The University Grants Commission (UGC) conducts the National Eligibility Test (NET) for the selection of suitable candidates to appoint as assistant professors and junior research fellows in different government colleges and universities. It is one of the most coveted exams that the postgraduate fellows prepare for. It is a nationwide exam that every research fellow and candidates with advanced degrees wish to appear. It is conducted in all domains.
Mistakes that new UGC NET aspirants commit
It is hard to understand the protocols of the exam and the type of questions on the first go. Aspirants have to be very about the competition level. The deserving candidates often find it overwhelming to crack the exam. It can happen due to stress or lack of proper knowledge regarding the exam.
Here is what the common mistakes committed by the newbie aspirants.
· Information regarding exam pattern
The beginners make the worst mistake of not gathering more information regarding the UGC NET pattern. The exam paper can be overwhelming if you do not know the exam pattern properly. The question patterns will be new to you. It means that you are not accustomed to the type of questions asked in both the papers.
The experts suggest checking the UGC NET Exam Pattern from the reputed websites to develop an idea of how to approach a question paper. Once you have completed a topic, you can check the probable questions in a book. The best way to know the exam pattern is by solving the previous years’ questions. You can also rely on the mock tests conducted by the study portals.
· Level of preference to a topic
The NET exam has its own format that generally does not match with the national level exams held across the country. The candidates should be working hard to complete the entire syllabus of Paper-I and Paper-II. Concentrating on a particular topic more or even less can be harmful.
Aspirants generally concentrate on the easier topics more and feel reluctant to give more preference to the harder ones. This should not be the way to crack UGC NET. You do not know what questions are going to be on the papers. Give equal preference, study hard, and be prepared for any difficulty level. Cover every topic and make your preparation fortified enough to tackle any difficulty level.
· Check eligibility
An aspirant should also know the UGC NET Eligibility Criteria beforehand and then start preparing for the exam. This will ensure that you are going in the right direction. You can check on the official website. Make sure you are checking the apt section according to your field of study.
· No shortcuts
There is no way you can crack any exam by following certain shortcuts. You will find a lot of websites offering shortcut methods to crack UGC NET. There are no such things as shortcuts. It will take the same time to learn those shortcuts and make use of them.
Shortcuts like following the question patterns and finding out the probable topics for the upcoming exam is the worst thing to do. It is not a gamble but a result of sheer hard work. If you work hard, you will get your output. If you don’t, you will not be able to confirm the outcome either. Concentrate on your preparation and forget all shortcuts.
· Not knowing the cutoffs
Another mistake a candidate commits is not learning the eligibility criteria of any competitive exam. It stands true for the UGC NET exam too. If you don’t know the criteria, you will not be able to check your progress by appearing in the mock exams. Candidates, these days, enjoy the ideal setup for NET preparation. Apart from availing the top books from the reputed publishers, they can also find exclusive sessions online. In fact, the tutorial websites also provide good study material to rely on but you will have to know the cutoff followed by the exam conducting authority to study accordingly.
Verdict
Avoid these mistakes, prepare well, and do not forget to give your best in the mock tests. Judge your capabilities by solving previous years’ questions. Get accustomed to the exam pattern and ace the upcoming exams.