics that are difficult to understand and analyze. In such cases, you should identify your weaknesses and strengths in the content that is interesting to you and focus on giving priority. And start learning from simple to complex information for better understanding.

#6 Understanding Concepts 

It is said that understanding the concept is more important than memorizing because it is difficult to retain the information until the day of exams. So it is important to understand the concept which will be retained in your memory for long periods of time. You can write and analyze the questions with a better understanding.

#7 Group Discussion

Sometimes it might happen where you might need someone to discuss or share your thoughts about the preparation of the exam. When you and other friends are preparing for the exam, then group study or discussion can contribute to a better understanding of the concept. Brainstorming with each other on simple and complex questions can clear your doubts. For instance, you might be good at maths and your friend in science, so it is possible to share ideas and concepts with each other so that both of you can get better understanding leading to better results.

#8 Checking for Online Resources 

You might be finding it difficult sometimes to access information from the textbooks due to unavailability. In such cases, you can refer to online information from authentic educational websites, articles, ebooks, research papers, etc. You can ask teachers or mentors to help in finding the correct sources for accessing information. With the help of resources, you will spend less time searching for information and focus more on preparation. 

#9 Assess Self Preparation

We know that the entrance exam has a lot of content to read. It is also important to assess yourselves and identify the mistakes so that you can improve your preparation for the final exam. You should assess yourself again and again for effective preparation. There are many online assessment platforms available for the students where they can practice and develop their test-taking skills with proper time management.  You can get instant results and feedback based on performance. There is also the possibility of checking speed and accuracy during practice tests. All these factors will contribute to better preparation and performance in the exam. 

#10 Bookmark Topics

There is abundant information available online for the students. You might become confused or forget the resources referred to the particular content. In such cases bookmarking will help you in not missing the content when required.

We hope that this article on ‘Hacks & Tips for Success in Competitive Entrance Exams’ has been useful for you. In case, you have some other ideas or need other suggestions, comment in the box below. We will like to cover it in our next article.

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