How to prepare for entrance exams without coaching – You can prepare for an entrance through self-study or by taking up coaching.
The second one is the most-popular option among candidates.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t go alone and crack entrance exams like JEE Main, JEE Advanced, NEET, NIFT, or CAT. In fact, you can outperform most candidates from the coaching institutes if you know how to prepare for these exams.
To prepare for an entrance exam without coaching, you need focus, determination, and the right tools (study material, sample papers, mock tests).
Also, entrance exam coaching is not always suitable.
In this article we discuss how you can perform well in any entrance exam with self-study without relying on coaching.
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How to prepare for entrance exams without coaching – Tips
Here are some easy but useful tips that candidates can follow to prepare for the entrance exam on their own:
Consult the exam syllabus and pattern
The first thing you need to do before you start preparing for the exam is refer to the updated exam pattern and syllabus.
The syllabus will tell you what topics to prepare while the pattern will tell how to prepare.
| Syllabus of Top Exams | Exam Pattern of Top Exams |
| JEE Main Syllabus 2025 | JEE Main Exam Pattern 2025 |
| – | NEET Exam Pattern 2025 |
| CAT Exam Syllabus 2025 | CAT Exam Pattern 2025 |
| NIFT Syllabus 2025 | NIFT Exam Pattern 2025 |
When to start preparation for the exam?
One avoidable mistake many students make is to start their exam preparation late.
The problem is once you arrive late for dinner, the size of the buffet (syllabus) will scare you. So, you may end up taking a crash course thinking it will solve the underlying problem.
But realize that crash courses aren’t meant to teach you the fundamentals, and even if they do, it will be very superficial in nature. So, you stand to gain nothing but instead end up wasting precious time attending these crash courses. Because the advanced and rapid teaching method of these courses can leave you depressed.
Go for crash courses only if you are done with your preparation and want to do some advanced practice.
Meanwhile, it is recommended that you START your entrance exam preparation at least a year in advance.
Solve Sample Papers
You can buy mock papers on the market for all the popular entrance exams or buy them from e-commerce portals like Amazon, Flipkart, etc. Many online counseling and coaching institutes also offer sample papers online. You can take them.
By solving sample papers for exams like JEE Main, NIFT, CAT, NEET, etc., you will get to understand the question paper pattern, types of questions asked, difficulty level, emerging trends, etc.
The exercise will also help you improve time-management and problem-solving skills.
Take notes during study
Also Read:
| How to Prepare for JEE Main Exam | How to prepare for CAT |
| How to Prepare for CLAT | How to Prepare for NIFT 2025 Situation Test |
| How to Prepare for NIFT Personal Interview | – |
Do Timely Revision
Once you complete a topic or chapter, make sure that you keep revisiting the time on regular periods so that you can retain what you have read. Note that if the gap between consecutive revisions is too large, you may have difficulty recalling the topic you have completed.
So, space out the revisions in such a way that the content stays fresh the next time you visit them. Proper revision will help you internalize the topic and underlying concepts.
Take Mock Tests
You must take mock tests typically at the fag end of your exam preparation, say around two weeks before the exam date.
Mocks are intended to help you get acclimatized to the exam mode, pattern, and also the exam timings. For example, if you take the mock tests at the same time as the exam timings, then you can align your body clock accordingly. This may help you stay relaxed and perform to the optimum level of exam day.
Use online resources for exam preparation
YouTube is probably one of the best free resources to prepare for all the top entrance exams today.
If you are confused about a topic or concept, just check it out on YouTube. More likely than not, you can find it there explained by experts in detail.
Here are some guidelines to decide whether the content available on YouTube is accurate, correct, and of good quality:
- The account has a good number of subscribers
- The comment section of the content is open (if the comment section is switched off, it can be an indication that people have posted negative comments regarding the uploaded content. So, they have switched off the comment section)
- If the comment section is open, glance through the comments quickly. If you get good and organic comments, it can be an indication the content can be relied upon.
- Also, once you go through the content, you can check for yourself if the content is up to the mark, correct, and whether it manages to explain the points you are looking for.