In many countries, competitive exams are also known as entrance exams.

Many students take the competitive exam as a tedious task to crack but cracking competitive exams need certain strategies that really work.

Many students I found are struggling to crack entrance exam due to various reasons and they don’t get to get proper studies 

Passing out any competitive(entrance) exam is very important whether you want to have a nice job or you want to find a very good university for your higher education. Almost all the faculties like engineering, medicine, management, and accounting take a competitive exam. 

Without passing any entrance exam it’s almost impossible to get into the best university for further education. 

 But don’t worry we are going to cover up everything that you need to know about taking any kind of competitive exams from the top of the point of view. 

This article covers a comprehensive guide for any competitive exam aspirant. All this information is collected from the toppers of the different competitive exams for different countries

What competitive exam checks?

It evaluates your understanding, reasoning, and decision-making in limited time constraints.

1.Analyze the past questions In and Out

It might be strange that I am suggesting to study the questions rather than the books but in reality, it’s very much true that the questions are the answers. 

Having proper knowledge about the comprehensions of the questions that are to be asked in any particular competitive exam is of utmost importance. 

Why analyzing questions is the most important step?

• It gives you a clear vision regarding which chapters are the most important ones?

• What to focus on from a specific chapter and what not to?

• You will know what are the most important types of questions to practice.

• It’s easy to know the level of difficulty of the exams.

• Gives a clear idea about marks distribution for each type of question.

Thus, studying the comprehension of the question will lay out a clear path for making study strategies.

2.Have a study plan

There is a famous management principle which says “planning is half work done”. While making your study plan you must consider the following steps:

a) Have a study schedule

Studying haphazardly is not going to take you anywhere instead it will just waste your time. As per your habitual pattern, you must decide in which time period of the day you feel most productive. Some people prefer studying at night while some others prefer studying in the morning.

Make your daily timetable for each subject separately. Don’t give an entire day to a single subject. Study different subjects in various time blocks.

For an instance, if you study a chapter of Biology for an hour then study a chapter of Physics for another hour.

b) Organize your study materials

All the study materials like books, notes, highlighters, pdfs, and other requirements should be easily accessible. Many students have a habit of searching for study materials just before a study hour. 

This actually reduces your learning efficiency, wasting your valuable time. Therefore, organize your study materials before sitting for a study.

3.Study on a regular basis and practice, practice, and revise

Always keep in your mind, consistency is the ultimate key to success. Break down the syllabus of each subject on a daily basis and study slowly and gradually.

Some students study all day and night in a day or a week but afterward they touch books after so many days. As a result, they again forget what they studied. This is just a waste of time. 

Moreover, some students have a habit of cramming books just some days before the exams or even a day before exams. Such a habit damages your learning efficiency building unnecessary pressure during exam days.

Along with the consistent study, practice all the past questions of your competitive exams as well.

As we know competitive exams are always tough. In tough scenarios only your practice is going to help.

Another most important thing is to revise what you’ve studied after some hours and after some days. Spaced revision helps to remember studied material for a long time

4.Yoga and Meditation

Yoga is an ancient method that has tremendous physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. For students, it enhances their ability to concentrate on a particular subject at a time. 

As per Nikola Tesla, “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.” 

Similarly, our body needs energy for its proper functioning. If we’ll be able to manage the energy of our body then definitely we can learn faster.

Why yoga and meditation?

• Yoga works as a lubricant reducing stress and anxiety caused by many situations that we face in our day-to-day life.

• Both yoga and meditation improve neuroplasticity, increasing learning efficiency.

• They help to look at things from a higher perspective, enhancing your energy.

• Yoga and meditation heal our body and mind from any kind of physical along with mental scars.

If you don’t know where to get started just start practicing asanas like Sukhasana, Padmasana, Sirshasana, etc., and yoga mudras like Gyan Mudra, Prithivi Mudra, Prana Mudra, Vayu Mudra, etc. as per your comfort

5.Learn memory techniques

Many students struggle to memorize the stuff. Eventually, they fail to get good grades in the examination. There is a popular saying “Sharpen the saw”, it simply means to work on yourself more instead of just trying to do things with your limited capability.

Then comes here, How to learn memory techniques? You can take the help of books, online courses, and offline courses in your region.

There are many memory techniques like mnemonics technique, mind palace or loci technique, speed reading, quantum speed reading-QSR, sound-alike method, PEG system, and so on.

6.Focus on brain-boosting foods and exercises

Normal foods are not enough to fulfill the immense need for energy for the mind. Thus include brain foods like fatty fish, blueberries, almonds, groundnuts, turmeric, broccoli, avocados, soy, and eggs in your diet. 

It is difficult to include all the brain foods in your diet at once. But you can consume them turn by turn on a regular basis.

Similarly, exercises like skipping, push-ups, pull-ups, and simple body stretching helps to increase mind power. 

All these exercises increase blood flow. Consequently, they supply a sufficient amount of oxygen to our brain.

Sufficient oxygen makes us calm and increases our power to focus.

7.Take the mock tests

I can’t explain in words, how much is it important to take a mock test on a regular basis? Mock tests are the backbone for cracking any competitive exams. So the question comes how to take mock tests?

Whether you can take mock tests in a tuition center or by yourself. But the most important thing is to give a mock test relevant to the question pattern of your respective exam. 

And if you are taking yourself, create the same environment as exams.

Practicing all unnecessary questions is not going to take you anywhere. Thus only take high-quality mock tests.

Why mock tests?

• They give you real exam time experience which helps to tackle fear during pressure situations in exams.

• You can evaluate yourself better in various aspects. Like, how much do you know? What are your weaknesses? In which areas you have to do the work? What are the chapters you are having problems with?

• Mock tests increase your speed to solve the questions. It also gives a clear idea regarding the nature of questions that are to be asked in the examination.

8. Track your progress on a daily basis

Note down all the mistakes that you have made during mock tests. Also, track your progress whether you are increasing your marks or not? 

If you are not making any progress or going down below your own level, then analyze all your patterns and mistakes. Make a proper strategy to work on them on a daily basis. 

At the end of every day, track your progress. Don’t cheat and be honest with yourself. Make sure that you are not repeating the same mistakes again and again.