Last-minute prep tips for AIEEE

Getting through the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) is not all about conceptual clarity and knowledge of the appropriate formulae and theories. There is more to it than meets the eye. The defining characteristic is its timed multiple choice question (MCQ) format.

The basic idea of a timed test is that you have to work and answer under the constraint of time. Hence, a simple step-by-step algorithmic method of solving a question would only waste your time and put you at a disadvantage. What is required is a set of unconventional tools and methods of problem-solving, apart from the commonsense approach.

A crash course at leading institutes would have given you ample exposure to the types of questions expected. The internet is full of AIEEE solutions for most of the previous years' AIEEE papers. What would help your preparation at this time is solving free online tests under similar time constraints or downloading a few AIEEE papers and doing them as timed tests.

Here are a few additional tips from TCYonline experts that will help you handle any MCQ format question with elan:

Tip 1: Relax

This is not the time to panic; this is the time to consolidate your preparation and be confident. If you have gone through the AIEEE question papers of the previous years, you would know that AIEEE is not a tough test. It is based completely on the curriculum that you followed at +1 and +2 levels. What you really need is to be mentally alert, though completely relaxed in the exam, so that you do not make silly errors.

Tip 2: Prioritise

Your first preference should be to consolidate the syllabi that you are thorough with and then take up, in convenient lots, the rest of the syllabus you are not so comfortable with. In this preparation, the past AIEEE papers would come in handy. Shortlist a few topics based on the past papers and then systematically work on them. Once you are through with one lot of topics, you may take up the next.

Tip 3: Practice

Divide all the AIEEE Model Papers you use for practice into the following three parts. Each part should be practiced, and timed separately. This is because your strengths and weaknesses in different subject areas vary.

1: AIEEE - Math

This section is to be allotted the maximum time out of the three sections. The 35 questions you have in this section must be attempted in not more than 70 minutes.

2. AIEEE - Physics

The 35 questions in this section should ideally be allotted 50 minutes.

3. AIEEE - Chemistry

This section must be done in 45 minutes.

If you follow this time frame in the actual exam, you will still be left with a comfortable cushion of 15 minutes.

• Always transfer your answers to the ovals, five at a time. This will reduce the frequent and wasteful back and forth shuttling between the Question Paper and the Answer Sheet, during the exam.
• Proceed by the process of elimination (POE). Eliminating improbable options will help zero-in on the correct answers. This strategy will also help reduce the probability of errors while you make intelligent guesses.
• Guesstimate your calculations. For example, you can easily figure out that the product of 302 and 402 would be slightly greater than 120000 (the product of 300 and 400). You may pick your choice accordingly.

Try these tips out and see how they work wonders for you.

Top Careers & You (www.TCYonline.com) is a leading testing platform which offers free tests for AIEEE, IIT, MBA, MCA, GRE, SAT, GMAT and several other entrance examinations. Visit www.TCYonline.com for FREE access to thousands of these tests.