Important Mistakes to Avoid Before JEE/NEET CBSE Exams 2023
Do you feel you are all prepared for your JEE/NEET 2023 exam? Well, think again. Often, when following tight study schedules, with everyone giving their opinions on how you must prepare for the exams, aspirants can get derailed from their path. Therefore, getting back on track, especially a week before exam day, is crucial. What can you do to ensure that all your efforts are being put in the right direction?
Also Read: Top Strategies To Score Better in JEE Main 2023
Anand Prakash, Academic Head and Co-founder of Vedantu, with an elaborate experience in mentoring students for the past 18 years, is here to highlight some common mistakes that JEE/NEET 2023 aspirants tend to commit in the week before the exam and on the exam day. By following his guidance, you will be able to cut down on your negative marking in the exam, and, hence improve your overall performance. So, let’s get started.
Things to Remember During a Week Before the Exam
A week before the exam is the most crucial phase of your preparation, so students must take extra care during this time. Wondering what must you do and what things to avoid? Read here.
Condition your body as per the exam centre's conditions. You can do so by avoiding studying in AC/ heated conditions.
Calibrate your sleep pattern as per the exam timings. Make a habit of getting up as early as 7:30 a.m. if you’re not already doing so. For this, Anand Prakash advises students to sleep early, around 10:30 or 11:00 pm, after doing a round of mental revision.
Take a few mock tests at home in noisy/ distracting conditions, as you may never know what kind of distraction you might face in the exam centre. So, it's better to be prepared for whatever comes your way.
Make your body habitual to eating light to allow proper blood flow to your brain rather than eating heavy/ oily or full foods, which direct your blood to your stomach for digestion, as this can lead to sleepiness and drowsiness. Practice the same on the exam day as well.
Things to Remember a Day Before the Exam
A day before your JEE/NEET or CBSE board exam 2023 can be the most stressful yet the most important. So, how can you make the most of the day? Let’s hear it from Anand Prakash.
Do not start anything new - topic, formula, practice test, etc. as it can lead to anxiety. Focus only on revising the previous topics or things you have learnt. This will help your brain relax and calm you for the exam.
Many students complain of not getting enough sleep the night before the exam due to anxious thoughts, which is understandable but ultimately hampers their performance in the exam. So, to avoid this situation, follow your week’s routine of sleeping early, maximum by 11:30 p.m.
DO NOT, at any cost, indulge in watching digital content/ visuals of any kind - not even that important cricket match or reels from your favourite creator. As for music, Prakash highly recommends avoiding listening to any lyrical music; instead, you can go for relaxing binaural beats or trance music.
Do’s and Dont’s for the Exam Day!
Now, it’s D-Day, the JEE/NEET 2023 exam day for which you might have been preparing for a few years, when all your hard work will come to fruition. Getting anxious is understandable, but you can always avoid the feeling. How? Mr Prakash has some tips for you.
Mornings can feel like a festival with your parents getting too excited, making you have “dahi-cheeni”, taking you to a nearby temple or making you do some other superstitious rituals. However, it's better to treat it just like any other normal day, as it can overwhelm the aspirant.
Try avoiding interaction with anyone except your parents or people living in the same house as you, as it can create a distraction for you. Strictly avoid picking up calls from any relative wishing you good luck because your peace of mind is more important at the time.
Dress as you feel comfortable. Your comfort while giving the exam is more important than looking fashionable. Remember, it is not a fashion show; just a 3-hour exam where you have to sit behind a desk and answer questions.
When you reach the exam centre, the atmosphere may feel heavy and full of tension, with students trying to revise rigorously out of anxiety. However, you must not give in to that. Make a note NOT to carry any notebook or study material to the centre. Just breathe and keep your confidence high as if you know everything since there's no point you can cover any topic within a few minutes before the JEE/NEET exam 2023.
Do not talk with any candidate in the exam centre before the exam, even if they are your close friends. Do not pay heed to anything they say about the exam, as it can negatively affect your morale.
Do’s and Don’ts During the Exam
There is immense pressure buildup when you finally sit for the JEE/NEET exam 2023, and you might get flustered or anxious, which can cause you to do (or not do) things that can make you regret later. Here are some points by Anand Prakash to keep in mind when writing the paper.
Unforeseen situations may pop up at any time - like your mouse or computer may stop working. If something like this happens, do not panic; call the invigilator immediately. In the meantime, keep solving the questions if they are visible on the screen.
Do not fall in love with any question in the exam. Even if you are confident that you can solve it with a few more attempts, it's worthless wasting your time on a single question and risking the lack of time for other questions that you know. Hence, it's better to move on to the next one and return to it at the end.
Remember that the first 15-20 minutes of the exam are the most crucial as they set the tone of the exam. During this time, skim the entire paper and choose 4-5 questions you know 100%, as they will boost your confidence tremendously.
Refrain from sitting in the paper with preconceived plans or a fixed paper-solving pattern; for example, you might plan to solve the paper in the order of Chemistry, Physics, and Maths. This can sometimes backfire as you might find Chemistry to be the toughest in that set.
The best strategy to solve the paper is by allotting 40 minutes to each subject and getting a prior idea of which sections are the easiest and toughest. Always dedicate your last one hour to the subject that seems the easiest to you.
Conclusion
Now that you know what you should and shouldn’t do during the four most crucial phases of appearing in the JEE/NEET exam 2023 - a week before the exam, a day before the exam, the exam day, and during the exam; keep these pointers in mind to give your best in the JEE/NEET or CBSE Board exams. All the best!
