How much to attempt?

That’s the million dollar question and this will be your 6th key to success.

This factor alone will decide your ranking, if there is negative marking . As mentioned earlier, If you have studied properly you will easily attempt 170 questions. But so will others. So how will you come in the ranks?

Every question paper has around 15 questions, the answers to which no one knows. So the wise thing is to just leave them.

DO NOT GAMBLE WITH THESE UNKNOWN QUESTIONS. This will be your 7th key to success.

The remaining questions will be such that you will be stuck with 2 options in answer. Only take a gamble if you are sure you will be 50 percent right. As for every 4 questions that you attempt, which you think can be correct, you can afford 1 wrong answer.

Learn tips to prepare from How to Prepare

I had attempted 185 questions, of which I was sure 170 were correct. I took gamble of 15 questions of which I thought I was correct in 10 of them. AIPG key is different than what we think should be correct answers. So keep margin of that too. Don’t be worried once you come out of exam hall and hear people saying they attempted 195-198 questions. Definitely these people will never get in the ranks!

Always be sure to revise Important Topics before exam.

Make sure you have gone through the important books that I mentioned in earlier posts.

List Of books For Neet,MDS , AIPG/ AIIMS Pg exam

More Dental Books MDS / AIPG Preparation

Don’t be tempted to attempt more if you don’t know it.

Be calm, double check what you are marking. 3 hours is a long duration and if you know your paper, you will finish it in 2 hours. So you have plenty of time. Do not hurry.

Do not be frustrated if you encounter question after question that you cannot attempt. Its okay. You can always get back to these questions later.

Read how to combat Frustration and exhaustion from studies!!

Last 15 days of MDS preparation

A special time table has to be prepared for last 15 days.

You should study for like 9-10 hours and revise and revise past question papers. By now you should not make a single mistake in repeated questions. I had revised past 5 years all entrance exam papers 8 times. Try to make that your target.

  • Last 3 hours

So it’s the D- Day. You have prayed, took blessings of family and are about to travel to reach your exam center. You see everyone at the exam center buried in one or the other book and you take out one of your books to do the same!! Never do that. What will you mug up at the last moment? All you will be doing is stressing your brain even before the exam has started.

Read how to combat Frustration and exhaustion from studies!!

You should just relax. Listen to a music, meditate or eat your favorite chocolate and talk about absolutely non-related stuff. Ease your mind. The more you are relaxed the better it will perform inside the hall. Have faith in your preparation.

After Exam is Over, What to do next!

Frustration and exhaustion from studies!!

frustration

 

Everyone of you will go through this rough phase. How well you cope up from it will decide your rank. Yes, this phase is equally important and shape the way you prepare for your exam.

In my first attempt, I was thoroughly misguided, you may identify yourself with my situation. I studied everything, literally every book that there was to read. Yes, It helped me a lot in gathering knowledge, but that absolutely did not help me clear my exam. I wasted precious hours in my fear of failure to read through chapters that were futile. In my extra effort to retain everything that I read, my brain over burdened with all the information, deleted important things and during exam, I knew I had read this question somewhere, but I could not recollect the answer! Utter frustration! After My first attempt I gave up the thought of pursuing MDS and joined a clinic as a Locum. I felt I slogged my ass for 18 hours a day, dint enjoy my internship, as I used to sit with dental pulse to solve questions, studied while travelling in trains, while eating , etc. Dint go for movies, studies late at night, all for nothing! This is not my piece of cake.

How much to attempt?

I just waited for exams to get over. Every day seemed like I had a mountain to climb in scorching sun!! Well, I dint get a good rank and so I decided to give up MDS.

8 months I was doing locum, was happy. But somewhere I felt I did not give my full potential and then I decided to give a last shot! But this time, with a different approach.

As I mentioned earlier, I chose to study for just 8 hours.

Every 1 hour I took a break of 10 mins. I listened to a song, or did exercise. Every evening for 45 mins I walked listening to my favorite music. On Sundays I enjoyed for complete 3 hours, either a movie, or meeting a friend, etc. I ate while watching my favorite serial or with family. All these small activities made me happy.

List Of books For Neet,MDS , AIPG/ AIIMS Pg exam

Now the thing about our human brain is, if you stress it, it will likely forget many things, even if you are literally trying to hammer information inside it. But if your happy, enthusiastic, don’t fear about the outcome, just focus on the time table of just that day, your brain will retain things even read once.

More Dental Books MDS / AIPG Preparation

MDS preparation is all about training your Mind. It’s a MIndgame. You succeed in that, you will definitely reach your goal. By the time my exams came, I was so hungry for more knowledge, that I was happy to study for 14 hours and yet wasn’t exhausted. That’s how you should feel, if you are studying correctly.

 

Coaching classes

You would have probably joined one by now or must be thinking of joining one, even if you don’t want to, but because rest of your friends are joining you don’t want to be left out. Also the fear, that you might lose in the competition and that coaching classed might teach you that something extra also makes you join one. I had joined a test series in my first attempt and I was very happy that I did, as because of that I thought I was studying for every Sundays test. Well, that was my biggest mistake, as any coaching center deliberately sets a paper that asks questions about any subject in so much detail that you feel you don’t know anything!!!

AIPG exams or for that any other exams never ever go in that minute detail of each and every subject.If you just analyse past 5 year question papers, you will be surprised that around 100 – 120 questions are just repeats!!!! Yes, that is the truth! So instead of focusing on that, we in fear of flunking out next test series, study subjects in so much detail from textbooks, that we waste our time, energy and money in gaining the knowledge which is futile for entrance exam.

coaching

I am not saying don’t join a caching class, but don’t totally follow their pattern. Make your own pattern and and don’t take results of the mock exams conducted by them seriously.

List Of books For Neet,MDS , AIPG/ AIIMS Pg exam

Group vs Self study

 

Group vs Self study

group study

 

I have experience of both! Well you have to figure out what is best for you. In my first attempt, I group studied. It was helpful, specially when you were demotivated or frustrated to study but your groupies kept on reading stuff so atleast you could hear information!! But them again, getting overloaded with lot of info is equally detrimental. Lot of time is also wasted sometimes.

Self study requires lot of dedication, isolation and planning. In my second attempt, since I Stuck religiously to my plan and time table, I enjoyed studying by myself. I could follow my intuitions, without a second doubt and had faith in myself. Also, I kept on revising my methods and could actually study faster and efficiently.

List Of books For Neet,MDS , AIPG/ AIIMS Pg exam