Prelims Tips : The Exam Day Dossier

It’s about time. Prelims 2015 is just about 48 hrs away. Here’s a walk-through about what you need to do and what to expect.

The Instructions:

Read the instruction set provided along with the admit card carefully. Make sure you have a copy with yourself (download and print a copy from here if you don’t.

Read the Appendix III of the exam notification (last page). It has important details about how to fill in the OMR, and other important instructions. You can download a copy of the notification here, and only the appendix here.

Things to Carry and Not:

To carry:

1. Bring the e-Admit Card in each session (print here)
2. A photo identity proof viz. Aadhar Card, Driving License, Passport,Voter ID card*
3. Two passport size photographs one for each session *
4. Black ball-point pens
5. A watch
6. Clip-board (strongly recommended), water, spectacles, hard candy, etc (as you need)

(*read instructions for details)

Not to carry:

1. Calculators, IT Gadgets and any other Communication device such as Mobiles, Pagers, Bluetooth etc.
2. Any valuables/costly items and bags (safe keeping of the same can not be assured)
3. Books, notes, loose sheets, log tables, etc (check you pockets just in case)
4. Test booklet of previous session

Night Before the Exam:

• Arrange all your documents, including ID proof and pictures as per instructions.
• Collect your essentials like money for travel and lunch, watch, pens, clipboard, etc.
• No alcohol / tea / coffee / etc. beyond 6 pm.
• Try some relaxation techniques to help you calm down.
• Make sure you have a good night’s sleep.
• Remember : it’s an exam; it’s not your life – just do your best.

Exam Walk-through:

• You should already be familiar with the location of your centre. Look it up before going there.
• Arrive at least 45-60 mins before the start of the exam.
• Once you’re there, look up your hall number from the board placed outside.
• There will be a poster containing instructions displayed outside/inside the examination hall. Read it.
• Enter the examination hall 20 minutes before the scheduled commencement of the examination. You will not be admitted to the examination if you report 10 minutes after the scheduled commencement of the examination.
• Arrange you things and wait for the paper.
• Once the paper and the OMR are provided, start carefully filling in the details. Read and do everything carefully. There is no replacement. Be very careful with your roll number, booklet series code, etc. Mistakes here will render the answer sheet liable for rejection.
• Do not open the question booklet until the exam starts (bell / instructed).
• Take 5 mins to scan through the question paper. There is no use panicking. If it’s tough, it’s tough for everyone and vice versa. Do what you can and don’t take too many risks.
• Make sure your booklet has all its pages and contains all the questions. Ask for a replacement otherwise.
• There will be penalty (Negative Marking) for wrong answers – 1/3 of the marks assigned. Marking more than one option would be automatically counted as wrong. There is no penalty for leaving out questions.
• Rough work sheet would be present at the end of the question paper / would be provided on request.
• Make sure you fill in the face sheet and other documents presented to you (including signatures and fingerprint taking).
• It is not advisable to use whiteners / erasers on OMR sheets. The question might not be evaluated.
• Fill in the circles well. It doesn’t have to be artistic. Just fill them in more or less avoiding too much white space. Answers other than those made by black ball-point pen would not be evaluated.
• In case of any problem, ask the invigilators. They’re usually very cordial.
• Remember to submit your OMR before going out of the hall at the end.
• Read about time management in the exam at the end of this post.
• Don’t forget to appear for Paper-II. It’s a qualifying paper, but you must appear  in it to qualify. (In case you were wondering).

Afterwards:

• After the exam, please avoid wasting your time checking you answers form every single ‘answer key’ that you can get your hands on.
• Wait for a few hours for a a few top institutes to release their keys.
• Finish this checking business within 23rd/24th August at most.
• Look for posts already running before creating new threads. That would help in keeping everything on the topic together and the tidy.
• Don’t waste hours debating on the forum. It won’t improve you prelims performance.
• Move on to mains preparation and let bygones be bygones.
• Remember, from the day of prelims, mains would be only 115 days away, starting on 18/12/2015 (2015 calendar).
• Results are expected after about 6-7 weeks. Last year the exam was on 24/8/14 and results were out on 13/10/14 (proof), a gap of 50 days.
• Don’t forget to preserve you admit card. Write down you roll number somewhere safe. We’ve seen many people freaking out when the results come out because they’ve lost their details.

Wish you all the very best…