Are you struggling with preparing for JAMB? Do you wish to score a high score but you don’t know how to go about it? If yes, then this is the right article for you.
JAMB UTME is around the corner, and as a candidate, you may be panicking already about what to do, how to read, and what to expect. You may also have so many questions flooding your mind which is natural. It is necessary to find answers to these questions before the main exam to help you prepare effectively. At Smartbukites, we’re always ready to help!
What is JAMB?
The Joint Admission Matriculation Board(JAMB) is an admission process in Nigeria scheduled to take place annually, which every candidate seeking admission into a university, polytechnic, or college registers for.
It is an examination that majorly determines your qualification for your desired tertiary institution, formerly handwritten but now a Computer-Based Test(CBT). With the right guidance and preparation, passing your JAMB examination and having your cutoff mark would guarantee you a chance of gaining admission.
In this article, you’ll find study tips for JAMB success, answers to questions about how to prepare and pass JAMB, when to start reading, how to prepare mentally and emotionally for JAMB and several other JAMB tips.
When is JAMB 2024 Starting?
As contained in a statement by Fabian Benjamin, a JAMB spokesman, the UTME 2024 exams will be held from April 19 to April 29, 2024. Meanwhile, registrations commenced on 15th January, 2024.
JAMB 2024 Registration Fees
The JAMB UTME registration fees were recently increased. Currently, the revised registration fees for UTME are:
- ₦7,700 for Main UTME + Mock UTME exams
- ₦6,200 for UTME registration without mock examination..
12 Study Tips for JAMB Success
Targeting a good JAMB UTME score is very important in order to secure admission into your dream department.
If you haven’t decided on the course to study yet, read: How to Select the Best Course of Your Choice.
After settling on your chosen course, you’ll need to work towards getting your target JAMB score. Below are 12 tested and trusted study tips for success in JAMB UTME:
1. Aim for a High Score:
You need to fix your eyes on your goals and prepare hard. Aim higher and work toward it. Do you want to score 250, 300, 350 or higher? It’s not impossible. You can do it; all you have to do is prepare well.
2. Start Studying Early:
If you haven’t started reading now, it’s not too late. Many believe in last-minute reading, but that doesn’t always work, so start reading as early and as soon as possible. Start with what you find easy and practice.
3. Check the JAMB Syllabus:
It is important to the official JAMB syllabus and draft out what you should cover. Start somewhere. This will make sure you cover the right places. If you don’t have enough time, then glance through the topics, pick the ones you find easy, and study them.
4. Draft Your Reading Timetable:
After drafting out what topics to cover, the next thing you should do is write out a timetable. While drafting your timetable, take your time to understand what kind of condition you can read and understand.
5. Study Past Questions:
Do you like quiet places? Do you prefer reading early in the morning or late evening? Can you read for three hours straight or five hours, or do you like having little breaks? Study yourself and draft your timetable to fit you and help you read.
Alongside reading, you should practice past questions to test your understanding and understand the JAMB exam questions. This will help you get familiar with how JAMB questions are structured and also make you feel at ease when taking the exam.
6. Practice Taking Online/Offline CBT Tests:
It is a good idea to also practice JAMB questions in CBT test format. These are available in both online and offline formats and can be accessed on either a smartphone or a computer. This will greatly help in increasing your speed and accuracy.
7. Practice Time Management:
For JAMB, you need to be fast and time conscious. The JAMB exam has a total of 180 questions and a time frame of 2 hours. 40 questions each with only English, which has 60 questions, and 10–15 questions from the approved JAMB novel, “The Life Changer” by Khadija Abubakar Jalli. Practice using less than one minute to answer each question to avoid exhausting your time before you finish and to also have enough time to go through what you’ve answered.
8. Get Rid of Distractions:
While reading, ensure to get rid of any form of distraction. You can take little breaks while reading, but don’t forget that you have an exam to prepare for. You can block all forms of distraction by knowing what you should avoid.
9. Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses:
Knowing the subjects or topics which you are strong or weak in can help you in properly allocating time and effort when studying. You can read your favorite subjects first and spend more time learning difficult ones. Also, if you can, teach others so you can understand and practice what you have learned.
10. Study Consistently:
Read and read till you feel content or satisfied with what you have read. You can study well and prepare for your examination and become successful by being consistent and determined.
11. Get a Tutor:
If you are finding it difficult to understand anything, reach out to someone who understands or get a tutor to guide you through your reading. This is in line with knowing your strengths and weaknesses. When battling with tough topics, get someone to tutor you. Your tutors can also assist you in solving past questions and helping you understand what you need to know about JAMB.
12. Rest Adequately:
After reading each day, or if you want within the week, take a short break to relax your brain. Overworking your brain can make you forget some things you’ve read. and remember to stay positive.
How Can I Write JAMB in One Sitting Without Malpractice?
