Beware of making these mistakes while taking a test

How many times have you walked away from a test or exam paper thinking or saying aloud?

• I wish I had more time!
• Oh, now I know the correct answer! Why didn’t I think of it just now?
• I shouldn’t have spent so much time on that question!
• How could I have missed the last page of the paper?
• Why didn’t the questions that I prepared so hard for appear in the paper?

If the above sounds familiar to you, then you are not alone.

Top 20 Mistakes

Here, we describe the top 20 mistakes that most students make when attempting a test or exam paper, and how to overcome them.

1. Spotting Questions
2. Cramming Too Much Information Into Memory
3. Panicking Before Or During A Paper
4. Arriving Late For A Paper
5. Failing To Scan Through The Questions Once
6. Failing To Allocate Time For Each Question
7. Starting With The Most Difficult Question
8. Jumping Straight Into Answering A Question Without Proper Planning
9. Misinterpreting A Question
10. Producing An Incoherent Answer
11. Poor Writing Style
12. Not Sure How To Start Or End An Essay
13. Writing Too Much Or Too Little
14. Failing To Answer All The Unanswered Questions In The Last Few Minutes
15. Writing Illegibly
16. Reading And Writing Too Slowly
17. Forgetting To Answer Unanswered Questions
18. Failing To Check Your Answers
19. Failing To Bring Along Required Stationery Or Items
20. Forgetting To Write Down Your Names And Other Personal Particulars

During Exam Times

Being Healthy and Combating Stress during Exam Times

Get good rest the night before you test and on studying days:

Ensure that you get a full 8 hours of sleep before your exam. Getting a bad night's sleep can have a negative impact on your test score. Regularly not getting good sleep can create stress and cause you to get sick more often.

Backward plan to figure out when you need to go to bed or get up:

One technique that can help you get to bed on time is backward planning. Start from the time you want to be at your test site or studying the next day, and mentally go through all the things you need to do leading up to that time. Plan backward to figure out when you need to realistically be in bed by to get enough sleep.

·         Consider how long it takes you to fall asleep, typically and make sure your account for that time.

·         Add some cushion time in your backward planning for your test day in case something unexpected happens, like you get lost trying to get to a test site.

Eat brain foods and complex carbs:

Eat complex carbs for brain power. If you are distracted by your hunger during your test or while you study, you won’t be able to focus as well. To combat this, on the day of the test and before you study, eat food high in protein, like eggs and/or whole grains that will stick with you for several hours, like oatmeal. If you have a break during your test, pack a light snack, like an apple, that will keep you alert.

·         On the day of the test, eat complex carbohydrates like oatmeal rather than candy made up of simple carbohydrates and sugar.

·         Eat a serving of omega 3’s three times a week. To help you study better and prepare for your test, consider incorporating omega 3’s into your diet. These nutrients have been found to boost your ability to concentrate and stay alert. You can get these nutrients from salmon, herring, mackerel, trout and sardines.

·         Eat dark veggies and fruits for antioxidants that help your cognitive abilities. Oxidants will damage your cell membranes and fruit like blueberries are a great example of a fruit high in antioxidants that protect your brain cells.

Start an exercise routine:

To help with your mental well being as well as your physical health, try to incorporate about 2 ½ hours of moderately intense (power walking, cycling) exercise into your schedule per week. This will help you relax and concentrate on your test and studies. If you are interested in sports, often times there are intramural teams that meet at parks that you can play on for free or little cost. Inquire at your school or local parks department. Consider renting a workout DVD from the library or doing a video workout online with friends or family every day or every other day.

·                If you feel like you don’t have the time, take 15 minute walks around your campus when you need a break. This will help you focus better once you get back to studying.

·                Go on jogs first thing in the morning to give you energy.

·                Look for ways to get exercise without going out of your way. For example, if you are in school, walk to class rather than taking a bus, or take the stairs instead of the elevator. 

Concentration

Concentration:

Concentration is the ability to direct one’s attention in accordance with one’s will. It means control of the attention. It is the ability to focus the mind on one subject, object or thought, and at the same time exclude from the mind every other unrelated thoughts, ideas, feelings and sensations.

Coming to our scenario, one should highly concentrate on concepts to secure proper knowledge of it and secure good score in competitive exams.

