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Excerpt from 33 Strategies of Board Exam Success

Posted on December 6, 2009 | 15 Comments

There are 8 ways of increasing our brain power. These are simple ways that are generally good
for our health and improvement of our brain that we sometimes neglect.
1. Food
The brain is greedy and taxes the body in terms of blood sugar. The brain feeds directly on
glucose, so if you arent nourished, you will lack focus and concentration. For this reason, it is
important that you eat big breakfast before you start the day.
It is no question that our bodys functions are affected by what we eat. Our brain and thinking
function is no exception. Brain foods help improve the functioning of our brain. According to
health experts, one good example of brain food is fish. Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids which
allow blood of the brain to remain healthy and fluid. So it is such a great idea to include fish in
your daily diet or at least twice a week. Or if you dont eat fish then you can have fish oil
supplements that will help you complete your needs.
Also, according to experts, foods in the complex carbohydrates family are amongst the best type
of brain foods. Food with complex carbohydrates takes longer time to digest and stays extended
period in the intestines giving us continuous supply of sugar that our body is able to use and will
provide optimal amounts of energy for our brain to access.
Here are some recommended foods that may help us boost our brain power:
1. Cereals and oatmeal
2. Milk and legumes
3. Fruits like apples, blueberries, cherries and grapes
4. Spaghetti and rice
5. Vegetables like kidney-beans, legumes, lentils and chick peas
6. Chicken, lean beef, fish and eggs

Also there are foods you should avoid to make your brain function better. Junk, processed,
preserved, highly altered and artificial foods should be avoided. Intoxicating drinks affect not
only your lungs and liver but also your brain. It kills brain cells at a very high rate.
2. Exercise
A good and light exercise every morning will give you a very refreshing feeling. It will not only
make you good on how you feel but also on how you think. There are many articles and medical
journals attesting that exercise can really affect the way we think and the way we perform
different tasks. A 30 minute exercise can have a great impact on our performance for the whole
day. Getting cardiovascular exercise is one of the most important aspects to having a healthy
brain. The main reason is that cardiovascular exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to the
brain. There are other benefits to exercise, but its of great benefit to the brain in particular.
3. Brain Activities
There are many ways to keep the brain active. Here are just a few of many: Reading, doing
arithmetic in your head, memory exercises, learning a musical instrument, learning a foreign
language, crossword puzzles, chess, games that require concentration, or any kinds of puzzle
games in general. Creative exercises such as painting, poetry, music, writing are also great ways
to use the brain.
Luckily for you who are reviewing for the board exams, brain activity is not a problem. You will
always find many puzzles and memory exercises guised as problem-solving questions and
formulas. You will also learn more and new things from reading and answering practice
questions. In this way, you will increase your brain power.
4. Get Outdoors
Many people suffer from poorly ventilated areas such as offices or rooms that lack oxygen. Well,
big surprise: The brain needs oxygen to perform at its best. Make sure to get outdoors, get a little
sunlight, and keep your homes and study areas well ventilated.
5. Relaxation
You can never concentrate to do your job if there is always something bothering you. Distress
and depression are potent combination for brain damage. It is the number one and two enemies
of thinking right and thinking better. Your brain will be always pre-occupied and consumed by
things you dont really need. Distress and depression are sickness of the mind and you can get rid
of them if you avert your thinking from things that causes them.
6. Brain Supplement
Brain supplement may also help increase your brain power. Fish oil rich in Omega-3 is clinically
proven to increase brain functions aside from our regular intake of vitamins A, C and E which
also have anti-oxidants that help good circulation of blood on our brain.

