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Studying / practicing for a test,something you don't find very interesting

James H

Hi all,

Some of you may know from previous posts that I am applying to Cambridge University to study Natural Sciences. As part of the application process for this course you need to do the NSAA (presumably Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment.) The test I think is on October 19th so I basically have a month to prepare for it.

The problem is that while I enjoy the content on the exams, the style of questions are boring and repetitive. It doesn't seem to actually test much in the way of analytical approach to questions but instead on speed / accuracy in multiple choice questions. If you read through a couple of papers you basically get variants of the same question each year.

I know I can knuckle down and get a lot of practice in on the questions but I'm finding it really hard to motivate myself. Just repeatedly doing the same question with different numbers and a slightly different approach isn't much fun, when you find it more interesting to think about the approach and *why* it works. It's probably less of a problem for the physics Q's as I find them easy but it's worse for maths because there is content from GCSE that I haven't covered in forever too. Any suggestions on ways to make practicing the questions more enjoyable so I can be more productive? Any ideas to make this less boring would be appreciated! I am at least looking forward (hopefully) to the interview as I think that's much more important than the test score, and the admissions staff will actually get to see my analytical thinking their rather than my capacity to memorize how to do a certain type of question over and over again.

Parents

  • Can you turn the questions into a robotic voice? Voice Assist of some sort? That way you can have Alexa or Siri or whatever robot of your choice ask you the questions while you do something mindless like make tea or go for a walk.

  • in reply to JuniperFromGallifrey

    I guess that would be an interesting idea to think about how I would go about solving the questions while I am idle. The problem is that I simply have to practice doing them quickly, in exam conditions. The only thing I can think of to make it more motivating I guess would be to see it as a challenge (Do X number of questions within a timeframe of Y minutes.) That way I suppose I would be motivating myself by trying to get faster. Otherwise at the moment, all I am doing is trying to complete individual subject questions in the time allocated for the exam (30 mins.) Maybe if I push myself to do it in 25 and then 20 that would be a good idea. I have no idea why it took your comment for me to think of all this, should have been obvious in the first place!

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  • in reply to JuniperFromGallifrey

    I guess that would be an interesting idea to think about how I would go about solving the questions while I am idle. The problem is that I simply have to practice doing them quickly, in exam conditions. The only thing I can think of to make it more motivating I guess would be to see it as a challenge (Do X number of questions within a timeframe of Y minutes.) That way I suppose I would be motivating myself by trying to get faster. Otherwise at the moment, all I am doing is trying to complete individual subject questions in the time allocated for the exam (30 mins.) Maybe if I push myself to do it in 25 and then 20 that would be a good idea. I have no idea why it took your comment for me to think of all this, should have been obvious in the first place!

Children
  • in reply to James H

    Hi, I did mainly biological sciences options (Physiology, Cells, Chemistry and Maths B in first year) but I think the principle of the interview will still be the same- Like Fibonacci Squid has pointed out the interview mimicks a supervision. They mostly want to see how you think and how you can apply your knowledge to new situations and to solve problems. They want to see if you love your subject and if you would thrive in the Cambridge environment. Good luck :). 

  • in reply to Ann :)

    Thanks for asking! I'm focusing on physical sciences, so as I understand it in 1st year undergraduate I would be doing Earth Sciences / Materials Science / Physics. I'm not sure exactly what I want to do after that but I will figure out eventually. I found an interest over the last year or so in volcanology and Large Igneous Provinces but I have no way of telling how long that interest will last (I've been interested in cycling for several years but other interests lasted only a handful of months.) Anyway, even if I lose that interest I will no doubt find something else interesting. I don't know specifics of what any given natural science interview looks like but I watched a fairly recent one that was recorded to do with physics (an applicant had to determine how much power a toy helicopter thing was using to fly, and had to ask questions like whether we assume the toy is stationary in mid air etc.) It's getting to late to write all about it anyway otherwise I will be too slow in further maths class!

  • in reply to James H

    The competition/challenge idea is good :). It sounds like you are doing a very good job. I studied Natural Sciences in Cambridge and I loved it :). In fact I liked Cambridge so much that I did my masters there too and after being abroad for a year I returned to Cambridge to work for a while whilst I sort out a long term plan. I think your attitude to the interview is good- it's really something to look forward to and an opportunity to have a fun discussion about science with experts in the field. When I applied there were no standardised tests yet (and each college could set whatever test they wanted but you couldn't prepare as you didn't know what format the tests would take in advance), so unfortunately I have no experience with the tests. But if you have any questions about the interview or Cambridge in general or the Natural Sciences course, I am very happy to help :). Out of curiosity, are you planning to do mainly biological or physical sciences options? I wish you all the best with the application! 

  • in reply to James H

    Sometimes we just need a budge! Good luck!