How to Manage CBSE Exam and Entrance Exams
The last board exam of class 10th is probably the most confusing time for a student aspiring to get into a premier engineering or medical college. It begins with the euphoria of culmination of hard work, and ends in contemplation of the road ahead.
At this point, it is important to realize that school exams and studying for the competitive exams, both, are equally important.
Why is it important to do well in your CBSE Class 12 Exams?
Scoring well in your school exams, apart from instilling confidence in you, opens up a plethora of options for you. You can go in for many respected courses like B.Sc (H), B.Com (H) and Economics (H), just on the basis of your CBSE marks in class 12. Even the basic requirement to take exams like AIPMT, IIT, BBA/BBS entrance exams is 50 percent marks in your CBSE class 12 exams. So, neglecting your CBSE class 12 board exams can be perilous.
How to strike a right balance?
- Don’t take up more than one topic per subject at a time. Study the entrance exam related topics to those you are doing at school, and try to correlate them. That way, solving problems in school becomes easier. Moreover, you won’t have too much on your plate to chew. You will have to focus on one topic per subject, at any given point in time.
- Manage time well. While the syllabus for your entrance exams and CBSE class 12 boards would be almost same, both the exams test different skills. For this, study a topic from the CBSE Board level first, and focus on reproducing facts, and then, when you know the basics, move to deep understanding of concepts and their application. The best method of managing both is to be regular in classes and following a time table.
- Plan your day in advance. How to do that? Let us consider 2 situations
- You have joined a coaching institute
The first half is spent at your school and a better part of second half at the coaching institute. Do not waste the time you are left with. Revise the concepts of at least 2 subjects each day. Utilize the weekends. Spend more time on your weaker areas. In case the topic being taught at school and at your coaching institute are same, try to finish it. Build basics of that topic, which will help you in the CBSE exams, while solving the higher order questions will be beneficial for competitive exams.
- You study on your own
Since you are studying on your own, motivation will become a key factor. Do not, at any time, become complacent. Build concepts. Study for 2-3 hours at a stretch. Stop studying, in case you feel tired. Do something you enjoy. Comeback to the topic once you feel recharged. Revise the topics discussed at school and substantiate your knowledge of a particular topic by going into the depths of the topic and solving questions of varying difficulty.
- People planning to take up BBS/BBA after class 12 CBSE exams should keep abreast with the latest happenings, read newspapers regularly, devote an hour or 2 to general aptitude questions and spend the rest of their time dedicated to class 12 CBSE exams.
With these points in mind, you should find the right balance between your CBSE class 12 preparations and entrance exam preparations. Charles Richards once said, “Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week” So, get up, start working and start utilizing your time.
