(Since there are those who are asking how I prepared for the National Medical Admission test,here it is. I am not saying that you should do this or that, but at least, you can gather some ideas.In the end, it still depends on you.)
What is NMAT?
For those who do not have an idea what NMAT is, it is a test required for all those who aspire to pursue their medicine degree.To know more about it, click here: https://www.cem-inc.org.ph/nmat/.
So basically, they are testing if you already have acquired the knowledge you need to become a medical student or if have equipped yourself the “Doctor wanna-be starter pack”.(lol)Btw, it’s validity is 2 years.
Background:
Part 1 Mental Ability: 3hours (Verbal,Inductive Reasoning,Quantitative,Perceptual Acuity and visual,perception
Part 2 Academic proficinecy:2 1/2 hours(Biology,Physics,Social Science, and Chemistry.)
What is the big deal:
You might ask me what is the big deal about having high NMAT scores. While there are med schools that are not strict about the score you get, there are those that requires higher ranges of scores. So, basically it is for your target school; and to a lesser degree,for your bragging rights, of course.
Some take this test more than once just to get their desired grade. Some would like to take this as diagnostic test of how much they have learned so far. For those who are in the crossroads and have not decided yet, they take this as a basis if they are going to pursue medicine or not.
Premed:
I think if your born “einsteinette” or your pre-med course is related to these sciences then you can ace this test with no sweat. My premed is nursing. To be quite honest,most of what we have studied on the latter years do not focus on the basic sciences, which are tested on Part II of the exams. We only had that on our General education in 1st and 2nd year levels. And if you are preparing for the boards, you would really need to set aside those so you can focus on Nursing/Medical/Health topics.Although I can say we can have a bit of an edge on some parts of bio(if it is more about human health related stuff) and social science(psychology to be specific because we have tackeled it in our psychiatric nursing. I am not generalizing that it is difficult for us but let me just say we find it challenging.
Review Strategies/Exam Tips:
I took my Nmat on November 2014, a year after I graduated.(There’s a long story why I did not take it or pursue med rightaway.)That time I was also reviewing for NCLEX exam(nursing licensure in US) which I took on October 30. So I just had a month long of serious but not-so-serious review. I did not enroll to any review center because I did not have an extra bucks for that. Nonetheless, I took time to at least review the included subjects even bits by bits. There are topics that I have really buried from the past that I thought I never heard them.I really had to butcher myself to some backtrack or to study them. Here are some strategies that might also be helpful to you. Some of the listed are general though.
1.If you do not have extra time to study the academic part, boost your score by practicing the first part. Maybe you can search some IQ tests in the internet. I was unable to practice this part so I got better score in Part II.
2. I managed to scheduled some catch up/tutorial session with my “halimaw” friend,Hani and his bf,Jul. Thank God our time had coincided. I am thankful to both of them for taking their time to make me understand the topics I find difficult and for motivating me that I could do it.
3. A few months before, What I did was to borrow the MSA reviewer set from a friend,Moises and Haya.
Thanks guys!
4.I searched for my HS chemistry and bio textbooks, and the compiled hardbound book of High school sciences here at home. I just read those.
5.You can watch on youtube for the concepts.Then, google some unfamiliar topic.
6. Some say that if one must excel, he must focus on what the majority does not fond of learning so he can get extra bonus for that.That means you have to study Physics since majority(I think.haha) finds it hard.(remember the grading is different.It is by percentile rank.)
7. Answer the practice set given by CEM upon registration and review the concepts related to it.
Time yourself(wasn’t able to this.haha)
8. Upon answering questions that deals with numbers in part II and you cannot buy more time, try to see if those are relevant or not. Sometimes they are just placed there to confuse you. They might put large numbers so you can try to estimate or round it up then look at the choices if there is one that is near to the answer. Do this if you hate solving or if you are taking a lot of time staring at the numbers. But if you love solving math, go do your thing.
9.Answer the easy items first so you will have sure points. As much as possible, do not have any mistake on the easy parts because they are give aways.
10. Time is always your enemy. Do not stay on a question for a long time.And most of all, do not sleep on your exam day so make sure you have enough rest on the night before. You have enough sleep when you release your anxiety. You would not have anxiety if you prepared well. So, time management is still the key and just like what I say, it depends on your target score. Always aim high so that even if you do not get the highest score,you will still pass.
Additional reminder:
1.Bring a jacket with you(so you would be comfortable,whatever the temperature your assigned room will be.)
2.Bring a waterbottle,snack or your packed lunch to prevent hassle during lunchbreak. You still need to go and line up in long queues.
3.Wear a watch so you will keep track of the time.
4.Prepare the necessary documents.
Important reminder:
Have faith in yourself and to the Lord above:))
God bless you!
(If you know some additional tips that can help others, feel free to share it below.)
Dec 2016