7. Avoid Alcohol and Smoking

It is a fact that alcohol directly kills brain cells and smoking is not only bad for your skin but it
also limits the blood flow to your organs, which includes the brain. It is wise therefore to avoid
alcohol and smoking especially if you want to harness your brain power for the board exams.
8. Rest
There are reviewees who turn night to day and day to night. They sleep during the day and
review during the night and stay up very late until dawn. Little theyd realize that their health is
already suffering not to mention their brain power.
You need at least 6-8 hours of sleep to keep your mind and body in good shape. Lack of sleep
will definitely affect our immune system which will eventually breakdown and will make you
susceptible to diseases. Lack of sleep will also make you hard to concentrate on your review
making your reading and studying activities useless. Lack of sleep will make you grumpy and
irrational most of the time affecting your studies and therefore what you have invested on will all
become useless.

By: Melvin Arceo

Posted on February 26, 2011 | 14 Comments

Board exams of whatever course will give you the jitters when the time comes to take it.
Whether youre a regular graduate from a community college or you graduated with flying colors
from a prestigious school, your mind goes to a what if mode. The most common question
youll ask yourself is What if I fail? Well, it is not really bad to think of failure, for it is just
part of a more complicated process, of branching out your choices when this-and-that happens,
then leading to failure. But sometimes we think more and highlight the possibility of failure than
success and that is also because it is easier to consider options when you become successful than
when you fail. That is the reason why some worry so much of failure. But are there ways to
overcome worries before the board exams? Apparently there are. Here are some:
1. Focus on your preparations
Have you ever watch a theatrical play? A declamation or singing contest perhaps? Or any other
contest for that matter? Have you noticed actors or singers confidently giving their pieces in
front of hundreds or even thousands of people? What made them that confident? Its their
preparations!

Of course actors or singers are put into test when they perform. Its like their final exam and their
grades will come from their audiences. And these performers never take their rehearsals for
granted for they know, that if they do not rehearse, they will fail. Practice, as they say, makes
perfect. They practice and practice that eventually their piece becomes second nature to them. It
becomes automatic! So when they go up stage and it is time to perform, they will deliver with
full confidence and conviction.
You will eventually take the board exams and it is not by far different from a performance of
an actor or singer. Unleash that confidence in you by diligently practicing and preparing for the
board exams. Make it a second nature that when someone ask you a question of course related
to the exams you will be able to answer it. And if not, you will vow to search for the answer. In
that way, you will make your worries disappear because you know you can do something about
it. Most of the time your worries will not come from being able to answer questions in the board
exams, well guess what? You have to do your part and focus on your preparations and make your
worries evaporate!
2. Be ready to compare yourself to others
They say, when you look at beauty magazines, you will look like a monkey! I really laughed
hard , got my tears dropping and almost rolled over the first time I heard this saying. But then
again, theres wisdom in that saying. When you look at models in magazines they really look
perfect if not photoshop perfect and you tend to compare yourself with those models, and
with those perfection the face, body and stance you are nowhere near their beauties and
makes you look like a monkey! And that makes sense. You lose confidence and think that you
will never be like them. Imitating and making them look like you and eventually realizing and
facing the facts that that will never happen will make your confidence so low that anybody can
stomp on it.
It is not bad to compete with others. In fact, I am encouraging you to do that. That is, if you are
ready. As I have written above, preparation makes you become more confident and when youre
confident you will become ready to take on any challenge. But when you find yourself below the
scores of others, that will definitely eat away your confidence. And if this goes on and on,
eventually, there will be nothing left.
Compete with yourself first then with others. Conquering yourself is not an easy task, but if you
do, then it will be easy to conquer other things. How do you compete with yourself? Simple. If
you have a good score on one exam, make it appoint that you will be better the next time. If
youve read plenty yesterday, then read more today. If you have achieved better things today,
then tomorrow, you should bring out the best! If you have mastered yourself, you can definitely
control your future. Being ready to face your fears and conquering others.
3. Be easy on yourself
It is funny how your friends, family and even your professors will compare you to others.
Especially when someone took the board exams ahead of you and made it with flying colors.
You will see their posters all around your school, their pictures in the internet and professors will

