After FSC, every student has a dream of getting admission in a well reputed university in his respective field. Students are uncertain and anxious about qualifying ETEA or MDCAT entrance test and getting admission in medical colleges or engineering universities of their choice on open merit.
Large numbers of students work hard in the two academic sessions of FSC to score maximum marks in both year’s annual examination of FSC Pre-Medical & Pre-Engineering so that their aggregate in admission merit calculation can be increased as much it could be.
It has been observed that in spite of obtaining excellent marks in FSC, only a few students among thousands succeed in getting admission on open merit in Medical college or engineering university.
I personally know many students who obtained more than 90 % marks in FSC annual exam but they did not even pass the entry test. What was the reason behind this failure? Why even so much hardworking students did not succeed in obtaining the qualifying marks in the test.
Clearing ETEA or MDCAT test requires immense dedication, consistency, quality material, resources, practice, proper time management and focused effort.
Obtaining excellent marks is a mission that can be fulfilled with a clear vision and an effective study plan. Proper planning and time management takes you towards the right direction. A candidate’s will power, self-determination, focus and perseverance will lead him to a path that definitely leads him to success.
Here are some useful tips and valuable suggestions that will help you in scoring outstanding marks in the entrance test.
Understanding of exam pattern
| Marking Mode | 1 Mark for right answer, 0 for wrong |
| Negative Marking | No Negative Marking |
| Subjects | Biology, chemistry, physics and English grammar |
| Types of Questions | MCQs |
| Total Marks | 200 |
Before going to start preparation, it is necessary to understand the pattern of exam, total time allowed, total marks and the marking scheme of paper.
Both of the MDCAT & ETEA Medical papers are based on the Biology, chemistry, physics and English grammar concepts.
You are very lucky that there is no negative marking in this test, you can attempt all of 200 MCQs. It depends on your preparation, paper solving techniques and practice of solving past papers to obtain maximum marks.
Understanding of Complete Syllabus
You must have complete understanding of syllabus; including all aspects of syllabus before planning and setting timetable about activities and preparation. The complete syllabus of ETEA Medical test is provided for your comfort in this article “Syllabus & Paper Composition“.
After understanding syllabus, you will be able to prepare effective notes for quick revision of the relevant subject before the test .
Effective and Productive Study Plan
According to an old proverb
“A vision without a plan is just a dream. A plan without a vision is just drudgery…but a vision with a plan can change the world.”
This proverb truly signifies the importance of a proper and effective study plan for the entrance test. For achieving 170+ marks, it is necessary to develop a well thought and adoptable time table.
Time table must be developed by keeping in view the ratio of MCQs of a subject in the test. For instance, there are 80 MCQs of Biology in the test, therefore, it is logical and rational approach that Biology should be given more time than any other subject.
Similarly, divide your time for other subjects based on their percentage of MCQs in the relevant test.
Refer to Textbooks
Course Books of FSC published by the provinces for FSC Part-1 and Part-2 are most appropriate for ETEA,MDCAT or others test preparation. Almost all MCQs of Biology, Maths, Physics and Chemistry are based on the concepts mentioned in the topics of those text books. So, it is significant to study and understand the text books.
It is worth mentioning that the students who ignore the textbook cannot secure good marks. Similarly, students relying on other people notes find difficulties in making concepts. However, students are encouraged to make their own notes of major subjects. Students who make their own notes easily revise topics during exam.
Collect and Practice Past Papers
Try to collect and solve past papers when you start your preparation. It gives you the idea of level of difficulty of a test. It assists you in understanding the difference between annual exam and this test. By solving old papers, you have awareness that how much did you prepare for this test.
Above mentioned techniques will help you for preparation and in managing your time wisely in the entry test.
Don’t Skip Syllabus or Chapter
Never take a risk of losing a single mark by ignoring any topic of any subject. There is no choice of study for this exam, prepare each chapter thoroughly. Majority of the candidates fail this test due to their wrong approach of selective study. Therefore, it is suggested that understand every thing incorporated in your syllabus.
Consult with any subject specialist or discuss with class fellows for understanding difficult topics.
Revision and Practice
Revision is the most important technique for solving maximum questions in the test. Majority of the candidates cannot secure expected marks despite good preparation. These students do not revise the subjects properly due to lack of effective revision strategy. Practice what you have learnt through different sources. Practice will keep you smart, relax, energetic and quick during entry test.
Regular practice will facilitate you to obtain more than 170 marks. Furthermore practice increases your understanding of the topic and helps in memorizing important points .
Develop Time Management Skills
90 % students suffer in the test due to lack of time management skills despite reasonable preparation. Use stop watch when you solve past papers at home. Follow the time specified by ETEA|MDCAT for entry test while doing practice of past papers before the test. Regular practice will solve time management problem for you.
Techniques for Each Subject
All subjects which are part of test have some common guidelines for preparation and some special guidelines related to that subject.
Common Techniques
Either it is Biology, Physics or Chemistry here are the few important points to remember for their preparation.
- Make your own notes: As your own written notes are based on concept and memorization, it will be very beneficial at the end during test preparation while having short time.
- Revision
- Practicing Past Papers
- Practice all available MCQs.
Special Techniques
For Biology
As biology is 45% of the whole test of ETEA & MDCAT Medical, so being theoretical subject it will be the biggest edge for candidates to solve maximum right answers within short span of time. Being theoretical in nature along with proper preparation biology will save a lot of time for you in the test which has very short time.
There is a detailed and very informative article written on “biology preparation strategies”, read it.
For satisfactory level of preparation follow these tips
- Keep studying on daily basis with keen interest.
- Some topics need a lot of practice to absorb the vocabulary and concept of the topic and linkages between the topics etc.
- There may be diagrams in the test, so having understanding of topic by visual is useful.
- Use of mnemonics to memorize the confusing things.
- Mnemonics techniques are explained in the article on the link “biology preparation strategies”, read it.