Remove distractions while you study:

One way to make the practice of studying more manageable is if you set up a routine of removing all distractions from your study space. Looking at your phone or computer will break your focus and ability to study well. Make sure that you put all of your electronics away and that you are working in a space that will help you focus. For example, there should be no televisions or distractions in the background.

Study in different spaces:

New research is showing that people retain more information if they study in different locations. You will be able to focus better when you change your scenery because it keeps your alert. For example, you can move from one room in your house to another when you find yourself losing momentum.

●    Try to go to spaces that have a different feel. For example, you might want to switch between rooms painted different colours and/or with different lighting.

Reframe your mind set when you feel bored:

Consider the things you could learn from studying this material, and focus on the positive rather than dwelling on your feelings of boredom. Think about the potential ways you could apply this information to your life or find it useful.

Psych yourself down:

When we get ready for a test either by studying or taking the test, oftentimes we tense up by instinct. Oftentimes tensing up is a habit we have had for years, and it makes studying or taking a test more difficult than it needs to be. This is because we become overly aroused by our nervousness, and it makes it harder to concentrate on what we need to do. To combat this negative instinct, try these simple techniques to help you to relax.

●     Tense up your muscles briefly and then release. Tense all of your muscles, for example, close your eyes tight, raise your toes up, clench your fists, tense your legs, clench your buttocks, etc. Breathe in a deep breath, and hold it in for a few seconds while your body remains tense. After about 5 seconds, let go all at once, and enjoy the sensation of releasing you’re built up tension.

●         Close your eyes and concentrate on the tip of your nose with your eyes. Pay attention to your breathing. Notice how the breath that you breathe in is cooler and breathe you breath out warmer. Continue breathing in and out and maintaining your focus on your nose until you calm down.

S M U

Sikkim Manipal University was born to with the basic objective of strengthening the close link of education to skill development and the making the youth of Sikkim educated, skilled and employable, giving them the capacity to harness diverse opportunities both within and outside Sikkim. This will also create more job opportunities for our youth, thus solving the growing unemployment in the State.

The Sikkim Manipal University was established in 1995. It is the first government-private initiative in the region. SMU is recognized by the University Grants Commission and approved by the Government of India. It is the first ever Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the country for higher Education and Health Care services.

Sikkim Manipal University offers quality education to the students from North and North Eastern parts of India and latest health care facilities at affordable costs to the people of Sikkim. 

Since its inception, Sikkim Manipal University has crossed several miles stones. The University is all set to expand its educational campus to new horizons highly qualified, competent and dedicated faculty members of SMU are committed to the task of ensuring that the students graduating from the University are well trained to meet the demanding challenges of their chosen profession in this competitive world. The University plays a significant role in contributing to the nation’s talent pool. Transparent procedures, merit based intake criteria and efforts to provide the best of facilities have been marked features.

All courses run by SMU are approved by the regulatory bodies like Medical Council of India (MCI), Nursing Council of India, Indian Association of Physiotherapy, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), UGC and the Distance Education Council.

SMIT Offline Test:

Candidates seeking admission under this category will have to appear for offline written test conducted at various centres by SMIT.

SMIT OFFLINE TEST DATE (FOR B.TECH):

Last date for receipt of duly filled application forms for SMIT offline Test  - 2016	14th May
Last date for receipt of duly filled application forms for SMIT offline Test  - 2016 (Only for GUWAHATI, JORHAT, SHILLONG, SILCHAR & ITANAGAR)	20th May
SMIT OFFLINE TEST (for B TECH) (AGARTALA, AIZAL, DARBHANGA, DELHI, GANGTOK, JABALPUR, KOLKATA, JAMSHEDPUR, PURNEA, DEHRADUN, JAIGAON, LUCKNOW, PATNA, PUNE, RAIPUR, RANCHI, BHUBANESHWAR, SILIGURI, BANARAS, VISAKHAPATNAM, MALDA,  HALDWANI)	15th May
SMIT OFFLINE TEST (for B TECH) (GUWAHATI, JORHAT, SHILLONG, SILCHAR, ITANAGAR)	21st May (Revised Date)
Publication of SMIT Offline Test Result (refer www.smu.edu.in)	28th May (Revised)
1st round of counselling for admission at SMIT (B Tech) through SMIT Offline Test
Admission / Counselling for B Tech through SMIT Offline Test	17th June
2nd round of counselling through  SMIT Offline Test	4th July
Commencement of B Tech  first semester	1 August

ONLINE APPLICANTS: 

You need to first purchase the online application form to file your online application to SMU courses. Please click  http://apply.smu.edu.in/admsignup.php to register and purchase the online application form using your VISA or MASTERCARD credit/debit card.