even brag about them, telling the whole class they were their students before. Pressure builds on
your chest and sometimes youll feel your head will explode every time you remember what
your professor said about those past achievements.
Be easy on yourself and dont walk on shadows of others. While it is important to pass the board
exams, it is more important that you do your best and give your all, not really for others but for
yourself. Sometimes too much pressure will take away your confidence and it becomes more of a
hindrance rather than help. Never put yourself in a situation that makes everything harder for
you.
4. Dont think of what other might say to you
You are not really afraid of failure, arent you? You are only afraid of what others will say when
you fail. According to my favorite social psychologist Robert Cialdini, our actions and behaviors
are based on what others might think or say to us. Most of the time, it is their expectations that
makes us move in their way. We pressure ourselves to satisfy them and become what they think
we should become. And often than not, it gives us more worries. You not only worry about your
preparations, especially when youre already having problems with your preparations, but you
also worry on how to cope up with what others would say to you when you fail. Remember,
when your mind is under stress, you cannot think clearly according to Daniel Goleman the
author of the book Emotional Intelligence.
So why worry about what would others say to you? You have more important things to worry
about and you should focus on things more helpful in your success, of becoming a licensed
professional. Stray away from expectations of others and lift the bar of excellence by putting
your own high standards. Set the standard others will follow and not a follower of standards
others have set.
5. Think of opportunities rather than threats
Preparing for the board exams gives us more opportunities than threats. Opportunity of passing
the board exam is of course one of them, not to mention topping it. Opportunity of gaining more
knowledge, testing your strengths and limitations, and meeting more friends that will eventually
expand your network, is really exciting. It definitely outweighs the threats of failing, because if
you fail the exams, what you have had gained will never be taken away from you. Still you have
gained knowledge, you have tested your strengths and limitations and definitely your friends will
still be there.
Threats of failure in the board exams can really be nerve-racking. Threats like youll be rejected
by companies you will apply to, youll never get the job you want, youll forever suffer the
mockery of your friends, are just the products of the imaginative mind of some. But those are
half-baked truth. You can still get the job you want, especially, if the job you want doesnt
require professional license and only needs the skill you possess. You can get to a company you
like, especially, if you know someone from there. And true friends will not mock you but will
help to make you feel better.

So go on, take the board exams without worries. Always remember that worries are fruits of your
mind. Just think of these five things and have a worry-free board exams! Good luck!!!

By: Melvin Arceo

Posted on February 27, 2011 | 1 Comment

Here are 10 Signs youre ready for the Board Exams:

10. You dont seem to cram.
You dont know the word cram and you do your review with ease and efficiency. You are
organized and know what to do in every subject. You seem to have more than enough time for
them.
9. You are more excited than afraid about the date of exams.
You are excited to know when the board exams will happen because you want to get into the
action and counting the days to the date of the exams crossing out days in your calendar.
8. Answering questions are like second nature to you.
When answering questions, you are relaxed and enjoying every number. You are even interested
to know correct answers on your mistakes. You are excited to answer more and more questions
until you have had enough.
7. Your confidence never ceases.
You feel your confidence never vanishes; in fact, it grows stronger every after review. You dont
mind criticisms and bad comments from others. You dont let yourself down on occasional
disappointments but rather challenges you to take more assessment tests.
6. You see yourself superior to others.
After every assessment exams, you tend to compare yourself to others and knowing their scores
makes you feel superior than them. Your scores compared to them is far greater, except, of
course you are competing with those who have the same level of talent. And you feel the
challenges head on for the top positions in the board exams.

5. You feel you know everything. Your classmates ask you questions and
surprisingly you can answer almost everything.
4. You feel like a quizzer. You feel you are in a quizbee contest and try to answer
every question, competing with everybody.
3. Youre just resting two weeks before the exams. You are resting for two
weeks before the exams while others still have their heads on their notes and books trying to get
more information.
2. Youre thinking of what to wear during the oathtaking
ceremonies. You are now looking for attire to wear for the oathtaking ceremonies. Funny
but its true.
1. You dont worry about passing, you worry more about what
place at the top you will end up. You feel sad and worried you might end up second
in the top positions and you wont be able to deliver your prepared speech for the oath taking
ceremonies.

