The State Bank of India conducts its Probationary Officer exam in two stages, i.e., prelims and mains. Candidates appearing for the exam need to be thorough with prelims and subjects important for the stream they have chosen. This being a vast syllabus, students need to be thorough with their preparation. In this article, we have provided important last-minute preparation tips and strategies to crack the SBI PO exam.
The syllabus of the SBI PO exam is vast and therefore needs a planned strategy to qualify.
Strategy to Crack the SBI PO Exam
Here are some last-minute tips and strategies to ace your preparation and crack the SBI PO exam.
1. Be thorough with the exam pattern and syllabus
Get thorough with the exam pattern, marking scheme and syllabus. Cover all important topics before the exam. Understand topics in-depth so you don’t have to stress at the last moment. Clarify all your doubts on time.
To check the SBI PO syllabus, click the linked article.
2. Refer to recommended books
Refrain from wasting time by referring to a number of books. Study from the recommended books and avoid getting confused.
3. Work on your problem-solving skills
Multiple-choice questions will be provided to assess your problem-solving ability, analytical efficiency, capacity to interpret context, and how you analyse situations, evaluate options, make informed decisions, and apply theoretical elements and principles linked to the subject’s technical and domain knowledge. Therefore, practise as many problems as possible to strengthen your grasp of topics.
4. Create a study timetable
A schedule is very important in planning your topics on a daily basis. Check the number of days remaining for the exam and allocate topics accordingly, followed by practice questions. Focus on solving questions once your theory part is done. This ensures your fair understanding of the concepts and helps you boost your speed and accuracy.
5. Concentrate on your strengths
Don’t try anything new in the last few days. It’s just not the right time. Instead, aspirants must try to concentrate on working on their strengths. The focus should be on the important topics and chapters so they don’t skip any questions in those areas. The initial days are good for a lot of studying and revising, but the last few days must be dedicated to revising key topics, any doubts, and chapters that need more attention. Refine and polish those concepts in which aspirants feel they excel and have a good command.
6. Revise important theories and related formulas
Use the short notes you made during revision time to go through all of the relevant formulae and theories again. Studying these brief notes will allow students to completely review all of the chapters’ main themes in a short period of time. Reading through the brief notes allows candidates to easily scan all of the main formulae and theories in each topic without skipping any areas. Examine the portions of the SBI PO exam that have been given additional weightage and plan appropriately.
7. Practise previous years’ questions and mock tests
It is highly recommended to practise previous years’ questions and mock tests if you have a goal of qualifying for the SBI PO exam. Usually, candidates only solve one or two mock tests before the examination. So the optimum strategy for all applicants is to take one mock exam every day, analyse the results and then thoroughly revise the mistakes.
It guarantees that candidates rectify their errors on time and do not repeat them throughout the exam, which is important. However, you should not allow a poor mock exam result to demotivate or reduce your focus.
8. Take breaks between your preparation
Do not sit for long hours at a stretch. Take frequent breaks during revision to avoid information overload. Excessive studying during the last few days can stress you out and lead to confusion. It’s best to always take a 5 to 10 minutes-break every hour to start afresh for your next set of preparation. This also helps in improving your retention power.
9. Take proper sleep and eat healthily
Studying hard is important, but not at the cost of your health. Candidates must ensure that they eat food high in nutrition on exam days or days before exams; this will assist in improving their energy levels regularly, as opposed to junk and packaged meals, which provide a quick burst of energy and then makes you sick. Maintaining a healthy diet allows aspirants to focus more successfully on their preparation, assisting them in reaching the required objectives.
10. Avoid discussing your preparation with fellow aspirants
Discussing topics and concepts with the aim of clarifying doubts can be helpful at some point. Limit your discussions to only clarification of doubts on important topics. Too much discussion on strategies and exam preparation can lead to unnecessary stress of incompetency. In fact, one must even discuss SBI PO Admit Card details as well with fellow candidates. Every individual follows a unique preparation strategy that is useful for them. Do not compare your preparation with fellow aspirants, as this might lead to self-doubt in your preparation.