It’s simple! Study hard, go through past questions, study relentlessly, and aim for a high score. When you follow the above tips and do what is required, you’ll ace your JAMB exam in one sitting. It is not impossible; many have done it before, and you can do it too.
Here are some easy tips to write a jamb in one sitting.
• Right from registration, make sure to check and correct any errors seen. Sometimes errors are made during registration, like wrong email or name spellings, e.t.c. Try to avoid them.
• Start reading now; is it a month? A week? or two days to JAMB? It doesn’t matter; start reading now, don’t rush it, and try to understand whatever you read.
• Past questions are key to getting familiar with the JAMB question pattern, so don’t forget to practice as much as you can.
• Make sure to find your venue early before the exam date; if you stay far from your JAMB center, then leave as early as possible.
• Before your exam, take deep breaths and relax; don’t panic.
• Don’t pretend to know how to use the computer; ask for help.
• And remember to cross-check your answers. When you’re done, submit.
How to Prepare for JAMB UTME and Get Over Exam Anxiety
Do you feel nervous and anxious when thinking of the upcoming JAMB UTME Exams? Do you feel like you can’t do it? It’s normal to be a little bit scared, but when you dwell on your fears, it can affect you while reading and during your exams.
Many students limit their preparations to just reading and studying past questions, but what goes on in your head matters too; according to research, exam anxiety is a common occurrence and natural response that students feel before and on exam day and is often caused by lack of preparation, bad past experiences, overthinking, fear of failure, insufficient sleep, stress and many others.
To prevent getting stuck on or before your jamb exam, you need to beat and overcome your anxiety and stress, and here are a few tips:
1. Get Over Your Fears:
In the process of aiming higher and having dreams to be someone in life, you’ll sometimes come across some challenges or have to face your fears. Fear of failure is a common fear that everyone has; no one wants to experience it, and in the process of avoiding it, you might lose so many opportunities and end up regretting it.
For instance, a student afraid of failure may feel anxious and scared on or before taking an exam, and this can affect your reading, causing you to constantly overthink questions and imagine what you shouldn’t. It is important for you to identify your weaknesses and figure out a way out. The more you get scared, the more likely you are to attract what you fear most.
2. Identify Your Weakness:
Are you the type that easily forgets what you’ve read? Does pressure make you panic? Do you sometimes sweat and breathe irregularly when faced with a challenge like an exam? You need to understand yourself and know what affects you mentally so you can get over it quickly.
For instance, there are some candidates who prefer to write their exams as soon as they get to the exam center because they know if they stay any longer, they might start to panic and overthink. While some candidates prefer to enter last so they can relax and check from the previous candidates that have written asking them questions like how the exam was.
The two types of candidates already understand how their brain works and how their emotions can trigger their anxiety, so they either enter early to get it over with or wait and relax.
3. Be Time-cautious:
It is advisable to be time cautious, but don’t stare at the time and freak out every time it reduces by a minute. Answer a few questions. Ensure to use either a minute or less than a minute to answer each question and skip any that might seem confusing, then get back to it when you’re done with the easy ones. This will help you use your time efficiently.
4. Have Self-confidence:
Low self-esteem, self-doubt, and a lot of what-ifs fuel your anxiety and fear. Doubting your answers and getting stuck will waste your time and eventually increase your anxiety when you see the time running out. Once you’ve read, you just have to believe in your abilities and believe that whatever it is, you’ll be able to answer it and come out smiling with assurance that you did well.
5. Ask for Help:
Don’t keep your pains to yourself. The more you lock it up in your mind, the more it builds up and could explode at any time. Reach out to your parents, guardian, uncle, or anyone close to you and ask for their assistance. If you’re not confident about your reading, get a tutor or a relative who knows better to help. Asking for help doesn’t mean you are not capable; rather, it means you’re willing to learn and ready to pass your JAMB.
How to Get Rid of Distractions While Studying for JAMB
1. Limit Social Media Engagement:
Are you the type that is always online on social media? Who is the most active member of a WhatsApp group? or the hype guy in any social group? Social media can be a big distraction for you if you are the type who is addicted and constantly online.
You have enough time to tweet and chat after your exams, so weigh what’s more important right now and freeze all your social media apps till you are either done reading, on a break, or done with exams.
2. Set a SMART Goal:
Set smart, measurably achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. Be specific with what you want right now; if it’s to write JAMB in one sitting and have a 300 Jamb score, then set that goal. Work towards your goal by measuring your progress and aiming to achieve it within a specified time.
Set your mind to whatever plans you have and make them happen. Who knows, with this, you might be the best jamb candidate with a score of 399, but that can only happen when you work towards it.
3. Avoid Attending Unnecessary Events:
Do your legs always move around visiting friends and attending different parties or social gatherings? Are you the type to want to go to the cinema, watch a series of movies, or play games all day? These are all okay, but time them. If you need to read right now, then put a stop to some activities that will consume time and prevent you from studying.
