We will discuss the top 10 mistakes F.Sc students make and how to avoid them. We will also provide solution point wise for each mistake, so that you can learn from the experiences of others and improve your performance. This article is based on the insights and tips from topstudyworld topers. The solution and Problems discussed are universally applicable to all students and specially for subcontinent (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan) students.
Why does it seem a hard pill to swallow for the students to get through F.Sc with higher marks in Pakistan? When you were at Matric level you thought it’s the toughest job to handle, but when you reach a the F.Sc level, after two years, then you realize Matric was the easiest job in the world to tackle.
It’s the reason most students can easily get expected marks in SSC, but not in HSSC. If you’re a matric student and reading the article, you might consider yourself a lucky one; but if you’re an intermediate student, you would say, “I wish I knew”.
Here is the list of the Mistakes and the Solutions:
1. Don’t Take F.Sc Easy
F.sc is a foundation for higher studies so not to take it easy, you have to be serious.
We should solve the exercises and examples on daily basis. Secondly, we should make notes of every chapter at home which will help us in our exam preparation and revision.
Thirdly, we should study at least 5 hours in a day with full concentration and focus on our studies. Fourthly, we must revise our every week and this will help us in remembering what we have studied during the whole week.
F.sc (pre-engineering) is not an easy subject. It is very difficult and need hard work. Now a days students are only interested in getting 1st division. They don’t worry about the subject they are taking.
They think they can get good marks by mugging up the formulae, dates, current affairs and other easy things etc, but it is not the case. They should have passion for learning engineering subjects.
Due to this misconception, many students take f.sc as an easy subject and later on when they got admission in engineering college and realize that it was not an easy subject at all.
Moreover, i have also seen some students who passed f.sc with flying colors but failed in nums test and mbbs entry test because they were unable to solve mcqs of these tests due to their weak mathematical background and lack of interest in mathematics.
Mistake
If you think that F.Sc is as easy as Matric, then you’re making a huge mistake of your life.
Solution
There is a big difference between Matric and F.Sc. Let me prove! The books of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology at Matric level don’t hold much water because these books contain only maximum 150-170 pages.
Even if a student starts studying from January, he can easily get 80% marks in the exam. But it is not the case with F.Sc as Biology, Chemistry and Physics contain 323, 370 and 253 pages respectively. If you think you can get 80% marks in the same way as you did in Matric then it is not going to happen.
Don’t think of F.Sc that it is a piece of cake, easy or unchallenging. These two years will determine your success in the future who you are going to become: a winner or a loser.
Accept it as a challenge and prove the world your challenge until it is done. Just make your mind, you have to hard work more as you used to do in Matric.
2. Clearing The Concepts
Mistake
Clearing the concepts is more important if you are willing to take the Entry Test or if you belong to Federal Board. It’s one of the major mistakes many students make at F.Sc level.
Solution
All the students of F.Sc will take the Entry Test sooner or later. It’s most important thing to clear the concepts as soon as possible. After the annual examination, you will not have enough time to clear the concepts of all the subjects of 1st year and 2nd year.
You must have 100% clear concept of everything in order to succeed in the Entry Test or in the annual examination especially if you belong to Federal Board Chemistry and Physics generally.
You can talk to your teachers in order to clear the concepts. Underline all those lines that you seem I’m not good at, then ask the teacher.
You can also make use of Sabaq.pk and Maktab.pk websites in order to clear your concepts.
3. Start Studying In June
Mistake
The students who get low marks in F.Sc don’t start studying in June as they wait for opening the college in August or September. When such a mistake is made, it becomes difficult for them to cover the syllabus and complete it on time.
Solution
As I have written earlier that the syllabus of F.Sc is more, you have to start studying as early as possible. The best time is June when your Matric exam comes to an end. There are many ways to start studying in this month. If you can afford KIPS or Star, it is the best option. These academies start their classes in the same month – June – and cover all the syllabus in December. Once your syllabus is covered, the Test Session starts in January where tests are taken continuously until the exam starts. In this way, you memorize the books as if you’re the author.
Not everyone can afford such expensive academies. The other way of studying is from the internet. Pakistan has made several advancements in the field of IT. There are many websites where each topic of each subject is taught in Urdu in the form of a video lecture; but, the most popular websites are Sabaq.pk and Maktab.pk. Just go to the website, select a topic which you want to learn and watch it. Take a notebook, and write down all the important points that are conceptual-based. It’s an easy way, no need to go any academy, of course, it’s completely free.
4. Memorization
Mistake
Most students don’t know how to memorize a topic. A student will waste a lot of time If he doesn’t know how a topic is memorized effectively, I have seen many students who say it’s a big book, how I will memorize it; it is an uphill task for me; I can’t do it.