Online Admission 2016 is on:

·         The online application feature is available 24/7.

·         Online application is a two-step process wherein first you purchase the online application by paying Rs. 600/- online. You will be provided with application number and password on successful payment. You can then sign in using the application number and provided password and file your online application.

·         Application for each course can be made online up to the respective last date of application for each course as mentioned in the prospectus.

·         To use the online application, a java enabled modern browser is required e.g. Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3.5, Chrome 9.

·         Entrance examination fee as applicable from course to course will be prompted at the time of application and you will have the option to pay online using credit/debit card. Application will be deemed accepted only after receipt of successful online payment of such entrance exams.

·         Applicants of courses with direct admission or applying using qualifying entrance exams not conducted by SMU will not need to pay any additional fee.

·         While applying you need to provide scanned photo and signature to upload (.jpg format only with maximum file size 200KB, 200 PX x 200 PX).

Category	Reporting Venue
SMIT Offline Test	Admission Office, C-Block, (Academic Building), Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT), Majitar, Rangpo, Sikkim

Offline Mode Application:

Candidates seeking admission to B.TECH course at SMIT through SMIT OFFLINE TEST may submit their application as given below:

1. If downloaded from the website then you are supposed to send a DD of Rs 1600 (Rs 600 for application /Prospectus + Rs 1000 for entrance exam fee) along with the filled application form to the Chairman Admissions (Technical Campus).

2. If collected from the bank then you are supposed to send a DD of Rs 1000 (entrance exam fee) along with the filled application form to the Chairman Admissions (Technical Campus).

Note: The DD should be drawn in favour of “Sikkim Manipal University” payable at Gangtok.

Filled Application collected offline from bank/downloaded should be sent to the below mentioned address:

Admission Procedure:

Candidates having SMIT offline Test rank are requested to report for admission at SMIT, Sikkim as per the details mentioned below.

Counselling:

Date of Counselling/Admission: 17^th June 2016.

 For further details: Click Here

AMRITA

    AMRITA

VISHWA VIDYAPEETHAM

            UNIVERSITY

Amrita University is a multi-campus, multi-disciplinary research university that is accredited 'A' by NAAC and is ranked as one of the best research universities in India. It is the youngest university to be awarded with an 'A' grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Amrita has so far produced 16214 engineers, 1411 doctors, 9511 arts and science professionals, 2094 business professionals and 106 PhDs. There are close to 30,000 alumni called Amritians, spread around 20 countries across the globe, who are connected virtually to each other.

More recently Amrita has been ranked in the top 200 universities in the QS BRICS University rankings and within the Times Higher Education World University rankings.

Commencement of Online Registration	02.03.2016 Wednesday
Last date ONLINE registration	09.05.2016 Monday
Date & Time of Entrance Examination	15.05.2016 Sunday 09.30 AM to 12.00 Noon

Eligibility: 

·         Should complete the age of 17 years by 31.12.2016 and should not exceed 23 by the said date.

·         Pass in higher secondary examination or its equivalent in the first attempt with 60% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Biology / Biotechnology taken together and 60% marks in English separately.

·         Those who appear for the qualifying examination in March / April 2016 can also apply.

CURRICULUM: As per Medical Council of India and University - Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.

APPLICATION FEE: Application fee: Rs.1, 600/- (Rupees One Thousand Six Hundred Only).

Application fee paid by Online – Net banking/Credit/Debit card.

Eligibility for NRI Category:

Citizenship Indian nationals can apply under the General Category. Foreign nationals or NRI or Indian nationals supported by NRI relatives can apply under the NRI Category. To quality under the NRI Category candidates must be an NRI or supported by either Parents or Brothers or Sisters or Spouse having an NRI status. Candidates supported by cousins, uncle, aunt, brother / sister-in-law or any other person will not be accepted. NRI applicants should submit the photocopy of the passport and photocopy of the sponsoring relative's passport at the time of Admission / Counselling. If the spouse is sponsoring and his/her name is not reflected in the passport, marriage registration certificate should be submitted. No other certificate or affidavit in lieu of the above will be accepted.