He will have to learn, I know,

that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that
for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician,
there is a dedicated leader
Teach him for every enemy there is a friend,
Steer him away from envy,
if you can,
teach him the secret of
quiet laughter.
Let him learn early that
the bullies are the easiest to lick
Teach him, if you can,
the wonder of books
But also give him quiet time
to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the
sky,
bees in the sun,
and the flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him

it is far honourable to fail
than to cheat
Teach him to have faith
in his own ideas,
even if everyone tells him
they are wrong
Teach him to be gentle
with gentle people,
and tough with the tough.
Try to give my son
the strength not to follow the crowd
when everyone is getting on the band
wagon
Teach him to listen to all men
but teach him also to filter
all he hears on a screen of truth,
and take only the good
that comes through.
Teach him if you can,
how to laugh when he is sad
Teach him there is no shame in tears,

Teach him to scoff at cynics

and to beware of too much sweetness
Teach him to sell his brawn
and brain to the highest bidders
but never to put a price-tag
on his heart and soul.
Teach him to close his ears
to a howling mob
and to stand and fight
if he thinks hes right.
Treat him gently,
but do not cuddle him,
because only the test
of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage

to be impatient
let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always
to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have
sublime faith in mankind.
This is a big order,
but see what you can do
He is such a fine little fellow,
my son!

~ Abraham Lincoln

For many people, taking a test ranks as one of the most stressful experiences they can imagine-especially if that test is an important board exam. Increase your likelihood of success and pass
the board exam by following these study tips.
1. Research strategies for the type of test you will be taking. From multiple choice to essay
to true/false, every format tests you on specific knowledge and has its own strategy.
Learn what strategy you are to use and you will know what to expect.
2. Break your material into sections. Cramming the night before never works because it
accesses only your short-term memory. In turn, this leaves gaps in your knowledge that
only grow wider the more nervous and stressed you become. Begin studying topic by
topic a few weeks before the test to ingrain the knowledge into your long-term memory.

3. Study in a comfortable place with good lighting. No, this does not mean your bed; it's too
tempting to lie down and take a nap. The library is usually the best atmosphere for
serious studying.
4. Give your mind frequent breaks. Your memory retains information that you study at the
beginning and end better than what you study in the middle.
5. Listen to classical music to lessen the boredom and keep you concentrated.

6. Create a study group, but only with others who are serious about the test.
7. Focus on true understanding rather than rote memorization. This will serve you especially
well if the end of the year test is cumulative.
8. Test yourself or have someone else test you to find out weak areas or gaps in knowledge.
Practice tests are a great way to get you into test-taking mode before the real thing.
9. Study when you are most alert. For morning people, early morning study sessions are the
most productive, while others are more alert at night.
10. Relax. Find time to socialize with friends or watch a favorite movie. Don't let the test
consume you and become your life.

August 29, 2012

Passing the Board Exam was never been easy so heres some
tips that might help you to pass the exam.
CHOOSE THE BEST REVIEW CENTER- For me choosing the best review center will
certainly give an instant edge. Pick the one that has a lot of passing students. Because that is an
indicator that they know what they are doing. I have to admit also that I learned as much during
my review as I did in college especially in the application side. In my case I picked the one that
finish early, so that I still have time to self review and digest what is taught in the review center.
In contrast to other review center, that their review will last a week before the exam, so they
dont have sufficient time to learn more beside what they learned from the review center.

WHILE YOU ARE PREPARING FOR THE EXAM

YOU SHOULD HAVE THE FOLLOWING:
SCHEDULE Im suggesting to you to have a calendar in your room and then make an
outline of your exam as a basis of your schedule. This will also help you not to cram during the
review. Just make sure you have the discipline to follow your schedule.
1.

