Hello Aspirant!

The trick to NTSE is being consistent. It doesn't matter how long you study for, rather how you study. If you're able to focus on the material for even one hour, it would be sufficient. As you might be aware, the NTSE Exam is divided into two stages, with each stage having a MAT(Mental Ability Test)- containing 50 questions that will test your logical reasoning ability- and a SAT(Scholastic Aptitude Test)- containing 150 questions from science, social science, maths, english, that will test your general awareness and reading abilities in these domains.

Part A, ie, MAT, is not something that you can prepare for in a day. You need to be consistent with it, and solve more logical problems and puzzles in order to improve your logical reasoning. Solve crosswords, or download puzzle-based apps on your phone, as a majority of your time would probably be spent on your phone- you can solve them when you're sitting idle and have nothing else to do, instead of checking up on social media.

Part B, ie SAT, is again, something that requires consistency and a clarity of fundamental concepts. Pay attention in class, try to solve all your doubts in class, keep questioning the lessons taught and try to relate them to daily life. You can find videos on YouTube that relate interesting phenomena to ordinary lives, not just in science, but social science as well. Try to relate Social science with your life (ie, imagine what would it be like if you were living in the French Revolution era). When you get interested in a subject, it becomes easier to memorise tedious stuff, and studying doesn't become a chore.

Also, PRACTICE. Solve as many question papers as you can. Get one textbook, and only one, that you practice with, say for two hours, but do it daily. Consistency is key.

Hope this helps. All the best!

Dear Mohammed, here are some tips that you can follow to become an NTSE scholar -

• Know your Strengths & Weaknesses
  
  
  

Its necessary to know your strengths & weaknesses. E.g. If youre strong in mathematics and science but average in languages and weak in social sciences, then you can turn your weaknesses into strengths for an overall good score.

• Follow NCERT Books
  
  
  

Follow NCERT books of classes IX and X for NTSE preparation. For some concepts in biology, refer NCERT Class XI Biology textbook (only portions that are relevant to IX and X class curriculum). Its imperative to thoroughly study the Social Studies NCERT book for NTSE.

• Strengthen Your MAT Section
  
  
  

The MAT section tests your mental ability. Hence, you must give sufficient time for preparing for this part.

• Work on Your SAT Section
  
  
  

Follow NCERT for the scholastic aptitude section of NTSE. You must also read a good general knowledge book for out of the course questions

• Solving Sample Papers
  
  
  

You must solve a lot of sample papers and mock tests at least thrice a week. There are a lot of NTSE mock papers available on the internet. You should aim to solve these papers within the stipulated time so that you can improve your speed and know the sections that consume more time.

• Analyze Your Performance
  
  
  

Make sure you minutely assess what you could do and what you had a hard time with. Was it the subject understanding you lacked? Or did you miss out on the scores because of silly mistakes? Whatever it is, just analyze your performance very critically.

• Apply Findings
  
  
  

Once you know your weak points, make a plan. Study and revise the subject matter if needed. Allocate time for different sections of the exam.

• Reference Books
  
  
  

Diligently read reference books to prepare for NTSE. R.S. Aggarwals handbook is extremely helpful for preparing for the MAT exams. For mocks, you can refer to Arihant & Tata McGraw-Hill books as they clearly point out the difficulty level of NTSE.

• Self-Study is Important
  
  
  

For clearing any exam, a decent amount of self-study is important. It is one of the most basic and important of all the tips to become an NTSE scholar. One should devote at least 3-4 hours to self-learning to crack this competitive exam.

• Practice, Practice & More Practice
  
  
  

Finally, regular practice is what will get you through. Solve as many questions of mental ability as possible so that youre not shocked on the exam day. Take the help of your school seniors and teachers. With practice, youll also get more confident about your speed, subject knowledge, and accuracy.



Just remember that you dont have to be a Know-It-All to compete and excel. You can be just an ordinary candidate and follow these tips to become an NTSE scholar. Sometimes, all it takes is little changes in everyday habits to succeed in life.



ONE more thing. If you want to crack and become an NTSE scholar then you must learn time management. You have to manage the preparation for NTSE along with your school. You can study if you get any break or any free time. It's totally upto you how you can manage things.



All the best

Hope this helps

Hello Aspirant

You can prepare for it in weekends and the syllabus in NTSE is similar to your schooling syllabus so you can prepare for it each and every minute from your classes.

Also if you are so busy in school and spending 11 hours in school then you can take a little effort by starting preparing for half an hour every day and accordingly increase the timings.

For further information you can refer this link:

http://www.ncert.nic.in/programmes/talent_exam/index_talent.html

So I hope you find this helpful

Thank you

Good luck.

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