Now the time has come when most of you are more worried about getting admission in medical or engineering colleges than your F.Sc. exams, and in a way I find it a good thing, after all these marks don’t matter once you are in a good university. In entrance test, one’s knowledge, concepts, ability to grasp a concept in least given time are tested. More importantly, concepts and open mindedness are at the top of the priority lists in any test. Questions are always easy, but they are twirled and twisted in such a way that you miss the true sense of the question and fail to understand it. So writing in general for all the entrance tests, I would say that going through the books all night, especially before the exam and stuffing your head with helping books won’t get you anywhere as compared to reading the text books carefully and thoroughly, solving some good questions on each topic and a good sleep before the test.
Talking about the LUMS entrance test, most of you must have applied for both, LCAT and SSE entrance test. LCAT is much like SAT. There are two sections in LCAT, math and English. If you are good at maths, you can easily do the math as it is not that difficult, not difficult yet very tricky. Calculation is always simple, you are given problems mostly from topics like percentage, simple geometry etc. When attempting the test, always read the statement twice and slowly, if you rush through a question, you will probably get it wrong. There will be almost 35 questions in each section, if you have seen the sample test, and half an hour for that section. English section is comparatively difficult. First thing to do is increase your vocabulary. Vocabulary is not tested like that in a medical test, but the language of the questions is very difficult and a large variety of words will come across you in the test. There is vocabulary list in SAT, try that. But here is a thing, no matter how much you work on vocabulary, it never enough. So when you face a difficult word, always try to figure its meaning out from the context. Second thing, start reading, read a lot, read English articles and novels. Because in paraphrase type questions, you will be given long paragraphs to read and answer the questions from the paragraph. But it is not as easy as it looks. If you are not used to reading long articles, then you will forget most of the concepts after you have finished the paragraph, well that was the case with me. And the questions will not be in arranged order, first question might be asking something from the end of the paragraph. You will be asked to give a title to the passage or will be questioned about the idea of the author. There won’t be enough time in the examination hall to read the passage twice so its better to go there prepared. Another thing that will leave you on the horns of dilemma is that for a question, for example asking the appropriate title for the passage, you will be given 4 options that all qualify for the title, or two or three options looks correct, don’t stop there, you have to choose the best of them. Get a SAT preparation book and practice as much as you can from the math and English section. This will be a good preparation. Also attempt full length SAT tests at the end of the book. You will get a good idea of the test.
For SSE test, just read the text book for knowledge. Nothing will come out of the scope of text books. And important, as I said before, are your concepts. For that you will have to practice a lot of questions. Not from the text books. I personally solved questions from the A-level past papers from a book named Redstone. You will also find a lot of SAT-2 tests on the net you can always practice questions from them. But the thing I am trying to say here is that practice a lot of questions especially for SSE test. Its better to stay at home and solve questions than to join an academy. Last and most important thing is the time limit. You will get very short time for both test. So manage your time accordingly. Don’t spend more time on a single question. If you can not understand a question leave it and move ahead. You can always get back at it at the end if you have spare time. For a month before the test, try not to use calculator and do as many calculations as you can by yourself. Even when practicing questions, try to put a time limit upon yourself. And guys, last thing I would like to say is that prepare for the test with your full energy, and then leave the result upon Allah. Luck is very important factor that you can not control. So Do your best, and whatever the result is, never lose your heart. Don’t make a fuss out of the test before the exam. Stop studying the evening before the test, freshen up your mind, and have an at least 8 hour sleep. Never forget the negative marking, if you can’t attempt a question then its better to leave it then to give it a risky shot. I hope to cover pretty much of everything yet if you need any help you can always ask.
Wish you GUYS best of luck.
Contributor: Email ID:
Ali shaan (students at LUMS) Absoluteali123@gmail.com
Ahmad sher zaman
dogar ahmadsherzaman@gmail.com
