How to Ace Competitive Entrance Exams

As a student, you surely know what to study and when to study. Usually the teachers and school authorities do not teach you how to study. It is quite strange to know that during our entire school time, we are never taught how to learn effectively. Everyday there are several new researches that are conducted on education, learning methods and teaching skills which we can use to learn scientific ways for reading, memorizing and effective reviewing which will come in handy for cracking competitive entrance exams.

Here are some scientific study skills that can help you get success if you are preparing to ace competitive entrance exams.

 1. Sync your school timetable and home study schedule

Study the topic taught by the teacher as soon as you come home from school, revise the topic and prepare notes. When there is a test, use the time before school to quickly memorize questions, brush up facts and learn diagrams.

 2. Short study sessions

Psychologists have found out that students learn as much in one hour session in comparison to a six hours lesson. This means that students can cut their study time by at least 30% by using a well-planned study schedule. When you study for a limited time, it makes your brain work more efficiently. In addition, it is believed that during study breaks, the mind absorbs information automatically without any conscious effort on your part.

3. Do not study when you are sleepy

Sitting with books when sleepy is a total waste of time. If you have too much backlog to cover, just do something light at the time like clearing your desk or arranging your school bag to let the sleepy phase pass. Also, you can take a 15 minute nap to charge your mind for your study time.

4. Smart work is better than hard work

The attention you pay to the subject and alertness of your mind matters more than the time you spend on it. For competitive entrance exams one does not count the number of hours he/she is spending. Rather, you need to measure the amount of focused study that you are doing. Some of the important strategies to keep yourself alert are:

 5. Minimize distractions

Get rid of TV noise blaring somewhere in the room, running errands in between studies, and people shouting in your ears. Of course, you cannot control all your family, but you may adjust your time table to study early in the morning or late at night when there is complete silence and no disturbance at all. This will help you to concentrate better.

Start with the most difficult or boring subject when you are fully alert. Keep the easier ones for the time when you are lazy to study.

 6. Do not schedule similar subjects one after the other

It is better to study different subjects one after the other rather than clubbing the similar ones. It means that studying Physics after Mathematics is not a good idea. You can club history or English literature and your brain will be able to absorb all three subjects in a much better way.

7. Plan your study time

Plan your study in advance before you sit for the exam. Know beforehand an exam what you want to and don’t want to study. Plan things ahead. Know what you are going to cover on which day and how you will be revising before your exam. In such cases, it is very important to get your plan in mind. It can really help you do well in an exam. People who plan from before are able to do much better than people who don’t.

8. Drink some coffee/Tea

If you want to do well in an exam, you must remember to take care of small things. You can drink a cup of tea or coffee when you are trying to study and feel dizzy or tired instead. When it comes to tea, there are several options such as herbal and green tea that can actually refresh your mind and help you to do much better in exams.

 9. Don’t study at odd times 

When we say that do not study at odd times, we mean to say that you should not study when sleepy. If you do so, then it would actually be a waste of time. People usually feel tired and exhausted an hour or so after lunch. Post dinner studies must also be avoided. If this is one of you, then make sure you have a proper study schedule later. You must study during those times when you are ready for an exam. If there is a lot to cover, then you can prepare the notes beforehand, get a nap or recharge yourself with a refreshing drink and then once again start with your studies. Try it for yourself this is definitely going to work.

10. Read the text thoroughly

Another important thing that you need to do is to read the text thoroughly. If needed, make sure to read every chapter twice. Make sure you have seen the headings, the introductory part properly, the sub heading, etc. It will surely give you a good idea of what will be coming for your exam.

 11. Proper Diet

Exam time is usually very important. So make sure you have a proper diet prepared from beforehand so that you are ready for the exam in the best possible way. Many of us do not pay much attention to the diet thinking that it is something to worry about during exams. Diet is something that can really make or break things so you need to be really careful about it. By proper diet we mean eating enough protein, fats and carbohydrates. Drink enough water and don’t forget to add vegetables and fruits in each meal.

On a concluding note, you are suggested not to stress yourself when it comes to getting ready for an exam. Just study hard and do your best and you will show excellent results. And the most important thing is to make sure to keep yourself healthy and fit during such times. All you need to do is focus on your studying. All the best.