CUCET is expected to be held in June 2022 and this leaves the students with sufficient time to prepare for the same. Nervousness and doubts are all in the air as this particular examination is going to decide the next 3-4 years of college life for students. Prominent universities like University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University are going to conduct CUCET for the very first time.
With board exams scheduled in March 2022 and CUCET expected after 2 months, students need to properly strategize in order to balance both of them. This blog will act as a guide for CUCET aspirants and will discuss about a strategy to deal with both boards and CUCET simultaneously. We will also suggest some resources for the same. The expected paper pattern and syllabus, based on previous year trends, can be accessed from here-
- Syllabus Comparison
Be it CUCET or any other entrance examination, it will always have a proportion overlapping with the syllabus of your boards. Carefully look at the syllabus and note down the topics mentioned. Once the official syllabus for CUCET is out, compare and identify the topics common in both boards and your entrance. Prepare these topics for entrance while you are preparing for your boards. This will serve both the purposes.
- Allot particular hours/days to Preparation
Now that you are preparing for two examinations simultaneously, it is extremely necessary that you separate hours or days of study for the two. For example, if you study for 5 hours per day, you can allot 2 hours for CUCET and 3 for your boards. The proportion of hours allotted for an exam should be according to the final date of the exam. You cannot expect to dedicate a large proportion of your study hours to CUCET in February, if you have boards scheduled in march. You can dedicate your full time in entrance once you are done with boards. Plan accordingly.
Similarly, you can allot particular day(s) for preparing, if you are not comfortable with hours. You can allot Saturday and Sunday for CUCET preparation and the rest 5 days for boards preparation. This method helps in maintaining continuity for the whole day in the subject you are studying.
The most suggested way would be to write down a proper plan in your diary. It should mention the segregated hours/days and the topics to be studied in those slots in detail. This will help you keep a track of your progression with syllabus.
- Do not refer too many resources
There is a hoard of coaching institutes and educators offering courses and suggesting resources for CUCET. Trust and stick to any one of them. Reading and revising a book 10 times is far more effective than reading 10 books one time. Do not get confused about what resources to follow for different topics. Most probably, the questions will comprise of reasoning, quants, data interpretation and basic English, which makes the syllabus very objective and any resource would do the work for you. Once decided, stick to those resources and do not roam around the internet for different suggestions.
- Practice
As CUCET comprises of only MCQs, studying and revising won’t be enough. You need to practice questions in order to increase your accuracy.
- For subjects like reasoning and quants, the more you practice the better you become. Focus on practicing as many questions as you can rather than simply revising the concepts.
- You will find many paid/unpaid sample question papers on the internet before your final exam. It is advisable that you solve at least 5 of them in a time bound environment.
- Keep in mind the negative marking and practice accordingly. Take smart and calculated risks while marking answers.
- In case you have an offline pen-paper type exam (rather than computer-based exam), it is advisable that you practice on OMR sheets while solving sample papers. Most of the students end up filling the wrong bubble by mistake even after knowing the correct answer.
The following video by CA Parag Gupta may help you in preparing your strategy for CUCET:
How to manage 12th boards with entrance
Recommended books to follow for CUCET 2022
As already stated, don’t overwhelm yourself by referring to multiple resources. Instead, choose one for each topic and stick to it. You can also refer to YouTube to get explanations for some topics. For subject specific domain (if there is one), revise your 11th and 12th standard books. Following is a list of recommended books for different topics in the proposed syllabus.
- English
- High school English Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin.
- English Grammar in use by Raymond Murphy.
- Go through the list of important synonyms and antonyms on internet/any book.
- Reasoning
- Analytical reasoning and Logical reasoning by Arihant Publications.
- Quantitative Aptitude and data interpretation
- Quantitative Aptitude for competitive examination by R.S. Agarwal.
- Shortcuts in quantitative aptitude for competitive exams by Disha Experts.
- General Knowledge
- General knowledge by Lucent’s.
- Read any newspaper for current affairs.
These should be supplemented necessarily by solving lots of questions and sample papers. All the best!