REVIEW MATERIALS Gather all the material that you will be needing during the review,
you can borrow from your classmates and friends or buy some books and review, but usually the
review center also provide some reviewer, but in my case that is not that is not enough since they
are only distributing some handout or guidelines.
2.

ASK SOMEONES HELP Ask some people who already took the board and ask some
advice from them, surely they will give you very helpful tips and advice that you can use during
the review or even in the actual examination. Also ask them about the recent examinations like
what certain problems in a particular that appears in the examination, and the technique that they
used when they took the exam. Ask any thing by the way its good because you are learning and
at the same time its for free.
3.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

The important thing is not to stop questioning.
-Albert Einstein

A STUDY AREA This one depends on the person, are you the kind who listens to music
while studying or do you want a quiet place while studying like me. In my case I like studying at
night because I am sensitive in noise, I am very much easily destructed and irritated by the noise
so what I did is make the day evening and evening a day for me to be able to study, because that
is the time that all the distraction are gone.
4.

BE OPTIMISTIC -- Optimism is a springboard that enables you to bounce back to your most
desired success in passing the board exam. It is a mindset as one Philosophers said I think,
therefore I am. Indeed, when you feel positive that you can pass the licensure, you really can.
Research claims that the more the person envisions success, the more it becomes achievable.
5.

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character A. Einstein.

RELAX Our brain is not a computer processor which can process 24/7. If you feel so much
stress as if no matter how hard you review, nothing comes in, its the best time to stop and relax.
6.

Try to spend time with your family, friends and special someone. Though you are not learning
relative lessons from them, you got motivation. This will help you once again to pursue what you
have started.

My professor told me that many honor students even from

reputable and highly respectable school also flunked the examination (that will somehow boost my
confidence as you know I am one of the average students) and they are many, in other words, the outcome
of the examination doesnt rely on intelligence alone, and I agree on him. Maybe because they are over
confident and/or even lack of preparation.
The licensure examination is not a quiz bee thing where the most intelligent individuals are most likely to
prevail.
This is a marathon contest and the one blessed with immense PATIENCE and GOOD STUDY HABITS are
favored.
I reviewed almost a day learning the elements of the examinations and concentrating on problem solving, I
focus in solving 50 math problems a day math is the foundation so you need to stick into it! After the 50
problems then I proceed to another subject, there are times that I am so lazy that I only solve 20 or even 10
and there are times that I feel so inspired that I can solve 60 or even 70.. But it doesnt matter! All it matters
is you do it EVERYDAY!!
Yes, stock knowledge is the key in passing any given licensure examination, and it takes a lot of
perseverance, patience and hard work to do it. Keep on moving by reading as many as you can and if
necessary solve a lot practice a lot of solving problems until your brain is dead!

ONE THING THAT I LEARNED IN LIFE IS..

LIFE IS SUPPOSEDLY HARD, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GOD
INTENDED TO DO TO STRENGTEN US, HE WANTS US TO STRIVE
HARD AND PRAY HARDER. I REMEMBER WHAT C. S. Lewis says: God

whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains:
it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
The question is, are you listening?

