What’s the secret of cracking AIIMS?

Just 50 seats are up for grabs & over a lakh are taking the AIIMS entrance test. That makes the race searing hot. What’s the secret of cracking it?

IF CRACKING the IITJEE is your visa to the most prestigious institution of higher learning, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences( AIIMS) MBBS entrance test holds the key to the college where all aspiring doctor dream of launching their careers.. The AIIMS 2012 entrance exam, scheduled for Friday, will see more than a lakh aspirants competing for what is dubbed as one of the toughest exams in the country. Unlike the IIT- JEE, where even those who rank below 1,000 can make it to one of the top six IITs, the AIIMS entrance exam is as tough as nails, with just 50 seats up for grabs and all of 34 available in the general category.

The syllabus is drawn mostly from the CBSE syllabus for Classes XI and XII, but what matters is the way you prepare for the papers: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Reasoning and English. Students who wish to do well must naturally focus on Biology instead of Physics and Chemistry, and the important topics that must not be missed are Human Physiology, Biotechnology and Biomedical Techniques.

Like other medical entrance tests, the one for AIIMS also consists of multiple- choice questions. But the main challenge faced by students taking the AIIMS test is the way they tackle the ‘ Reasoning- Assertion’ section, where two reasons are offered for each assertion.

“ Candidates face a lot of confusion about whether the reason given is the correct explanation of the assertion or not,” says Aakash Chaudhry, Director, Aakash Institute. “ The best approach is to read the assertion first and then think about the possible reason before looking at the given answer. If the reason mentioned matches with what you had in mind before reading, then mark Option 1 or else Option 2,” he adds.

For the ‘ Reasoning- Assertion’ section, experts suggest you read the blue, grey and orange boxes of NCERT texts, as well as Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday, Resnick and Walker. Pay particular attention to the graphs in the NCERT texts and the photographs and graphs in Fundamentals of Physics.

Then there are questions containing data and graphs, which the candidates have to analyse closely before answering. There will also be anatomical figures, which the students have to identify and mark the body parts correctly.

Above all, a cool head is the key to success in the entrance test.

“ Instead of getting jittery and building up psychological pressure on themselves by going into the nitty- gritty each topic at the last minute, it is important that students focus on revising the sections they have covered,” says R. K. Verma, Founder- CEO of Kota’s famous coaching institute, Resonance Eduventures.

And how many mock tests must a candidate take to feel confident about the entrance exam? “ The number can vary depending on the individual capability of a candidate,” says Verma. “ But a minimum of one test a day is the best at this stage. “ It is also important that after revising a particular chapter, candidates prepare a summary of the section to figure out how much they have understood of it,” he adds. Get your strategy right and reap the dividends.

ANATOMY OF AIIMS ENTRANCE TEST

Pattern of the Entrance Exam:

Objective- type questions with multiple- choice answers

Duration of Exam:

Three hours and 30 minutes

Number of Questions:

200; Physics: 60, Chemistry: 60, Biology ( Botany & Zoology): 60 and General Knowledge: 20

Marking Scheme:

Each correct answer will get 1 mark each. One mark will be deducted for every three wrong answers

Books to Read:

Arihant AIIMS MBBS Entrance Examination & 5 Mock Tests; Mtg AIIMS Explorer ( 17 Years Solved Papers) by Dr Sandeep Ahlawat; Ramesh AIIMS Prev Solved Papers; GB Comprehensive MCQs in Biology by Hemant Roy; Prakash Objective Zoology: A Standard Book for AIIMS; Prakash Objective Botany: A Standard Book for AIIMS; GRB Objective Chemistry Vol. I & II; and GRB Objective Physics Vol. I & IIReproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2012. MTNPL. All rights reserved.