Solution
Now, you might be thinking what is the effective way of memorizing a topic? How a topper memorizes a page? By the way, every student has its own way of memorizing. The best way of memorizing a topic is to write it. What? By writing? Doesn’t it take more time? Doesn’t it waste a lot of time? No, It doesn’t. If you know how it is done. It is not important to write everything that you memorize. Just write those lines that you seem to have forgotten in the exams or in a test. You can write the whole topic that you seem difficult to memorize.
When I asked Hamza Siddique, who topped Federal Board by getting 1031 marks in 2014, how much time does it take to memorize a single page? He said, “It depends on the topic how much I have a strong concept about it. The more the concept, the lesser the time it takes.”
Generally, I memorize a page of Physics, Biology, and Chemistry in 15 minutes, 25-30 minutes and 15-20 minutes respectively”
My class fellow, Usamah Saeed Butt – studying in 2nd-Year at Fazaia Inter College, Lahore Cantt; who got 480 out of 505 in 1st Year Pre-Medical –when I asked how you memorize a topic of Biology, he gave an amazing answer. At that time, I asked about “Bone Repair”, he said,
Zahir Hai Jab Hadi Toti Gi, Tissue Damage Hongain, Jab Tissue Damage Hogain To Blood Leak Hoga, Jab Jab Blood Leak Hoga, To Koye Process To Ga Na Jo Is Ko Protect Krogy Na, Wo Process Blood Clotting Hai…. Yaad Esy Kro, Jis Main Kam Sy Kam Ratta Lgy, Aur Baat Sy Baat Nikly”
There are many other ways to memorize a thing. You can make a mindmap, making a note what the teacher teaches you in your class. The website that gives best memorizing tips is LifeHacks.
5. Revise, Revise, And Revise
Mistake
The biggest mistake an F.Sc student can make is not to revise. They hate to revise. When they don’t revise, they get low marks in the exams. Even if you don’t revision at Matric level, you can get high marks. But it is not the case with F.Sc anymore.
Solution
Our brain is in the constant state of forgetting. It doesn’t store everything that you hear and see around you. It only stores the information that it seems to be useful. When we memorize a topic, it transfers from Short-Term Memory to Long-Term Memory. Short-Term Memory exists just for a short period of time. It’s said It exists just for 30 seconds generally. It’s worth mentioning that, when a teacher tells you an important thing during a lecture, you should write it within 30 seconds otherwise, it would no longer be in your mind. It has proved when you memorize a topic, in the next day, most of its part from your brain will fade away. You have to revise such a way, anything should not be forgotten in the coming days.
Don’t you hate to revise a topic again? Yes, we all do. But if you change your attitude by believing that revision is entertainment, not a punishment. You would enjoy revising. Revision is of three types:
a) Daily Basis Revision
One of the best methods is to underline the lines that you seem to have forgotten often. You will revise only those underlines daily. In Physics, the underline might be a formula that you seem difficult to memorize. In Chemistry, it might be the value of vacuum permittivity.
In Pak Study, it might be a date. You could take different colors of pointers, each pointer would tell the level of forgetting. The red one means you have to revise it daily. The blue means once a week and so on.
b) Tests Revision
This revision is very useful. When you take a test, you memorize the chapter or topic more enthusiastically in order to get more marks. The more you take the tests, the more you do practice.
c) Weekends Revision
A weekend revision plays an extremely important role because on weekends you do the job which gives boost in getting more marks.
On weekends, you will take a test of yourself at-least of one subject either of 3 hours or an hour in order to practice, but the test representation should be the same as I’ve discussed in the article.
You can do another thing which is that learn new topics from Monday to Friday, and do revise on Saturday and Sunday – the topics that you’ve memorialized. If you don’t revise , then I can say surely that it doesn’t matter how much you’ve studied, but without revision you will not able to get the desired marks.
6. The Art Of Attempting Papers
Mistake
Most students who appear in the exam don’t know how to attempt papers effectively and impressively. They just think that solving the papers normally will give you the expected result; but, sadly, it’s not true
Solution
Until you don’t know how it is done, it’s impossible to get good marks in F.Sc. If a student knows the way of attempting extraordinary, he will see a miracle on the result day. You need a lot of practice how a paper is attempted that impresses the checker. The more you impress, the better. You can read my long article on the topic How to attempt papers effectively at How-to-Attempt-Papers-with-Pictures (40 Photos Of Attempting Papers – Chemistry, English and Urdu and the stuff you need to win the war) or you can simply see all the images below on Facebook’s Offical Page.
The first album is the attempting method of Hamza Siddique who got 1031/1050 in SSC in Federal Board – the topper. And the second album is the attempting method of Halla Nadeem who got 1041/1100 in SSC in Faisalabad Board.
Posted by Study Tips on Thursday, 15 October 2015
It’s how a topper attempts papers, the secret to getting 1000+ marks! The more you impress the checker, the better!…
7. Work Smarter, Not Harder
Mistake
When we come at F.Sc level, we work harder and harder but not smarter. People say, “You have to study 18 hours a day in F.Sc in order to get 1000 marks”. Some students study a lot, but less work is done.
