Common Preparation Mistakes of NTSE (Tips from NTSE Scholar)

I was lucky enough to give NTSE twice.

Yes you read it right. Our batch gave NTSE in class 8 (at that time NTSE was for class 8 students) and by the time we reached class 10, to our surprise, it was shifted from class 8 to class 10.

In class 8, I missed it out by 4 marks. But miss is a miss however close you are to your goal. I knew the mistakes I did. So I was careful in class 10 and then the result was very good.

These are the mistakes I did while preparing for the NTSE exam in class 8 :

Did not go through NCERT textbooks thoroughly. This is the most common and the biggest mistake students do in their preparation. After the exam I regretted not studying the NCERT textbooks properly.
NCERT textbooks are extremely important for this exam. You must read it carefully – line by line.

Did not practice enough previous year papers and mock tests. Mock tests provide you the real exam like experience. Mock tests will bring out the mistakes hidden inside you which you might commit in the exam. The more number of tests you give, the more you become aware of your exam hall behavior like – some people get tensed n nervous, some do bubbling error, some forget things they’ve studied – even their favorite topics etc. You need to overcome these problems in order to succeed. The only solution to such problems is more number of mock tests.

Did not revise properly. Revision is not a last month or last week task. It should be done on regular basis. Revise things you studied in the last 24 hours, before going to bed. Plan a big revision every fortnight. This would help you remember things which you now struggling hard to remember but cannot.

I was weak in MAT due to lack of proper practice. MAT portion should be practiced thoroughly. This is where you can score high. Develop your own tricks to solve problems.

Bought many books, but thoroughly completed none. Do not pile up books. Complete one book first and then go for another. Completing one book first gives an idea of all topics. Your pace of practicing problems would definitely become fast as you proceed further with other books. It will also provide you with a sort of revision of what you studied from the last book.

I was not calm on the day of exam. Just chill and relax on the day of exam. Stop serious studies 1–2 days before the exam day. Have confidence on yourself and your preparation. Enjoy every moment of your exam because it’s the fruit of your hard work. A year long preparation is producing something great. So enjoy the paper. Do not think about the result, just enjoy solving the paper and be happy.

Learning from your mistakes is good. But you should also learn from other’s mistakes. Someone has committed these mistakes. You need not repeat them – Just learn from them.

Remember opportunity doesn’t knock twice !!!

Ashesh Pradhan
State Rank – 3 in NTSE (Stage -2)

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