No one Will argue that Grand Tests are a Crucial Component of Preparing for the NEET /INICET .These tests allow Students to Simulate test-taking Conditions using the Same interface that they will encounter on test day with the Same Style of Questions.
Tests Offer a great benchmark for how Students are Progressing by Providing them a Current NEET Score Prediction.
Most Students expect to have a Linear Progression in their Practice test Scores throughout their Study Period ,with the final Practice test being their highest
Score ever. In reality, does not always happen. In fact, sometimes the final GT Score can drop leading up to Test day .
Read on to learn why this is and what you can do about it!
Why Can GT Scores drop before Test day?
With the majority of students I have mentored ,their
Actual NEET / INI Score is Closest to the average of their GT Practice test scores. This is Contrary to what most people believe. Many students think that their Scores will Steadily increase from week to week ,with their highest score achieved during the last practice leading
Up to NEET /INI . Sometimes this does happen .other times students scores fluctuate .And sometimes ,the last score dips below that of prior GT's . There are a variety of reasons that this can happen. It is Possible that that was a more difficult Grand test or was simply a harder
Test for you. It is also likely that you are starting to feel tired and burned out from the previous weeks of Studying. You may be more likely to make Silly mistakes or lose focus during the exam. With the real NEET Closer than ever ,you might be feeling very anxious ,which is
Why o strongly advise all Students to take their final practice test no later than 7 days prior to their NEET Exam.
All of these reasons can cause GT Scores to drop before Test day
What To Do If Your GT Score Drops!
First and foremost, don't Panic! Realize that we never
Look at One Test as a Prediction of Success or failure on NEET. Rather, we should compare our performance across multiple exams to judge our Potential Performance on NEET.
If you have been doing well on most practice tests, there is no reason to think that you will not do well
On the real exam . Remind yourself that many of the factors mentioned above can affect your performance on your final practice test,making it possible that the score isn't an actual prediction of your NEET Potential.
However, also be honest with yourself.
Have your scores been consistently below your goal score?
Have you failed to complete the Qbank at least once?
Do you have recurring Test-taking anxiety?
If any of these answers are Yes, it will be especially important to reach out to a trusted mentor and perhaps even
Consider preparing for May or nov INI
However, once low score amongst a series of good scores is never a reason to prepare for your nxt exam
Preparing for NEET/INI is stressful. One of the more Challenging parts of Preparation is taking and interpreting Grand Tests.
Remember that these tests are assessment tools intended to give you a bench mark of progress and a score prediction ,but they are not the real test nor necessarily an indication of what you are capable of
So how do you take Something that seems endless and use a learning tool like Qbank to make sense of it all?
For example, the topic of Sickle Cell Anemia can be cloaked in hundreds of different ways leading to many iterations of questions.
Consider the vignette that starts
With a 9 year old male with sickle cell anemia who presents with chest pain ,a new lung infiltrate on chest X-ray ,and pulse oximetry of 91%, concerning for Acute Chest Syndrome.
What is the main take away concept here?
Is it the acute chest syndrome or the sickle cell
Anemia ; well it is actually both but really the Umbrella Topic to know here is Sickle Cell Anemia and HOW it is tested
Imagine how Multi-step questions can be constructed just from this simple case scenario ( not so simple though for the real life patient )
Open-mindedness is the other side of humility Coin
Despite medicine being an ever-changing field, it is easy to fall into dogma, guidelines, and institutional patterns . No matter what field of medicine You Practice, there are multiple ways to approach Clinical decisions and
Procedural technique. A huge tenet of training is to experiment with multiple ideas from multiple providers, and Combine them with the evidence to Create a technique or thought Process to Call your Own. An Open mind Will allow you to become greater than the Sum of your teachers
Even more importantly, Keeping an Open mind makes you a better receiver of feedback , a Skill which is absolutely essential in training. With So many Brilliant People Working together, egos at the hospital can be large. Often times, Our first response to Constructive feedback is
Confidence goes a long way in Medicine. In Our Phases of Training ,Whether as Medical Students or Residents ,We find Ourselves in an Interesting Place. We are eager to learn as much as Possible from every Clinical experience, yet because of Our titles ( or Perhaps insecurities ),
We feel absolutely Compelled to let Patient's and Colleagues know how Capable We already are. In many Ways this is a good thing. Being assured in Our abilities, both Cognitive and Procedural , Can lead to greater Successes as We Visualize Positive Outcomes; Mental Success begets
Actual Success. In addition, Patients are kept at ease by Our lack of Waffling and Unsurety. But, if we lean too far in the direction of having it all figured out ,it can have a devastating effect On Our Learning
It is Paramount to approach your Own Knowledge and ability with
Conversation is an Overstatement. it was much more of Competition in who could Yell Louder and be more Arrogant. When we were impressionable and eager to do great things early on in our medical school careers, it can take some fine tuning to discover the best way to accomplish
Our goals. This diatribe took place during the initial phase of medical school ,as everyone was testing the waters on how best to study. We all wanted success and wondered about the fastest way to get there.
From the days leading up to your exam ,through to the end of your test day ,it's natural to have a host of feelings .Making Sure these feelings don't get the best of you is crucial. In the weeks leading up to the exam ,some tips to handle the stress include making sure to carve
Out time to take care of yourself including eating and sleeping well ,staying physically active, and taking time for family and friends .
You're shooting for that maximum performance with moderate Stress region of the " Yerkes - Dodson Curve "
How to Optimize Your Stress Using the Yerkes-Dodson Law to Perform better On the NEET And INICET ?
As a Student this late in the game ,you're familiar with Stress. Frenemies, if you will. You know how Stress likes it's eggs, You know where Stress goes when it needs to get away,