4. Be Disciplined and Determined:
If you are not disciplined and determined, you won’t be able to minimize distractions. It’ll be hard to do at first, but consistently practicing will make you get used to the routine of reading. Be determined to win, and win big.
5. Identify Major Distractions:
Where do you spend your time most? Is it on TV or on your phone? Take your time to think and identify what you spend time on; afterwards, try to avoid it or minimize it until you have achieved success in your exams.
6 Mistakes to Avoid While Studying for JAMB 2024
1. Procrastination:
It’s always tempting to say you’d do something tomorrow, but tomorrow comes, and you say tomorrow again. Procrastinating till exam day? That’s bad and will lead to rushed reading and increased anxiety.
2. Not Following the JAMB Syllabus:
There’s an official JAMB syllabus made available online for you to follow, so ensure to check and know what to read and where to start reading from.
3. Not Practicing Past Questions:
Don’t study alone; one way to test your understanding is by practising questions.
4. Cramming instead of Understanding:
Some students have an incredible ability to cram even without understanding and eventually get to the exam hall and forget what was read.
5. Skipping Key Study Areas:
While reading, you must have come across some topics and felt like they were not important. Go back to them and glance through them. Ensure to read smartly and don’t leave out any parts.
6. Distractions:
What distracts you the most? Is it social media? Whatever it is, ensure that you avoid it.
8 Common Mistakes To Avoid on The Day of Your JAMB 2024
1. Late Arrival at the UTME Venue:
Try as much as possible to avoid going to your venue late, especially when you live far from your exam centers.
2. Spending too Much Time on Some Questions:
There are questions that seem impossible to answer and will only consume time. Try to skip the difficult questions and come back to them when you are done with the simple ones.
3. Engaging in Unnecessary Conversations:
When at your JAMB venue or during the JAMB exams, try to abstain from conversations that would either implicate you during the exams or that might cause confusion.
4. Getting Distracted:
In the JAMB exam hall, try to avoid turning and listening to every sound or voice you hear, either of a student beside you or of the invigilator.
5. Overlooking Instructions:
Instructions are important and are there to guide you through your exams, so ensure to check them, but do not waste time reading them.
6. Know-it-all Attitude:
No one will condemn you for not knowing how to use a computer, but acting like you know it all can lead to making mistakes that can affect your exam.
7. Poor Time Management:
See a difficult question? Skip it, and you can always come back to it later.
8. Not Cross-checking Answers:
Checking your answers can help you identify any mistakes made while rushing to keep time.
Bonus Tips
Pray:
Before you write your exams, this should be part of your plan, as it will help you stay calm and focused. Take a few breaths and pray before you start, and do the same when you are done.
Avoid Exam Malpractice:
You can avoid this by preparing for your exams early. No matter how unprepared you feel, don’t give in to the temptation of malpractice, as you’ll be greatly punished if caught, which will make all your efforts go to waste.
Practice CBT Test:
There are online tests you can take and apps available to help you understand CBT, or you can go to a nearby cafe and ask for their assistance.
This will help you get familiar with computer-based tests, so you won’t waste much time trying to understand how to operate the computer on exam day. You can also take JAMB mock exams to test your abilities and know how prepared you are for the exams.
Follow Instructions:
If you are the type to skip instructions before starting exams or do things you are not asked to do during exams, then you should stop. Instructions given during exams are meant to guide you, and if overlooked, you might end up missing something important.
Recommended JAMB preparation apps:
You can get access to JAMB Past Questions on the following mobile or computer applications. Many of them are available on Google Playstore
• Myschool JAMB CBT App – This is a free JAMB CBT app with over 60,000 past questions and answers, mock exams, and other study materials.
• Pass.ng JAMB CBT App – This app offers a free version with limited features and a premium version that costs N1,000 with over 40,000 past questions and answers, mock exams, and other study materials.
• JAMB CBT Practice – This app is free and provides over 17,000 JAMB past questions and answers, mock exams, and other study materials.
• UTME CBT Practice App – This app is free and offers over 19,000 JAMB past questions and answers, mock exams, and other study materials.
• Flashlearners JAMB App – This app is free and provides JAMB syllabus, past questions and answers, textbooks, and other study materials.
• JAMB CBT Software – This is a paid software that costs N3,500 and offers over 30,000 JAMB past questions and answers, mock exams, and other study materials.
• JAMB UTME e-Syllabus App – This app is free and provides the official JAMB syllabus for all subjects.
• PrepUp JAMB CBT App – This app offers a free version with limited features and a premium version that costs N500 with over 20,000 JAMB past questions and answers, mock exams, and other study materials.
Conclusion
The best and surest way to pass your JAMB is to start early. If you didn’t have enough time to start early, then start now and make sure to avoid anything that would implicate you during the exams. If you have any questions or difficulties, SmartBukites is here for you. Good luck!
After acing your JAMB UTME, do well to access solved BUK Post UTME Past Questions. Interestingly, a lot of them are JAMB Questions. Therefore you can study them whether or not you’re a BUK student!