NTSE 2018-19 Preparation for Class 10 Students Starting from your Summer Holidays

NTSE 2018-19 Preparation must be started right from the summer holidays of class 10, this will you an upper edge over the other students. The scholarship exam with such tough competition surely requires dedicated effort, excellent planning and very good hold on the basics to ace the exam. Every student preparing for the entrance exam want to achieve marks of their choice, the key to scoring well in any of the entrance exams is to follow some of the study tips. The aspirants can read more on NTSE 2018-19 Preparation Tips on this page.

Latest Update: NTSE Exam Date and Notification for 2018-19 has been released.

This article will focus on preparation for NTSE stage 1 written exam that is conducted at the state level every year in November.2018

While preparing for the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE), there are some common questions which strike in the minds of the students and the team Motachashma has tried to answer all these questions in this article. 

• What should they study and what to leave?
• How to practice for NTSE?
• How much to practice?
• Should they study class 9 course material?
• If they are from a state board, do they need to prepare differently for NTSE?

What is NTSE Stage 1 Exam?

National Talent Search Examination is a scholarship exam conducted by NCERT. NTSE scholarship was constituted in 1963 by NCERT. It is one of the most prestigious scholarships in India and is also considered one of the toughest scholarship exams in India. NTSE Stage 1 Exam is a written exam conducted at the state level. It has 2 papers, namely MAT and  SAT.

• MAT or Mental Aptitude Test: Herein candidates need to answer 100 questions of mental ability in a span of 120 minutes. Total questions asked are 100 and Total Marks 100
• SAT or Scholastic Aptitude Test: Here the candidates need to answer 100 questions based on Scholastic Ability. Duration of Scholastic Ability is 120 minutes.

Follow the NTSE Exam Pattern and Prepare accordingly

NTSE Examination qualifying marks are 40% for the general category and 32% for the reserved categories i.e SC/ ST/ PWD. Candidates have to score these minimum marks in each paper so as to qualify. As such, there is no prescribed syllabus for NTSE.

Usually, the questions are based on the syllabus of Class 9 and 10 of the recognised Boards. The questions in SAT will be from Science, Social Science, and Mathematics.

• Aptitude Test:  The aptitude test will consist of questions from History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics.
• Negative Marking in NTSE:  There is No Negative Marking for the wrong answer and no negative marks would be awarded for unanswered questions.
• The language of NTSE Examination: The Examination is conducted in various languages that are: Assamese, Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

How should one get prepared for NTSE?

For NTSE exam both MAT and SAT are equally important. Many students are in the habit of preparing thoroughly one part and in the process, they tend to ignore either MAT or SAT. Mind it as per the surveys though it is MAT that carries more weight age than any other subjects yet all subjects play a vital role.

The writing below shows the preparation tips one should follow to crack the NTSE Exam with the satisfactory score. The only thing needs to be done is to follow the study tips below and prepare accordingly.

Make a Plan for NTSE Preparation

• You have only a few months in your kitty and after analysing and practicing you have got an idea about your weak points. So make a plan for your studies and surely execute them.
• Do not take your preparations for granted!! This is not a word of suggestion for those appearing in NTSE but for all the students studying from school to higher education level.
• Regular study and practice of 4-5 hours daily will surely give you an edge over others.

To crack NTSE, break the syllabus in pieces

• Often candidates get scared after going through the huge syllabus of NTSE. So instead of getting scared by the huge syllabus, the students should act as a strong person who overcomes every challenge. So break the syllabus into pieces.
• Focus on the part of the syllabus you are weak at, take help of your friends, seniors teachers to get the better understanding of the subject. 
• When you study a topic just see the previous year questions that were asked on that, this will give you an idea whether you are prepared fully for that topic.

NTSE Preparer must focus on the basics

• A strong basic foundation will be very helpful for you to solve difficult questions so revise the NCERT books properly, understand the basic formulae as it will help you in solving the difficult questions with confidence.
• You should opt for the sample papers and online tests only towards the end of your preparation as it will analyse your preparedness for the scholarship exam.

Practice NTSE Sample Papers and Previous Year Papers

• It is the last step in the process of preparation for NTSE exam. Try to understand the type of questions asked and what is your current status.
• Try to solve the questions given in the sample papers all by yourself and with all seriousness. This will help you gain knowledge of NTSE and a fair idea that in how much water you stand? 
• You can also time yourself and solve the last years NTSE papers and see what score you get it. While attempting previous year papers, you might as well check the Cut-offs for that particular year and see if you were able to qualify the exam.

Analyse your performance for NTSE

• While solving the questions take into consideration what you could do and what is difficult for you. Are you lacking in any subject matter knowledge? Or you couldn’t score well due to some silly errors?
• Did mental ability questions took a long time to solve? Whatever may it be, just analyse your performance very minutely and critically and work upon it. Analysis of your solved paper helps you in building the strategy for your NTSE exam and overcoming the weakness that you might have.
• Sometimes it is difficult to even cover the entire question paper. So you should know which parts to skip for now and come to it later on. The Analysis should tell you what is your weakness and also your forte!

Practice, Practice and Practice until you ready for NTSE

• Practice makes the man perfect!! Regular practice of these 3 steps can lead you to stars if not on the moon.
• Try to solve as many questions as you can of mental ability so that you do not get the shock of your life on the day of the exam, solve more papers and then analyse each one in detail.
• Seek the help of your school seniors and respective subject teachers. Be confident of your speed, subject knowledge, and accuracy.

Group Studies should be done for NTSE Preparation

• Practising with the fellow NTSE Aspirants will give you a taste of competition and will also stand as a motivation to perform better.
• Group studies should help you in understanding where you stand and should not discourage, demotivate or stress you. This is really important.
• You might have people in your study group who are really good at some topic and you might be weak at some so that they can help you in understanding the topic/ subject well.

NTSE Integrated Classroom Course for Class 10 Students by Aakash

The Aakash, one of the finest institutes for the entrance exam preparation is offering Integrated Classroom course for NTSE for Class 10 students for which the details of the frequency of the class, teaching hours eligibility etc. The complete details about the same are given below.

Click Here to Apply for Programme

• The frequency of Classes: 3 days a week for weekdays and 2 Days a week for weekends.
• Teaching Hours Per Day: 3 Hours for weekdays and 4.5 Hours for weekends.
• Eligibility: Students Studying in Class 9 and moving to Class 10/ Class 10 Studying Students
• Admission Process: Direct Admission (on the basis of Marks/ Grades) OR through Admission cum Scholarship Test (ACST).

In case of any query related to NTSE 2018-19 Preparation, you can write to us in the comment section below.