Extreme luck comes in a blue moon when trying to pass the

examination, but I believe that you create your own luck. Why? Simple, the more you review the more you
are exposed to a lot of knowledge and when the time calls for you to make a guess, you are actually
making an educated guess.
Make an Educated Guess for multiple choice questions that you dont know the answer for, try to make
an educated guess by eliminating the possible answers that dont fit the question. For example if you meet
a question that has A,B,C,D for choices but you know that it isnt answerable by choice A and C then you
only have to take a guess between B and D. Which gives you a 50% chance of getting the right answer.
Way better than a 25% chance right? (more chances of winning ika nga ).So when you are better prepared
and indeed battle ready, your answer in every questions have strong chance of extracting the coveted right
answers.
I believe that prayer helps greatly in helping you pass an exam (along with hard work).
It is very okay to ask for divine providence all the time, but God only help those who help themselves. While
you pray do your entire job, review hard as you could and for sure Gods blessings will be with you when
you take the examination.
Let me tell you a story, I have classmate in review center (I will hide his name a.k.a. john rey) he is a very
lazy student and always absent, and he is always saying that he will just pray to God for the exam and hes
not study our lessons or even look at it anymore, to make a long story short he pass the exam not only
passing the mock exam but one of the highest, I really dont know what happened and even have an idea,
may be he sneak a pick to my classmates paper or something else but the moral lesson of this story is he
never run out of Faith, he always believed that something good will happen and if you believed that is the
time miracle happened! Amazing isnt it?
Therefore PRAYER IS VERY POWERFUL so you better pray! There are great prayers available which ask
for intercession from saints for helping you pass exams. One such saint is St. Joseph of Cupertino, the
patron saint of exam takers. And St. Jude, the patron of the hopeless where my classmate Mark went
every Thursday beside Malacanang Palace (kahit na bumabagyo). You may also go to Baclaran church
every Wednesday, may be you can see me and my friend Arjay, praying the novena to Our Lady of
Perpetual Help.

 Always say to yourself that you need to pass the examination with all your
might and capabilities, youre future is at stake here. And always remind yourself to the people who inspire
and motivate you the most to study hard, like your family, special someone, and God.
You are determined to pass the examination, and what will people speak of your performance is irrelevant
and non sense. They are not the ones that feed you or shouldered your collegiate fees and expenses and
gives allowance. You cannot please anybody. This is your fight not theirs and be sure you are giving your
best shot work hard.
- Most examinees usually relax themselves three days before the
examination or even 2 weeks as my classmate said. One day before the Examination, be sure that you
have the necessary materials with you that you will need in the examination.
- relax, and take deep breaths often. Answer the easy ones first,
but be sure that you have answered every question 30 minutes before the given time. Dont get carried
away with those examinees that pass their papers at an earlier time. Use your time well, these people are
not genius, but rather lacks preparation with the examination and as a result they made guesswork with the
test.

99% PERSPIRATION
+ 1% INSPIRATION!!!
100% GENIUS

A person who does not invest will never amount to anything.

Before you profit, you should first invest.

There is no short cut to success.
Short term gains equals long-term pains.
Start investing in yourself today.

/
Let me tell you a story. My
classmate, kuya robin and I was thinking what if we have amnesia during the board exam, and all of our
hard works in memorizing all the formula and the lessons that we studied day and night were all gone.
Seriously, there are people who go on mental blank and amnesia state in such a situation of duress.
Let us try to avoid that, future board exam taker, passer and (if you follow my advice and devise
your own effective ways) topnotcher!
You will not earn it without hard work of some sort, if not during the review sessions, at least in the last 5
years of our college life you were trying so hard to make the grade and master everything. Or even in the
last 2 months after the review (sa PATTS) or 2 weeks of the preparation, where you were not able to talk to
anybody else because you are cramming everything in.
But we avoid cramming because its not dignified and its not kind to ones body. Its the worst harassment
you can possibly inflict on yourself: to cram your ass out, especially during the board exam. Some people
find it effective, and I respect that. But my recommendation for long preparation is a tried and tested thing,
believe me brothers and sisters.
Give it your all. Do it right the first time .Do it now! Baka mag-double or triple take ka pa nyan, sayang
naman yung time mo. The chances of passing the exam diminish each time you fail it because it lowers
your morale more and more. But never lose hope! Meron akong kilala, 7 times syang nag take ng exam
bago pumasa, tiwala lang talaga!

There are things we should be serious about and

there are things we can take lightly.
It is the wise person who understands the difference
and does what it right all the time.
One wise person says: I always knew that looking back on
my tears would someday make me laugh, but I never knew
that looking back on my laughter would someday make me cry.

