CUET 2022 Topper Tips: Know How Elimination Method Helped Prisha Khandelwal Get Into SRCC

Q. Please tell us about your family and educational background.

Ans I belong to a business family. My father is a 12th pass and my mother is a BCom (Hons.) graduate. Not the educational family that anyone would expect. My parents are the most significant source of my motivation. I also have a little sister who is currently studying in 8th standard.

Q. When did you start preparing for CUET Exam? What all books did you refer to?

A. My preparation for CUET started way early from the schedule. My CUET exam preparation is equivalent to my board exam preparation. Since ours is an experimental batch, we were habitual of various amendments made in the system such as appearing for two board exams along with entrance exams to opt for colleges. We were in touch with our curriculum for about a year and a half. For CUET, I think it is non-negotiable that NCERT is the bible for the preparation. I’ve advised several of my juniors to never give up on NCERT. Do as many questions as you can from that book. Other books that I would highly recommend are Together, Exemplar, PQYs and U-Like. 

 

Q. How much time did you devote to self-study? What do you feel is better, coaching or self-study?

A. I personally didn’t take any coaching for my CUET exam preparation. However, I did take coaching for my 12th standard which majorly covered the curriculum for CUET. Learning from the experience of my peers, I’ve noticed that these so-called “Coaching Institutes” were not themselves aware of the CUET pattern as it is entirely a new thing for everyone from students to teachers. I’ve heard many of my batchmates complain that due to these coaching institutes, they got confused during their CUET examinations because the way there were taught was entirely different from what was expected from the students ie to study their 12th curriculum. Speaking about the time commitments for CUET, I used to devote at least four hours per day; in that four hours, I used to solve practice papers for every subject. 

Q. How did you prepare for CUET UG, just a month before the exam?

A. So my approach was pretty simple. Since I had my concepts cleared already, thanks to class 12th, I used to practice sample papers and PYQs in an MCQ format. Many books were then available in the market wherein the past year’s question papers were available in an MCQ format. This one month went by pretty fast. With exams getting repeatedly postponed, students were confused about their future. But I never let that insecurity occur to me. It is important for students to stay calm during these times. This one month is the most essential time as it is during this time that one can recollect their knowledge about the domains that they are supposed to appear in.

 

Q. How many domain tests did you appear in the CUET exam?

A. I appeared for five domain tests in CUET- Mathematics, Economics, Political Science, Psychology and English. And gladly those five domains were scheduled to be in a single setting. This schedule helped me to appear for all of my subjects in one go. Otherwise, like many of my batchmates who had their exams scheduled for multiple days; their exams either got cancelled or were postponed which resulted in them either not appearing for their exams or not being able to give to their fullest capability.

 

Q. Which subject is your strong one and which is the weakest? Are NCERT books sufficient for preparations?

A. My strongest subject is Political Science and the subject that I dreaded the most during CUET was Mathematics. NCERT books are necessary but not sufficient if you want to land in a tier-1 college. In order to ace CUET, you need to prepare from additional sources that are mentioned above.

 

Q. When it came to exam day, what was your strategy? According to you, what was the toughest and easiest section?

A. Due to the time constraint of 40 minutes, attempting 40 questions seemed impossible at first. But later on, I discovered a unique way of solving MCQs in a faster and an accurate manner from my teachers. This unique method is commonly known as “the elimination method”.

 

The strategy of this method is very simple wherein we just need to eliminate those options that are completely false. This helps us to save time on solving and more time to arrive at the solution because at last, no one is checking your approach to the problem. Maths seemed to be the most challenging section as attempting 40 questions in 40 minutes seemed next to impossible. But with the use of the elimination method and certain tricks, I was able to attempt the entire paper within 40 minutes. Since I was given five domains in a single setting, my strategy was simple.

 

I attempted two domains that I found pretty easy and less time-consuming first in order to settle down the anxiety which was Psychology and Political Science. After attempting these two I had about 15 minutes of extra time in my wallet which I utilised to cross-check the answers. Then for the third domain, I attempted the maths domain. Time flies very fast when you’re attempting maths paper. The last paper that I attempted was in English. At the end of the exam, I was pretty exhausted and relieved as I was able to fulfill my expectations from the exam.

 

Q. Which all universities did you apply for? What was your dream college?

A.  I only applied to Delhi University and under that, I applied to almost every college that I was eligible for. My dream college is Shri Ram College of Commerce which ultimately I was allotted.

 

Q. To whom do you attribute your successful CUET topper journey? What would you suggest to future CUET aspirants in terms of preparation, attitude, etc?

A. Every journey has its Ups and Downs but the way you handle it is all that matters. My parents and my teachers have been the biggest source of my motivation. Being an average student in my entire life, I had never expected to ace the CUET exam. I never got an A in more than two subjects in my entire life. I scored fewer marks in my 12th standard than I expected.

I remember that I was torn down when the results for CBSE boards came out, I managed to score a mere 95%, which would not have helped me to gain admission into a good college. CUET is the best thing that ever happened to me, it was like a second chance to prove myself. My teachers played a big role in this journey.

Each and every single one of them, they are the reason that I landed up in my dream college and my successful CUET journey. In terms of preparation and attitude, every student should hold during this journey to just work hard and listen to their teachers. Stay curious and try to relate whatever you’re studying to the real world. Because trust me if a student who has been average in her entire life can do this so can you! All the very best!!

 

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