3. Permission to appear for the Entrance Examination is no guarantee for admission. Candidates and their parents will be solely responsible to ensure their eligibility to apply. Even if a candidate is permitted to appear for the entrance examination, the Chairman Admissions reserves the right to deny admission to any candidate if he/she at any time is found ineligible for admission on any count irrespective of the fact that such ineligibility could have been detected earlier.

4. Candidates whose results of the qualifying examinations are awaited could also apply for admission subject to their producing the mark details within two weeks from the date of the entrance examination.

In case of selection by Interview, Candidates can enter / edit the mark details of their qualifying examination through website in the respective admission pages by online, till the date of interview. Where written test is fixed as a mode of selection, it is mandatory for all the candidates to write the examination.

5. Submission of Online Application Form:

Time limit for submission of online application form is stipulated in website : www.amrita.edu/healthsciences In order to avoid last minute rush and consequent delay in getting the Hall Ticket or Interview Call Letter candidates are advised to submit the online applications well it time.

6. Keep a soft copy and printout of the online submission of application for future reference Any discrepancy in the statement of submission of incomplete or incorrectly filled forms or unclear photographs will lead to rejection of application.

Choice of Course:
a) Where selection of candidates is on the basis of the rank secured in the Entrance Examination, Candidates will be called for counseling on the basis of their rank numbers. Candidates will have the option to select a course according to his/her merit in the rank list and his / her choice.
b) Where mode of selection is Interview, academic qualification, marks and performance in the personal interview will decide the allotment of seats.

Seat Options:
a) Candidates can opt their choice for seat options like Merit / Management / Merit & Management / NRI provided in the Online Application Form for MBBS/BDS courses.
b) For BSc Allied Health Sciences – Specialties, BSc Nursing, Post Basic Nursing and Diploma in Dental Mechanics, seat options like Merit / Management / Merit & Management / NRI provided in the Online Application Form.
c) Candidates can apply either under Merit / Management / Merit & Management / NRI category. Change of category at a later stage will not be entertained under any circumstances.


For further details: Click Here

UPUMCWA

UTTAR PRADESH UNAIDED MEDICAL COLLEGES WELFARE ASSOCIATION (UPUMCWA)

U.P. Unaided Medical Colleges Welfare Association is a consortium of Unaided Non-Minority Medical Colleges in Uttar Pradesh formed under the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court judgement in Islamic Academy of Education Vs State of Karnataka.

The Association has been registered under the Societies Registration Act (Act No. 21 of 1860), Registration No. 346/2006/07 dated 20. 07. 2006. The Association is an authority to conduct Uttar Pradesh Combined Medical Entrance Test "UPCMET" for admission in the First Year of MBBS course & Uttar Pradesh Post Graduate Medical Entrance Test "UPPGMET" for M.D. /M.S. (3 Years Course) & Post Graduate Diploma (2 Years) of the member colleges. The Merit List declared by the UP Unaided Medical College Welfare Association on the basis of Entrance Test is a pre-requisite for admission in member colleges in corresponding courses and is valid for admission to all Member Colleges.

Mode of Admission:

UPUMCWA is conducting UPCMET-2016 for admission in M.B.B.S. (First Year 2016-17) for and on behalf of member colleges in compliance with order of Hon’ble Apex court and Hon'ble Allahabad High Court Lucknow Bench vide Writ Petition No. 4265(MB) 2006, writ petition No. 276(MB)2007 & writ petition No. 5939(M/S) 2012. Admission will be done as per the merit list prepared in the manner mentioned in this brochure on the basis of marks secured in the above UPCMET-2016.

Reservation:

Reservation shall be applicable as notified by the Govt. and enforced at the time of Counselling. OBC Caste Category shall be determined on the basis of list published by UPGovt.

General Information Regarding UPCMET-2016:

UPCMET-2016 will be organised for admission in MBBS Course (First Year) for Academic Session 2016- 18 in member colleges.