Solution
It’s not really important, you have to study 18 hours a day. You have to study smarter, not harder. You will be amazed to know if you study just 4-6 hours a day, you can top the board. But it’s not about studying for a longer period of time rather it’s about studying as a smarter way.
You have to do more work in less time. The most important thing is to study with high concentration. If you compare two students: one student studies for 8 hours and the other one studies for 4 hours.
The student who studies for 8 hours – he checks his inbox after 20 minutes; he is thinking of watching the TV show, and the sound of music is coming from the other room – he will not able to concentrate on studying. In this way, according to Psychology, his concentration will be divided among the tasks. If you focus on only one task, then all of your concentration will do a miracle in memorizing the topic. It doesn’t mean, you should not watch TV and use social media rather when it comes to studying you should avoid this.
Another example of working Smarter is in the Entry Test. If you’re preparing for the Vocabulary Portion of English just before a month, you will waste a lot of time. You have to memorize 2000+ vocabulary words, which is not as easy as you think. It is better to leave it rather spend the time in preparing the science subjects instead of memorizing vocabulary words. It doesn’t mean, you should not prepare vocabulary, it means it’s only better if you memorize from the beginning – June.
8. Make An Effective Schedule
Mistake
We don’t make a schedule. We laugh at making a schedule because we think it doesn’t work. What it would be if I tell you a schedule that works! Students don’t make a schedule, and then they fail. Without making a schedule is like the person who is driving a car, but he doesn’t know where is my destination.
Solution
If you start to study in June and you want to cover your syllabus till December then you have to apply this simple formula, Number Of Pages Of the Book Divided by the Number Of Days.
For example, today is 15 Oct and you want to cover your syllabus before March, then it means you have 16+30+31+30+28=135 days and then divide the total pages with the total days.
For example Physics book has 200 pages as it would become 200/135=1.4 pages. It means you have to memorize 1.4 pages of Physics per day in order to cover your syllabus till March. Once you have covered your syllabus, then you would revise only in Match and April – not new topics. In this way, you would get the marks what you really want to achieve.
Take a time to each subject even Urdu and English daily. You can memorize 3 to 4 couplets (Shair) each day because you have to write minimum 6 couplets in the Poem (Nazm) and 2 to 3 in the Ghazal explanation in order to get good marks. It is up to you, how do you schedule it. It is difficult, but once you are able to make your habit persistance, it would all be easy.
9. Don’t Miss Tests
Mistake
Most students are extremely afraid of tests, that’s why, they don’t take a test. They think tests don’t matter a lot. This attitude of students is dangerous because it destroys them until it’s tasted by themselves.
Solution
Its solution is simple. Don’t miss a single test that is taken at school or college. If your school or college isn’t giving such an opportunity then you can take a test of yourself by buying a guide that has questions of each chapter. The reason is that a test gives you a notion at which things you’re weak. For example, some students have a problem of attempting a paper on time, but taking tests again and again you can attempt the paper on time because you dicver you have to write an answer faster. Some have a problem to not give an answer correctly because some time you memorize the whole chapter, but when you see a question, you don’t know how to answer it.
10. Don’t Think Of Repeating
Mistake
It is one of the major mistakes students make and think of repeating even before enrolling in college. They think that If I don’t get the desired marks, then I will repeat 1st year or 2nd year – the brain deceives them that you can top the board. But in reality, it is utter opposite.
Solution
Its solution is that don’t ever think of repeating ever before taking the exams of F.Sc. Once you have thought of repeating, it means you’re not going to get the marks you thought of. Elizabeth Holmes who is the CEO of Theranos said:
“the minute that you have a backup plan, you’ve admitted that you’re not going to succeed,”
When a student thinks that he will repeat the next year in order to get the maximum marks, in this way, he doesn’t try his best to achieve his goals rather he becomes lazy and idle with the course of time when it comes to preparing the subjects because he presumes I will have another 365 days.
Those students who are thinking of repeating even before taking the exams of 1st year, listen to me, it will not an easy task for you. Don’t think of it ever! Because when you will be studying 2nd Year, you will not find enough time to prepare for 1st year.
You will have 8 subjects or more to study in a day. After coming from the college, then to tuition, even it would be difficult for you to cover the syllabus of 2nd year too.
Note: Don’t Change Your Board Punjab Board To FBISE At F.SC Level, Why?
Don’t change your board at F.Sc level. If you’ve done Matric in Punjab Board, don’t think of doing F.Sc from Federal Board. You will face a lot of difficult in everything – paper pattern, time management, concepts clearing.
It has been seen a lot of time that when a student changes its board from Punjab to Federal Board, he gets very less marks. For this purpose, read this article: Differences between Federal Board and Punjab Board.
Now, the books of Chemistry and Biology have changed – Federal Board – and are different than Punjab Board; it means you would face problems in Entry Tests.