How Best to Study and Pass Post UTME with Past Questions

How Best to Study and Pass Post UTME with Past Questions: Getting a high score in JAMB is a great first step, but as every serious student knows, the Post UTME is the real final boss you have to pass before you secure that admission. 

It is only natural to feel some pressure, especially when your dream course is on the line. What makes it even worse is the hilarious cut-off marks. 

Imagine getting 230 in JAMB and then you need to pass a Post UTME with only 54 marks and you end up with 52 marks. They would automatically throw you to the nearest bus stop or mercifully send you to the nearest available department.

That’ll be like throwing your dreams away for 4 years just to be a graduate of a course you never expected right?

That’s the story of many Nigerian students.

However, the secret to passing those tiny cut-off marks doesn’t actually lie in reading every textbook from cover to cover; it lies in understanding the patterns of that University’s exam.

When you prepared for JAMB, you had past questions to guide you but now that you’re preparing for Post UTME, you think it’s a walk in the park?

Then they’ll definitely shock you!

As the saying goes, “to know the future, you must look at the past.” This is exactly why you would still need Past Questions at this point!

In this guide, we’ll dive into some of the best strategies you can use and how best to study and pass Post UTME with past questions.

Why do I even Need Post UTME Past Questions?

Now a lot of you might have asked yourself that question a lot of times. It might not have even crossed your mind because after all, “I passed JAMB so I’m good and believe I can pass Post UTME with the flick of a finger!”

As they say, confidence is good but overconfidence isn’t. Before thinking whether or not you actually need to study Post UTME past questions, checkout the facts below.

1. You’ve got to be familiar with the school’s vibe. Now every university has a unique way of setting questions. Just like you saw in JAMB. The way JAMB sets it’s questions isn’t the same way your secondary school first term exams were set. Similarly, UNILAG for example might focus on tricky English and give you questions that make you wonder if you’re already in 200 Level. Past questions show you the specific style and vibe of the school you’re applying to.
2. Majority of past questions are always repeated. Most schools don’t have the time to invent entirely new questions every single year. So what they do is they pull from a pool of old questions, change the figures, or rephrase the sentences. If you’ve seen it before, you won’t be “shocked” in the hall.
3. Most Post UTMEs are like a race. You might have 40 questions to answer in 30 minutes and it can become so bad if you see a question that makes you question your sanity. If you aren’t used to the speed of their questions, you’ll still be on Question 10 when the timer shows 00:00:45. So with past questions, you can actually calm down, drink water and focus on decoding the english because not all english is actually english. Just like mathematics, physics, chemistry.
4. Past questions helps you study smart not just hard. You can work hard and still fail. The school does not care. Pass their exams and get admitted and pay their fees is what they want. In the exams, due to the short time, if you see a question that looks like chinese, ignore them and go on to another. The display on the computer would show you the unanswered questions anyways so why worry?
5. Past questions kill a bit of exam fever. Now exam fever comes as a result of not knowing what to expect but you can help yourself by reading past questions because the brain you used in secondary school will be different from the brain you’ll use in university. You’ll have to do a lot of careful thinking, mental analysis in the exam alone. God help you if you choose a tough course!

How to Best Study Post UTME Past Questions

Don’t just carry the booklet and start reading the answers like it’s a storybook. That is the fastest way to fail! Use these strategies instead to know how to study and pass Post UTME with past questions:

1. Using the mock exam method. Cover the answers in the booklet. Set a 20 minute timer using your phone. Sit in a quiet place, put away your phone, and solve the answer. This would help to build your speed and accuracy under pressure.
2. Study the Syllabus via the Questions. Most schools don’t give a Post UTME syllabus, but their past questions are the syllabus. If you notice “Probability” appears more then, mark it as a “Must-Know” topic and master it.
3. Discuss it with your friends. You can take turns to guess the answer. Try explaining tough questions because if you can explain the logic of a question to someone else, then you’ve mastered it.

Conclusion

Past questions doesn’t guarantee that you’ll pass but just like every study guide you’ve ever read, no knowledge is a waste.

Read your books and pair it with the past questions and the study materials you used in JAMB because Post UTME is a mini JAMB on its own which should never be taken lightly. We wish you all the best in your exams!