Conquer the MHT-CET

IF YOU ARE A CLASS 12 SCIENCE STUDENT, A PRAGMATIC, SMART AND INTENSIVE APPROACH TOWARDS YOUR PREPARATIONS WILL INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF BAGGING A GOOD RANK IN THIS YEAR’S MHTCET. EXPERTS PRESENT A DETAILED STUDY PLAN
Restrict your exam preparations to the HSC science syllabus only Evaluation of MHTCET is done by the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) No negative marking; attempt all questions in the MHTCET Perhaps one of the most crucial tests that a student from Maharasthra ever appears in his/ her lifetime is the MHTCET, an examination conducted by the Government of Maharashtra for admission to the first year of professional courses like medicine and engineering. This year the exams are scheduled on the May 12, and students are leaving no stone unturned to give this MHTCET their best shot. Appearing in mock tests, solving past question papers, studying for longer hours, discovering shortcuts to solving problems and revisiting basics is the order of the day for most Class 12 science students. As specialists opine, intelligent and methodical preparation coupled with a broadened perspective and most certainly a positive bend of mind are most essential ingredients for your success. THE FUNDAMENTALS MHTCET is an objective exam for students of Class 12 (science) and issues like good handwriting, nice diagrams et al are inconsequential. Neither is your command over the English language tested. The paper is evaluated using Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) and hence the personal bias of an examiner also does not hold any steam. There is no negative marking in MHTCET exam, and thus there is zero risk if you attempt all questions. Restricting only to the Class 12 science syllabus is prudent. Extra conceptual reading from good foreign textbooks is unnecessary, because no questions will be asked from these. TEST OF ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE While board exams focus on a test of your memory, the MHTCET probes more on the degree of assimilation of your knowledge. While the former is typically of three hours duration, the latter has an hour and a half slotted each for all the subjects tested. Thus it becomes imperative for you to focus on your speed and accuracy. You will also need to master the art of problem solving and improve your abilities to select the right option within a limited time. In the MHTCET, the accuracy of a student is tested at two levels: selecting the right choice and shading the right place on the answer sheet. Several students are less tuned to the second level, in view of which even if the right answer is in his/ her mind, the wrong bubble is finally shaded. A DIFFICULT HURDLE The absence of negative marking make it very difficult for the exammakers to distinguish meaningfully between the good and the not-so-good student. This results in a great congestion of marks with sometimes close to one hundred students hovering around the same mark interval. The syllabus as compared to the Class 12 (science) CBSE syllabus lacks conceptual depth and horizontal topical spread. This encourages a natural tendency of the exam-makers to field factual questions based on trivia and minutiae tucked in some corner of the standard board certified textbooks. Finally the format of the questions is MCQ (multiple choice questions) which requires the student to be able to commit to one of the four alternatives as the correct answer. The response of the examiner is all or none; there is no model answer as in Class 12 and you cannot score partially such as two marks out of four. NO SELECTIVE STUDY There is no definite topic-wise allotment of marks at MHTCET unlike in Class 12, so keeping topics/ lessons as alternatives is certainly not an option! Thus students should not leave any portion of the subjects tested i.e. physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology untouched because in these exams any portion of the prescribed syllabus can be probed into. Study everything! SPEED AND ACCURACY The real test of a MHTCET is in solving questions correctly within a stipulated time, which means less than one minute per question. Before solving any multiple choice question, reading it and comprehending it quickly and figuring if the given alternatives contain the right answer is a process which needs practice. At times even the best student with all the requisite knowledge may not succeed in answering such questions in the absence of practice. Time management while solving a full test is another aspect of practice. Each question carries one mark, be it a question on a favourite topic or one which you don’t like. It does not make much sense to get emotionally caught up in any question while solving the test. If you cannot solve the question within say a minute, move on (maybe mark the question for a later re-visit) to the next one which you can quickly solve. If you have time to spare you can always come back to the questions you skipped. Physics problems/ numericals are notorious time-guzzlers and solving them correctly can determine who will reach the top bracket. Needless to say, students need to pay proper attention to practicing such type of questions. With factual questions, particularly in biology, you either know the answer or you don’t and a quick look at the alternatives is only a confirmation. The more full fledged tests you solve in an honest exam-like environment, the better equipped you are to crack the exam. Another aspect is the specific subject wise shortcuts which you must have been taught in your schools/ classes by experienced teachers. These need to be revised thoroughly so that you stand in good stead at the time of the actual exam. In any engineering entrance exam, 30 per cent questions on an average are likely to be of simple type. In view of this, you should work towards positively bagging these marks. The questions after these are ‘application oriented’. If you have practiced in a methodical manner i.e. understood the concept and its application rather than description, you stand to do well in these questions. If you find a particular portion of a subject somewhat difficult, you will need to focus more on it. The cycle of testing, feedback and corrective reading based on deficits (as per feedback) will continually upgrade your marks at the MHTCET. Attention should be focused on questions which were incorrectly answered and on very difficult questions, which your teacher or mentor will usually ask you to concentrate on in order to revise these topics and avoid similar mistakes in future attempts. OVERCOME NEGATIVITY The only way to consistently give your best in your exam preparations is by enjoying the entire process. Frantic preparations can sometimes rub off on your health too and you cannot do well if you are constantly feeling low and let down. Remember that one of the biggest value additions of appearing for competitive exams is the fact that it increases your concentration, will power and ability to handle pressure. Exams are only a window of opportunity to a promising life ahead. You should steer clear of past failures and never keep a count of the number of people competing in these exams. Do not get bogged down by the pressures of preparation and other hindrances to your performance, if you want to make it to the league of successful candidates. AND FINALLY…. ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’- it’s a cliché, but is aptly surmises the predicament of those of you who are appearing for the MHTCET. Your mental agility and psychological preparation will come to your rescue on the exam day. Being relaxed but not lethargic, being lightly keyed in rather than overly stressed out is recommended. Stay away from heavy meals, rumours and fatigue in the final days leading to the exam. Don’t preferably change your usual location; use your family as your support system. Most importantly, remain positive. Do not stop revising the topics and the questions sets. Remember ‘it isn’t done until it is done’. All the effort and perseverance that you have put in over the last year will bear fruition. In all humility let us accept that this MHTCET will be a stepping stone to a brighter future for so many of you. Good Luck! SUCCESS MANTRAS Too many reference books will add to the chaos; stick to the popular choices, or ask your teachers/ mentors to refer some good ones There is no negative marking in the MHTCET; so attempt all questions Do not spend too much time brooding over one question; move on and re-visit if time permits Don’t resort to memorising; instead clear your concepts Steer clear of all negativity and remain positive A good night’s rest before the D-day is important