Subjects and Question Papers for this Entrance Test along with timing and number of questions shall be as under:

Paper – I Physics & Biological Sciences			9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
It will consist of two sections as under:
Section – A			Section - B
Physical Science			Biological Sciences
Physics	50 Questions		Zoology	50 Questions
Chemistry	50 Questions		Botany	50 Questions
Total	100 Questions		Total	100 Questions
Paper - II General English (Qualifying Paper)             11:45 AM to 12:15 PM
General English		50 Questions
Total		50 Questions

                           

Candidates will not be allowed to leave the examination hall during the gap between Paper-I and Paper-II.

Paper-I will be of 200 marks and Paper-II will be of 50 marks. But combined maximum marks for merit in UPCMETwould be 200 i.e. Total marks of Paper-I. Paper-II will be of qualifying nature.

Minimum cut-off pass percentage of marks in Paper-I shall be 50% (40% in case of SC/ST/OBC) and 50% in Paper-II (40% for SC/ST/OBC) to be secured in this test. In general, merit shall be determined l on the basis of marks secured in Paper-I only.

There will be negative marks of 1/4 for each wrong answer.

More than one answer marked in OMR answer sheet will also be considered as wrong answer.

Only Black Ball Point Pen shall be used for answering on OMR answer sheet as per direction given in the OMR Sheet.

Syllabus of the Examination is enclosed as Appendix.

Eligibility Criteria:

Educational Qualification: Candidates must have passed 10+2 level examination of UP Board / ISC / CBSE or its equivalent from any recognised Board / University with English as a subject; securing minimum 50% (45% in case of SC/ST) marks on average in Physics, Chemistry & Biology (including practical examination) taken together. Candidates appearing in 10+2 examination of 2016 are also eligible to appear in entrance test but at the time of counselling they have to produce the passing mark sheet of 10+2 examination, failing which no allotment of seats will be made.

Age Limit: To appear in the Entrance Examination candidate should have completed 17 years as on 31st December, 2016.

Nationality: Admission is open to all citizen of India.

Important Dates:

Last Date for Submission of Application Form	30th April, 2016 (Saturday)
Date of Entrance Exam : UPCMET – 2016	14th May, 2016 (Saturday)

Admit cards:

Admit cards will be available for download from the website www.upumcwa.org by 15 May -2016. In case the candidate is having problem in downloading the admit card, he/she can get duplicate admit card one day before the Scheduled Examination Date from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm at the examination centre opted by the students but not on the date of examination. To get the duplicate admit card candidate should contact the observer-UPUMCWA at the Examination Centre (as shown on the website) and they must carry the following: -

a. Two passport size photographs, similar to that pasted on application form i.e. from the same negative.

b. Rs. 100/- as fee for duplicate admit card.

c. Photocopy of Application Form along with Application Form No.

d. Proof of submitting the application form.

e. Proof of identity such as Passport/Voter ID Card/Pan Card/DL/High School Certificate etc. which must consist the photograph of candidate.

Evaluation & Declaration of Result/Merit:

The answers to questions given by Panel of Paper Setters of respective papers and the result based on those answers shall be final and unchallengeable.

Evaluation of Answer sheets (Barcoded OMR Sheets) shall be done through computer only. There will be no revaluation of answer sheets in any case.

 There will be negative marks of 1/4 for each wrong answer.

In general, the merit will be prepared on the basis of average percentage of total marks obtained by the candidates in Paper-I of the Entrance Examination conducted by UP Unaided Medical Colleges Welfare Association (UPUMCWA) subject to minimum cut-off percentage. However, In case where two or more candidates obtaining equal average percentage of marks, the rank of such candidates shall be determined on the basis of marks in Paper - II & the candidate with higher marks in Paper -II will be placed at higher merit. In case of same marks in Paper - II, higher aged candidate will be given higher rank.

The percentage will be calculated up to two decimals precision.

Minimum cut-off pass percentage of marks in Paper-I shall be 50% (40% in case of SC/ST/OBC).

A minimum 50% pass percentage in Paper-II of General English (Qualifying paper) (40% in case of SC/ST/OBC) is required to qualify for merit purposes.

All successful candidates will be informed through website show the candidates are advised to visit the website www.upumcwa.org regularly for relevant information.

Counselling:

There will be counselling on the basis of merit of those candidates who have secured the minimum cut-off percentage as notified in earlier pages of this brochure. The detail procedure will be published in Newspapers and also at Association's Website at www.upumcwa.org.

Note: Please go through the website of the college of interest for the details regarding fee, hostel and other relevant information.

For further details: Click Here