Actual competition begins now

Board examinations over, your focus of attention would be shifting to competitive examinations for professional courses now.   There would be many boys and girls who would have also joined coaching classes. The entire process is a long drawn-out one with every member of the family being involved in some way or the other. There is no denying the fact that the pressure and momentum of competitive examinations would be at the zenith, but the big question is whether you have a study plan for them or not?

You had ample time at your disposal for your board examinations and hopefully you would have fared well in them. But entrance examinations for different professional colleges now scheduled, there has to be very judicious planning to crack them. With limited time available and extensive syllabus required to be covered, the necessity to have a good study plan to ensure good preparation needs no emphasis.  

Any study plan that you formulate must take into consideration your individual preferences. It will eventually serve as that crucial facilitator to attain your objectives. The plan so developed should thus be practical and sustainable. It should be made taking into account your requirements and also be in consonance with your 'to-do list'. This implies that the plan should cheer you on to study and prepare meaningfully well for the entrance examination. In other words, a study plan ought to be there specially and specifically for you. In case it is not so, you will not be able to make the learning process a fruitful experience. Therefore, though needless to state, the plan should be such that you are able to study and learn efficiently and without undergoing any strain or worry.

You need to first decide on the time that you ought to devote for preparation and the amount of effort that you will be able to put in and the time actually available to you. This can be done by identifying different books and study material that you need to have and study.  Once you know this information, you need to know their complexities and different impacting factors relevant today. You also need to be fully conversant with the examination methodology as also how they matter to you. It will not be out of place to set a mark of performance that you wish to attain.

Having done the above, you must catalogue books that you indeed will be studying and keeping in view the time available to you, your daily apportioning of time for study. It is essential that keep some cushion time at your disposal for revision. It could well happen that you run short of time; if that happens to be a possibility, then you should ensure that you cover the syllabus prior to the revision phase. In case this is not possible, then you must prioritise by identifying ‘should’, ‘could’ and ‘may’ portions of the study material. It all amounts to making a schedule that is workable and pragmatic; this will be possible if you have more than one study slots with the subjects or topics that you need to finish on a daily basis. It will be better if difficult subjects are studied towards the end. You must also make certain that the place or table where you is comfortable in all respects; and the study sessions not monotonous. Your preparation will be meaningless if you do not undergo an examination. This will help you to know how much you have assimilated and how much you have not. While learning by heart anything should be avoided at all costs, particularly when examinations are a day or two ahead.  

The crux of the matter is to comprehend the significance that the entrance examination you are preparing for holds out in your life. The preparation process should entail smaller, well-defined phases. Each of these phases should be systematically organized into fruitful study slots. Whatever is learnt in each phase should be utilized as a bonus and made to serve as an impelling factor. That is how you would be able to inch forward towards your cherished goal!