India’s prestigious National Scholarship Programme – National Talent Search Examination, known as the NTSE is an opportunity for ambitious students to pursue education in Science and Social Science streams.
Aspirants wishing to crack NTSE require an effective preparation strategy along with being aware about the exam syllabus and exam pattern.
The exam is conducted in 2 phases – at the state-level and then at the national level. The syllabus for the exams is the same, only the difficulty will increase at the national level. Both the state-level and national-level exams has 2 papers
- Paper I – Mental Ability Test (MAT)
- Paper II – Scholastic Ability Test (SAT)
Both SAT and MAT are of 100 marks each and test the students on their mental ability and knowledge of Science, Social Science, and Mathematics. To appear for the stage – II exam, the candidate has to secure 40% (General/OBC) and 32% (SC/ST/Physically Challenged) categories respectively.
In this article, we will see how to effectively prepare for each of the papers as well as general pointers to keep in mind during your preparation.
Preparation for Mental Ability Test (MAT)
The MAT paper will be an aptitude test and test a candidate’s reasoning, evaluation and decision-making ability. This section will have questions based on analogies, coding-decoding, directions, figuring out patterns, etc.
The best way to prepare for this section would be to solve problems of different types from various reference books. There are various aptitude books that have umpteen problems testing mental aptitude.
Time management is critical in this paper. Majority of the aspirants despite knowing the technique to solve the question tend to lose out due to time shortage. Continuous practice is the key to speed and accuracy.
The MAT section of NTSE 2020-2021 is a multiple-choice question (MCQ) format and does not have any negative marking. So, it is a smart move to attempt all the questions. This will improve your chances of scoring higher in NTSE.
Preparation for Scholastic Ability Test (SAT)
The second section of NTSE is the SAT section, where candidates are assessed on their knowledge and logical ability on the 3 subjects – Science, Maths, and Social Science. The best study material to crack this paper would be to refer NCERT textbooks of these 3 subjects.
Candidates who clear both these papers in the state-level exam qualify for the national-level NTSE examination.
NTSE Preparation Tips
Lakhs of students across India attempt the NTSE examination and only a couple of thousand students are given a green signal for the scholarship. When the competition and difficulty level is so high, it is essential to have a few tricks up your sleeve –
- Attempt as many mock tests as possible. And do not stop with giving the exam. Take time to analyse the results and identify areas of weakness to work on.
- Make short notes of formulae and abbreviations so that you can refer your notes for revision rather than glancing at the entire book.
- Understand the pattern and syllabus of the examination. Make a note of topics with high weightage and focus more on that to score better marks.
- Prepare a timetable to cover the entire syllabus as well as a timetable for revision.
- Allot time to revise what you have studied. Revision is key to last minute preparation. This will help you recollect important terms and concepts so they come in handy during the exam. So, focus more on revision.
Cracking the NTSE is not an impossible task. With the right set of preparation books, an effective preparation strategy, a well-planned out timetable, and if you are dedicated enough, you are all set to crack NTSE and come out with flying colours.
