As universities are reopening and academic activities are starting to take place, pending examinations have started to take place. Exams come with a lot of mental pressure, especially during the pandemic. Still some people make good results with all the odds. It requires a combination of hardwork and discipline. The writer talked to some of the top result holders from different disciplines regarding how they manage things ahead of the exam.
Studying daily: "We have to go through a rigorous assessment process as we have class tests every month. Since class tests often carry a substantial weight, we have no option other than studying regularly," shares Shadman Shahriar, a topper at the Department of Water Resources Engineering in BUET.
Mohammad Saiful Islam, a gold medal winner from Dhaka University (DU) Economics, has also reiterated the importance of studying on a daily basis. He says, "Studying on a daily basis is hugely important. However, it varies with the adaptability of a student."
Taking notes: Universities do not provide guidebooks or solutions to potential exam questions, unlike what most students go through during their secondary and higher secondary periods. Taking class notes plays a huge role in defining one's CGPA. Fahin Rahman Aungkita, one of the toppers of Criminology, Dhaka University, shared, "I gather materials from different sources, and different textbooks and incorporate class notes and make a final note so that I don't have to go back to the textbook again, which is quite unproductive."
Sources and seniors’ help: Teachers in universities often follow different books for different topics, which makes it laborious for students. However, the smart ones always conduct their own research and find out which source is suitable for which topic. "In our department, sometimes course teachers don't provide the slides, I Google the sources and read stuff there which helps me a lot in the exams," remarked Aungkita.
On the other hand, Shadman Shahriar enthusiastically points out the importance of taking help from the seniors regarding notes. "We have a website named PL (preparatory leave) tutorials where seniors upload their notes and reports. We benefit a lot from this website."
Solving the previous question papers: Beside taking class notes and understanding the materials, it's essential for students to solve the previous question papers as part of preparation for exams. "Once you understand the previous question papers and be able to solve them before exams, you will feel confident in the exams," stressed Saiful. In this regard, if a topic is not comprehensible, one should consult a teacher. "Whenever you are stuck with a problem and neither your classmates nor Google can solve it, then only your teacher can rescue you," remarks Aungkita.
Group studies: Group studies are relatively more important to understand technical courses. Aungkita's excellence has stemmed from teaching the classmates in group studies. While teaching others, she makes good practice of her learnings and others find it easy to understand through conversations.
Interest in the assigned subject: According to Saiful,a larger portion of the students don't get the opportunity to study the desired discipline. Interest in learning the assigned discipline declines as the programme progresses. Unless one develops interest in learning whatever subject is assigned, it becomes really difficult to achieve a good grade. Therefore, the most crucial part is to grow some interest in order to achieve big, like Saiful did.
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