Here are 14 tactics to help you maximize your Admission Test scores. Practice using them on every model test you do.

1- Answer the easy questions first; then tackle the hard ones

Because the questions in each section proceed from easy to hard, this usually means you should answer the questions in the order in which they appear.

2-Keep careful track of your time

Bring a watch. Even if there is a clock in the room, it is better for you to have a watch on your desk. Before you start each session, set your watch to 12:00. It is easier to know that a section will be over when your watch reads 12:30 then to have a section start at 9:37 and have to remember that it will be over at 10:07. Your job will be even easier if you have a digital stopwatch that you start at the beginning of each section; either let it count down from 30 (or 15) to zero or start it at 0 and knows that your time will be up after 15 or 30 minutes.

3- Don’t read the directions or look at the sample questions

For each section of the Test, the directions given on this website are identical to the directions you will see on your actual exam. Learn them now. Do not even waste a few seconds of your valuable test time reading them.

4- Beware of the difficulty level of each question

Easy questions (the first few in each section) can usually be answered very quickly. Don’t read too much into them. On these questions, your first hunch is probably right. Difficult questions (the last few in the section or group) usually require a bit of thought. Be aware of an answer that strikes you immediately. You may have made an incorrect assumption or fallen into a trap. Reread the question and check the other choices before answering too quickly.

5- In the English section, read each choice before choosing your answer

Unlike math questions, which always have exactly one correct answer, English questions are more subjective. You are looking for the best choice. If A or B looks good, still check out the others; D or E might be better.

6- If you aren’t sure of an answer, guess if you can eliminate even one of the choices (which should almost always be the case).

Remember that educated guessing can significantly increase your scores.  Most math questions contain at least one or two choices that are absurd (for example, negative choices when you know the answer must be positive); eliminate them and guess.

7- Fill in the blank on your answer sheet in blocks

This is an important time saving technique. For example, suppose that the first page of the math section has four questions. As you answer each question, circle the correct answer in your question book. Then before going on the next page, enter your four answers on your answer sheet. This is more efficient than moving back and forth between your question booklet and answer sheet after each question.

8- Make sure that you answer the question asked

Sometimes a math question requires you to solve an equation, but instead of as asking for the value of x, the question asks for the value of  x^2 or   x-5. To avoid answering the wrong question,  circle or underline what you have been asked for.

9- Remember that you are allowed to write anything you want in your test booklet

Circle questions you skip, and put big question marks next to questions you answer but are unsure about. If you have left time at the end, you want to be able to locate those questions quickly to go over them. In sentence completion questions, circle or underline key words such as although, therefore, not and so on. On math questions, mark up diagrams, adding lines when necessary. And, of course, use all the space provided to solve the problem. In every section, math and English, cross out every choice that you know is wrong. In short, write anything that will help you, using whatever symbols you like. But remember, the only thing that counts is what you enter in your answer sheet. No one will ever see anything that you write in your booklet.

10- Be careful not to make any stray pencil mark on your answer sheet

The Entry Test is scored by a computer that cannot distinguish between an accidental mark and a filled-in answer. If the computer registers two answers where there should be only one, it will mark that question wrong.

12- Don’t change answers capriciously

If you have time to return to a question and realize that you made a mistake, by all means correct it, making sure you completely erase the first one you made. However, don’t change answers on the last minute hunch or whim, or for fear there have been too many A’s and not enough B’s. In such cases, more often than not, student change right answers to the wrong ones.

13- Remember you pacing strategies: never get bogged down on any one question, and don’t rush

Using these tactics, you should set realistic goals for how many questions you can answer in the allotted time. Stick to your plan. Don’t panic and try to race through more questions.

14- Remember that you don’t have to answer every question to do well

You don’t have to answer all the questions to do well. It is possible to omit more than half of the questions and still be in the top half of all students taking the test;. After you set your final goal, pace yourself to reach it

GOOD LUCK