NTSE is a national level scholarship program that was started way back in 1961 in India, with an initiative to promote academic talent. The NTSE Stage 1, 2020- exam was supposed to be held in November, but the dates are yet to be declared and been postponed due to the outbreak of COVIDD-19.
All competitive exams have been postponed due to the pandemic and have held back the preparation of the students. That’s why we’ll discuss some handy NTSE preparation tips to help you give the best performance in your exam, whenever it happens.
Let’s first learn a few insights about the exam first, before we head into learning the preparation tips. NTSE Stage 1 has two sections, SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and MAT (Mental Ability Test). 2000 scholarships are awarded every year out of which 15 percent is reserved for SC, 7.5 percent for ST and 27 percent for other backward classes and 4 percent for students with special abilities.
Those who qualify Stage 1 are considered eligible for Stage 2 of the exam at the national level. After clearing Stage 2, you are awarded the scholarship. There are certain advantages that you get as an NTSE scholar, like:
- Coaching centres offer free admission and up to 50% off on preparation material and tuition fees to NTSE aspirants.
- NTSE scholars are awarded up to 6 bonus marks in their JEE Main score if they are considering admission to IIIT-Delhi.
- Foreign universities that offer undergraduate courses in science give preference to NTSE scholars during selections.
- Bagging internships during the early years of college is easier as compared to others.
- A monthly scholarship of Rs 1250 is given to NTSE scholars for pursuing science, social science, humanities, fine arts, languages, commerce, or vocational studies in classes 11 and 12. The scholarship amount is increased to Rs 2000 per month from undergraduate up to doctoral level.
Details of NTSE Stage 1
| Exam Mode | Offline Mode (Pen & Paper based) |
|---|---|
| Exam Medium | Regional language or English/Hindi |
| Exam Duration | 2 hours each for SAT and MAT |
| Total questions | 100 each in SAT and MAT |
| Total marks | 400 |
Now that we know the insights of the exam, it’s time to learn the prep tips for NTSE Stage 1 that can help you boost your preparation and hand you the coveted scholarship. Following are five such tips:
- Follow a timetable: A proper schedule needs to be followed to keep up with your preparation and getting a good result. It’s the basic rule for excellent performance in the real exam.
- Prepare notes for important topics: Making notes for important topics helps during last-minute revision. You can just refer to your notes and have a glance at all the important topics quickly before the exam.
- Allot time for each subject: Distribute your preparation as per your available time for each subject and its topics. You just will have to devote more time to complex topics.
- Subscribe to a national level test series: All the hard work and preparation that you do could only yield a result if you test your prep before the exam. You need to sign up for a national level test series like myPAT that could help you analyse your prep.
myPAT has now started its 14-day free trial as well that provides 14 concepts and one full-length test to accelerate your preparation. - Solve sample papers: The key to success is constant practice. That can be achieved by solving maximum sample papers. Attempting a sample paper would help you become exam ready before the real exam arrives.
We can conclude that NTSE holds significant importance in a student’s life. And you must be well prepared despite all the disturbance. We wish you all the best for the exam and don’t forget to sign up for the 14-day free trial on myPAT, that could fetch you the scholarship.
