BITSAT 2016 Exam Preparation: Tips & Tricks

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have always been rated as the best engineering colleges of India and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) that leads to it is said to be one of the toughest undergrad entrance exam in the world. The Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani is also considered to be at par with the IITs with its four campuses – at Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai – well equipped with international facilities, highly qualified faculty members and a glorious placement records. It has its own admission test which is commonly known as BITSAT which again considered to be at par with the JEE exams.

Here are some of the BITSAT-specific exam pattern, questions and exam preparation style tips you much know to ace the exam in 2016:

It is important to note that both JEE and BITSAT demand in-depth understanding of the basic concepts of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.

Types of Questions

IIT JEE has lengthier questions that often require in-depth analysis while BITSAT has shorter but trickier questions. For the latter, you should focus on questions that are more concept-based.

Formulas and equations should be on your fingertips as 70% BITSAt questions are formula based.

Questions that require calculation are easier in BITSAT such as calculating wavelength of electron jumping from one shell to other, or time a ball will take to come back when tossed in the air.

NCERT books and Arihant package should be enough for BITSAT.

Exam Syllabus

JEE syllabus includes more chapters than BITSAT syllabus (which is limited to important topics). Hence, go through BITSAT syllabus carefully and stick to it around May when BITSAT 2016 will take place.

It is advisable to dedicate separate time for preparing for both JEE and BITSAT around the time they take place as they have some variations that can make all the difference to your scores.

Speed Up

BITSAT has more than double the number of questions in JEE. Naturally, speed makes all the difference to your scores in the exam.

Revise and revise until you know all the important facts and concepts by heart. Practice and Practice until you can solve your questions quickly and accurately.

BITSAT 2016 exam will have 150 questions along with 12 bonus question that can offer you an edge over others. To solve these ‘extra questions’, you have to submit answers to 150 questions first with no options to review them again. Hence, take advantage of Bonus Questions only when you are sure you have solved your original 150 questions well.

Time Management Strategy

In BITSAT, you get 3 hours to solve the entire paper which includes Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, English and Logical Reasoning sections. The last two sections are unique to BITSAT.

Since English and Logical Reasoning but do not require calculation, you should devote only 30-45 minutes to these sections.

Chemistry again requires little calculation and you should not devote more than 30 minutes on it.

Mathematics is the most time-consuming section and you will need at least 1 hour to solve it.

You should be left with 40-60 minutes to solve your Physics section.

All the questions hold same weightage in BITSAT exam. Hence, go for shorter questions first.

How to ace English?

BITSAT is the online engineering entrance exam in India that tests your English too. It has 15 English questions that are based on easy English grammar rules. Arihant and MTG books offer you good leads.

Check out AskIITians practice paper  too for free!

Practice Online

Opting for online test series is a vital step to gain an edge in BITSAT exam preparation. BITSAT 2016 is exclusively an online test and if you are used to pen-and-paper exams, you might find it challenging to crack it.

Do note that you get limited sheets for rough work in a BITSAT exam. So, learn to conserve space beforehand or you might get stressed out unnecessarily in the last minute.

BITSAT Cutoffs

Generally, BITSAT cutoff scores hover around 290. But a decent target score for BITSAT 2016 is 320. If you can score above 350, you can well be among the exam toppers and will have access to the top branches in the BITS campuses.

All the Best!