Tips for Acing High-Pressure Exams

Even if you’re good at routine exams, the pressure of the Civil Service Exam can make it nerve-wracking. It’s crucial to ace this exam because if you fail, you’d have to wait for four years for your next attempt, making it even more stressful. Fortunately, with the right game plan, even a high-pressure exam for civil service jobs can become smooth.

We have been offering prep classes for civil services in New York City for a while now; here are the tips to ace the exam straight from the experts:

Study the Marking Scheme

Thoroughly studying the learning material is good, but how can you perform well if you don’t know what you’re expected to do in the exam? Studying the marking scheme is a smart approach towards preparing for the exam. It helps you understand exactly what your examiners are looking for, so you can focus on that.

Create A Plan

“I’ll study as much as I can and hope for the best” is not a good plan. It would be best to create a comprehensive strategy to be perfectly ready on the exam day.

Having a good plan is what distinguishes high-achieving candidates from others. Plan everything—the time you need each day to study, revision schedule, the topics you need to focus on more, how to tackle your weak spots and distractions, and so on. This will give you a clear path to follow and perform well in the exam.

Make Your Own Notes

We always encourage our students to make their own notes while studying. Note-taking is the best way to increase memory retention and understanding. You can also keep track of things because there are many topics to cover. For example, if there are certain things you don’t understand, you can mention them in your notes to ask your tutor about them later.

Notes can even help you during revisions. Rather than going through the entire material, you can focus on the notes you made for quick recalling.

Understand Concepts, Don’t Memorize Material

Reading and memorizing something is passive. For active reviewing, you need to make charts, diagrams, and other visual maps to fully understand a concept instead of just memorizing it. If you learn something well enough to explain it to someone else, it means you’ve understood it fully.

Take Practice Exams

Instead of going over and over the study material, put your knowledge to the test to find out what you know and what needs more learning.

Don’t think of it as a mere practice test, but as if you’re attempting the actual civil service exam under the same conditions. In this way, you can judge yourself accurately about how you perform in the time limit and with all the pressure. Practice tests increase the chances of passing an exam, understanding its format, and keeping the nerves under control.

Check Your Environment

Often ignored, the environment has a massive role in your learning, retaining, and performance. You might not have an ideal learning setup at home, so create it. Find a room free from distractions and have a clutter-free space without phones and gadgets to concentrate fully. You can ask your family or roommates not to disturb you during that time and keep the ambient noise as minimum as possible.

Find Various Revision Techniques

As much as you dread revising, it is an integral part of your exam prep. Going over the same thing can be tedious, so you can try different revision techniques.

Revision becomes much more effective when done in groups. If you study in a preparatory school, you will have class fellows to do that with. Other than that, you can go through your notes, draw mind maps to test preparation, and review the areas that need more work.

Get Enough Sleep

You’ve heard it a hundred times before, and you’ll hear it again: sleep is essential. It’s not only necessary for good health but also for your grades. Ensure you’ve completed your exam preparation in time, which will stop you from stressing and staying up all night. When you get a good night’s sleep, your well-rested brain will perform the best during the exam.

Be Mindful During The Exam

The stress of exam day can quickly make you feel overwhelmed, affecting your performance. Being mindful during the exam can keep negative emotions at bay. Don’t think of the negative results; focus on the process, not the outcome. Remember why you’re here, and your goal is to get the civil service job you’re applying to and give your best in the exam.

Create Brain Space

Last-minute studying can do more harm than good, so try to avoid that and create brain space. Use the final moments to collect your thoughts, put yourself at ease, and have a positive mindset before starting the exam. You can’t do much at this time, so frantically going over the study material will only increase your anxiety.

Reach The Exam Site Early

Try to reach at least 15 minutes early to organize your thoughts and prepare yourself for attempting the exam. If you forget any required material, you will have some time to arrange it.

Read The Instructions and Questions Thoroughly.

One common mistake people make is focusing more on the answers instead of what they’re asked to do. Take your time in understanding the instructions and questions before answering them. It’ll eliminate the chances of error or any silly mistake.

Get Admission to A Preparatory School

The NYC civil service exams are pretty difficult and require a lot of preparation and practice. The best way to ensure good results is by enrolling in a preparatory school that gives you the proper guidelines, materials, and environment.

 

Civil Service Success has offered prep classes for civil services for the past 40 years. We have certified and skilled instructors who ensure that you ace your exam. Whether you’re applying for a court officer job or a sanitation officer, explore our website to get started now.