Even with early planning, you still run the risk of being so nervous during the exam (remember there is no
single person that never been nervous during the exam). Physical conditioning will have to come in last in
our series of tips here. What I will discuss now is more important, if you are at the 6 months before or more
stage of your preparation.

Lets cut to the chase, how do we not have amnesia on an exam?

Engr. Renigen has put the best tip succinctly and clearly:

Kulitin mo yung sarili mo dun sa formula!

Mag practice ka ng mag practice!
Matuto kang mag derive ng formula para konti lang mememoryahin mo!
(if you have a Math-intensive exam like ours).
And if I may add: kulitin hanggang halos isuka mo na yung concepts at formula.At wag kang makakalimot mag dasal sa
Diyos!

In a nutshell and in more dignified-sounding words:

Formula, terms, concepts,

strategies, techniques and other important things in the board exam field of study
MUST, SHOULD, WILL be familiarized.

I shall use my 2 review buddies as an example on how to apply what sir. Renigen taught us:
We have a review session together with my 2 classmates, (I will hide their names as binz and dovs
because they are very private person) in dovs house for 3 days, so we studied together, we studied same
review materials, we share what we knew, asking some question to each other. But did you know the
difference between the three of us? dovs had 5-6 hrs of sleep, and I had 8-9hrs, and binz had 10-12 hrs of
sleep. He studied A LOT! We have a study session and I ended up sleeping halfway through a math
problems and binz is already sleeping even though he never gets started. But dovs will continue. And we
did not just solve during our review classes in PATTS or rely only for what the review center can offer or
give to us, we have what we called a little extras of making kulit of our self with everything that needs to be
mastered for the board exam.
Math was one subject and only 10% in board exam. I answered 1001 Engineering Math Problems books
besides from what they gave us in the review center because it is already in the complete package though I
know that this is not enough so I search some extra reviewer, I even enrolled to a calculus class online in
Stanford university (but unfortunately I received an e-mail that saying that our class will be move on
January instead of August). It all sounds so simple right? But will actually reach that point where I want to
throw the books and forget about taking the exam! BUT CONTINUE! Kulit yourself to the point of brain
death!

I firmly believe that this is what sets the dividing line between the passers and the topnotchers. The passers
follow their feelings and only solve when they feel like it. They only aim to pass the exam, so the extra
effort matters so little to them.
The topnotchers are driven to top. They take a break and then get back to it as soon as possible.

Anyone can give up, its the easiest thing in the world to do.
But to hold it together when everyone else would understand
if you fell apart, thats true strength.
Feelings did not matter for me, then. I had a calendar that says solve 50 problems in Math everyday. And
spend the rest of the day dividing the other subjects. In engineering, Math is the foundation. So we stick to
the foundation.
Index cards with terms and formulas are really useful for me especially when I am in the vehicle. Manila
paper posted on walls containing the important terms, laws, etc. This is my Principle in Studying for the
exam:
.

1 -- The first time, to comprehend.

2 -- The second time, to improve recall.
3 -- The third time, to help you summarize.
4 -- The fourth time, to help you memorize.
5 -- The fifth time, to make it so much a part of you that even without the book, you know it BY HEART.

Try to solve as many problems as you can, practice is the key! There was a point in time that some
problems were just naturally embedded that during the mock exam, I did not even have to solve those
types of questions. I just had to look at the choices or input it directly to the calculator and I found the
logical answer. Thats a golden time saver when you are having an exam under time pressure. (specially
now na 100 items na yung questions sa board exam).
What did I do when I felt tempted to throw away the calendar of my review schedule? I have, on the other
side of the bedroom wall a sign. It was a letter to myself which I prepared so that I will read it when I am
feeling down and discouraged and unable to solve or stick to my calendar:

Victory belongs only to those strive hard

and pray hardest
(Promise me to be a winner)
It was the REMINDER of the things I envision myself to have even before I started the review. It was my
peg that defined the mindset I cultivated the entire time. And many times during my review, I felt so
swamped, so lost and so confused kung ano ang uunahin ko. But never give up.